ABOUT US
OUR clergy
Rabbi Matt Cohen joined the Temple Emanu El community in July 2022. Rabbi Matt was born and raised in Beachwood, Ohio. He attended The Ohio State University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. He was ordained from The Hebrew Union College, in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2012. Rabbi Matt served Congregation Ahavath Chesed – The Temple, in Jacksonville, Florida from 2012-2018 and Congregation B’nai Israel in Galveston, TX from 2018-2022.
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Rabbi Matt is an experienced guitarist and singer and has led congregational, summer camp, religious school and youth group worship experiences for nearly 30 years. In addition to his solo rabbinic work on the bema, he has created and co-led worship services with teen and adult congregational bands. He looks forward to recruiting the musical members of TEE!
OUR BOARD
Mitchell Cronig has been a member of Temple Emanu El since 1988 when he married my wife, Lisa (nee Waxman). Mitch has held many roles at Temple Emanu El including President of Brotherhood, co-chair of a previous capital campaign, co-chair of the most recent Rabbinic Search Committee, several officer positions, and a member of a myriad of committees. As President, his main emphasis has been assisting the Hineini Capital Campaign with the goal of retiring our mortgage and creating Board Designated Reserve Fund.
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Professionally, Mitch has been an electrical engineer for 40 years. He specializes in designing aircraft test equipment, mostly dealing with control units and generating systems. His work has taken his all over the world, including many trips to Israel. He is currently lead electrical engineer for an Austrian company named TEST-FUCHS with the U.S. subsidiary located in Brecksville.
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Mitch received his bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and a Master’s degree from Cleveland State University, both in electrical engineering.
OUR STAFF
Renee has been working as Temple Emanu El’s Executive Director since 1997. As a member of the senior professional staff, she functions as the Chief Operating Officer. Renee provides administrative, financial and logistical support to the sacred, social, communal, educational and cultural goals and programs of the Congregation. She is responsible for management of the Congregation’s business affairs, oversees the physical plant, maintains relationships with vendors, and works closely with the Temple leadership and other senior and support staff members.
OUR
VISION
Temple Emanu El is an inclusive, caring community that encourages individuals to discover what it means to be Jewish today and inspires our youth to become the leaders of tomorrow. We empower our congregants to explore their passion for Judaism, lifelong learning, and social action within and beyond our walls.
OUR
MISSION
Temple Emanu El strives to make the practice of Judaism in integral part of its congregants’ lives.
OUR
HISTORY
In the summer of 1947, a new congregation was formed to fulfill a long felt need to have a Reform presence in the Heights area. With the sponsorship of the Union of American Hebrew Congregation (now renamed the Union for Reform Judaism), and direct assistance from The Temple-Tifereth Israel and Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, Temple Emanu El was created.
Dr. Alan S. Green, who was associated with a congregation in Texas, was named rabbi and was to grace our pulpit for thirty years. Irvin Bushman became the first cantor, serving in that capacity from 1947 to 1983. When Religious School Principal Sophie Herman was hired, she became the third pillar of the triad of incredible leadership.
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The new congregation originally met for meetings at the corner of Lee and Van Aken Roads at Moreland School. The founders envisioned a vibrant temple filled with warmth, music, and tradition.
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The earliest members were primarily young, enthusiastic, post-war families living in the epicenter of what was to become a new Jewish neighborhood – the Heights. These families came to embrace their Judaism in a very special way. As a result, the congregation grew rapidly, drawing members from the surrounding neighborhoods.
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TEE offered a full array of vibrant programs and services as well as a Religious School. The school stressed the joy of Judaism and taught students that faith could make a major contribution to the community and to mankind.
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One year after its founding, TEE had a membership of 350 families and a religious school filled with 250 students. By the end of the second year, 500 families had joined the temple and by the end of the third, the school reached an enrollment of 500. During the early years, worship services and special programs were held at both Plymouth Church and the chapel on the Bellefaire campus.
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