I remember growing up in a loving and caring Jewish family with immigrant parents who found freedom in America… who instilled us with Jewish values, who believed in tzedakah and the Jewish way of life.  I remember my childhood days at Camp Wise where my sister, Margie, and I were given the opportunity to enjoy camping and make lifelong friends… made possible through a subsidy from the Jewish Community Federation.

I remember attending the Cleveland Hebrew School, also subsidized by the Jewish Community Federation, and becoming a bar mitzvah.  I remember that my older brother, David, and his wife, Violet, helped to support our family during my father’s years of illness with cancer.  I remember my mother paying my first semester tuition (although she could not afford to ) so I could attend Western Reserve University and obtain my B.A. degree.

I remember returning from the service with the U.S. Air Force after the Korean War and becoming involved with the Federation and Israel Bonds, enthusiastically supporting its exciting campaigns and programs.  I remember my commitment as a young man to “give back” to a community that has been good to my family and me. I remember my commitment to “give back,” so those whose families are unable to help as mine did, can get by.

All these memories have motivated me to strengthen my tradition of tzedakah, thus insuring the continuity of the Jewish people.  It is a privilege to participate in the Endowment Book of Life, enabling our Federation to remain strong and viable in these changing times and in the decades to come.  We hope that our two children and our five grandchildren will be inspired by our legacy gift, that they will see first-hand the meaning of tikkun olam, that they will be blessed in their lives and follow in our example of love of Judaism and the State of Israel.