Finding aid for the Armond E. Cohen Papers, Series II

Biography of Armond E. Cohen

Rabbi Armond E. Cohen (1909-2007) was the Distinguished Service Rabbi of Park Synagogue (Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo) in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where he had served since 1934. Born in Canton, Ohio, Cohen was orphaned as a consequence of the influenza pandemic of 1918. Sent to live with his grandparents in Cleveland, Cohen became a congregant of his grandparents' synagogue, Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo. After graduation from Glenville High School, Cohen, with the significant aid of a scholarship from the sisterhood of his synagogue, studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) in New York City. Completing his studies in 1934 at the age of twenty-six, Cohen returned to Cleveland to become the rabbi of the Cleveland Jewish Center (Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo).

Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo Synagogue, following its membership, relocated in 1922 from East 37th Street and Woodland Avenue to a newly constructed building on East 105th Street and Grantwood Avenue. The building, with many facilities, including a swimming pool, was named the Cleveland Jewish Center.

In 1934 Cohen married Anne Lederman, a Cleveland childhood friend. They had three children, Rebecca (Mrs. Charles Long), Deborah (d. 1963), and Samuel, a resident of Israel since ca. 1980. It was during the period of Cohen's tenure following World War II that Cleveland's Jewish population shifted from Cleveland proper to its eastern suburbs. Under the leadership of Cohen, the congregation relocated to Cleveland Heights and constructed its present synagogue, Park Synagogue, designed by Erich Mendelsohn. The building and the spacious grounds around it have been cited numerous times in architectural writings. During this same period, Cohen led in the establishing of Park Hebrew School, Park Day Camp, Park Nursery School, and the Lillian Ratner Montessori School. Until its shift in affiliation from Orthodox to Conservative Judaism in the mid-1920s, Anshe Emeth was the largest Orthodox Jewish congregation in Cleveland. Into the 1970s Park Synagogue was the largest Conservative Jewish congregation in the United States. Park Synagogue East opened in Pepper Pike at Brainard and Shaker Boulevard in 2005. The Mendelsohn building in Cleveland Heights remains the main site of the congregation as of 2017.
Click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Park Synagogue

Scope and Content

The Armond E. Cohen Papers, Series II, 1918-2003 and undated, consist of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, notes, programs, reports, sermon outlines, sermons and writings.

The collection is of value to researchers studying rabbis, the Jewish community, Conservative Judaism, and religious institutions between the 1930s and 1990s in Cleveland, Ohio, and the United States in general. Those interested in the activities of Rabbi Armond Cohen and the history of Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, will find this collection useful.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 4763 Park Synagogue Records; PG 488 Park Synagogue Photographs; and MS 4957 Armond E. Cohen Papers.

All photographs have been removed to the WRHS photograph and print collection, and all audio-visual material has been removed to the WRHS audio-visual collections.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5145 Armond E. Cohen Papers, Series II, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Samuel J. Cohen in 2007 and Park Synagogue in 2012.

Processing Information

Processed by Stanley Lasky in 2012.

Detailed Description of The Collection