10th Annual Unity and Community Award Virtual Brunch Awards Ceremony
Honoring
Dick Bogomolny Sunday, December 6, 2020 Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Tetiev Pogrom
Board of Trustees 2020-21 OFFICERS
Frank Rosenberg - President Dr. Murray Altose - Vice President Dr. David Shafran - Vice President Sherie Frum - Treasurer Muriel Weber - Secretary Noah Leavitt - Rabbi
TRUSTEES
Jo Bruce Nina Chajmovic Neil Frieder Sam Galperin Barry Ginnis
Mickey Greenberg Mar ree field Amalia Haas Mikhail Murdahkaev AnnJoy Pickholtz
Dr. Michael Rothberg David Seltzer Moshe Shapiro Ezra Spero Ali Brand Stern
PAST PRESIDENTS
Shelly Brodsky Anshel Epstein William Hartstein Dr. Stephen Hirschfeld
Joe Klein Stuart Muszynski Marshall Rosenberg Arlene Holz Smith
Muriel Weber Dr. Daniel Worthington
HONORARY LIFETIME TRUSTEES
Irv Auerbach Simon Fixler William Haas Richard Klein Aaron Leizman
Louis Muller Jeffrey Pickholtz Lawrence Schmelzer Dennis Seaman Barbara Seltzer
Frances Senser Anita Weinberg Milton Weinstein Jerry Zahler
Tribute Committee Tribute Committee Co-Chairs
Sam Hoenig Lee Kohrman Milton and Tamar Maltz
Mitchell Balk Chandler Bogomolny Edward and Karen Bogomolny Eva Bogomolny Haley Bogomolny Jackson Bogomolny Julie Bogomolny Mark and Michelle Bogomolny Michael and Pamela Bogomolny Sara Bogomolny Thomas and Taylor Bogomolny Marc S. Byrnes and Oswald Companies Cleveland Institute of Music
2
Albert and Audrey Ratner Robert and Sylvia Reitman
Honorary Tribute Committee The Cleveland Orchestra Matthew and Nicole Delguyd Robert Goldberg Walter and Jean Kalberer Stanley Knapp and Frances Senser Kol Israel Foundation Patricia Kozerefski Rabbi Noah and Dr. Chaya Leavitt Norma Lerner Robert P. Madison Nancy W. McCann Beth E. Mooney Marc and Amy Morgenstern
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
Stuart and Dr. Susan Muszynski Larry and Julia Pollock Chuck and Ilana Horowitz Ratner Frank and Beth Rosenberg Peter and Aliki Rzepka Michael and Arlene Smith Richard and Emily Smucker Jim and Myrna Spira Will and Jan Sukenik Muriel Weber Stanley and Dr. Sally Wertheim Tim and Sandy Wuliger Jerry Zahler * Committee members at time of printing
Welcome Dear Friends, We are incredibly excited to celebrate with you the 10th annual presentation of Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai Synagogue’s Unity and Community Award. We look forward to an inspiring program as we recognize the achievements of our honoree and celebrate the synagogue’s history. We have the distinct privilege to pay tribute to a remarkable leader in our community, Dick Bogomolny. Dick’s philanthropic efforts have had a wide-ranging impact on the Jewish community and on the wider Greater Cleveland community. He has served as the chairman of the Musical Arts Association, which oversees the Cleveland Orchestra, is a former vice-chairman of the board of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and is the founding chairman of the Negev Foundation. Dick’s family has a long association with Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai. Many of the synagogue’s founders were Jews who came to Cleveland to escape persecution in the city of Tetiev in Ukraine; among them were Dick’s grandparents. They established the Tetiever Shul in Glenville, and as a child Dick attended services there on the Jewish holidays. As the Jewish community moved east, the congregation moved to a location at Ma field a d arre s lle roads a d t e to ts urre t lo at o as eb ede Cedar a o Cedar oad in Lyndhurst. This year is also the 100th anniversary of a pogrom that devastated the Jewish community of Tetiev. The pogrom marked the end of centuries of Jewish life in Tetiev and many of the survivors immigrated to Cleveland. Our event will also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the pogrom and the resilience of the survivors. This story is especially relevant to today, as we witness the rise of anti-Semitism around the world. In these challenging times, we hope we all will be able to take inspiration from the achievements of our honoree and the strength of the generations that came before us. Warm regards,
Rabbi Noah Leavitt
Albert and Audrey Ratner
Milt and Tamar Maltz
Lee Kohrman Bob and Sylvia Reitman
Lee Kohrman
Sam Hoenig
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
3
RICHARD J. BOGOMOLNY
R
ichard Joseph Bogomolny was born in Cleveland, Ohio on January 17,1935. His parents were also born in Cleveland, to parents who escaped the pogroms of Russia/Ukraine. Along with younger brother Robert, he was raised as a Reform Jew and became a Bar Mitzvah and was o firmed at u l d e ue emple o s e C esed a rmou t emple ea ood o Dick graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1953 where he was named “Outstanding Graduate,” after being captain and quarterback of the football team and concertmaster of the orchestra. He attended Harvard University for two years, majoring in economics. Upon the sudden death of his father Michael at age 47 in June 1955, Dick returned to Cleveland in order to operate the am l bus ess t e a le e Cream Compa t his recently widowed mother, Hilda. While working dur t e da to de elop a le to t e lar est and most modern ice cream manufacturing facility in Northeastern Ohio, Dick attended Western Reserve University, at night and graduated with a B.A. degree ls a lasses at t a d dur the summers, in 1961, he received a Doctor of Law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall Law School, Cleveland State University. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1961 and to the Federal bar in 1962. e a le e Cream Compa as mer ed to s er oods a Cle ela d ood chain, and Dick became a Division Vice President, a d e e tuall ss sta t to t e C e left Fisher Foods and joined Mr. Julie Kravitz in the purchase of Pick-N-Pay Supermarkets, a chain of 57 stores with $200 million in sales. He was elected Vice res de t e retar reasurer a d a member o t e Board of Directors. Dick was elected President and C ul at a e a mer ed with First National Stores (235 stores) of New York a d e la d to be ome o e o t e lar est food retailers in the country. Dick became President a dC o t e result orporat o rst at o al upermar ets Ma ollo t e u t mel deat o ul e Kravitz, who had been killed in a failed kidnapping and extortion attempt, Dick assumed additional dut es as C a rma o t e oard e loss o ul e Kravitz, who was like a second father to Dick and had been the marketing genius behind the company, was a huge personal and professional loss. First National eventually became a privately held company and sold controlling interest to Royal Ahold NV, now one
4
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
of the world’s largest food retailers. Dick remained as C a rma a d C u t l e ret red o December 31, 1991. By that time, company sales exceeded $2.2 billion and it had 14,000 employees in a nine-state operation. Prior to his retirement, Dick served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Food Marketing st tute a d as a re tor o t e o Cou l o Retail Merchants. He was also a member of Cleveland omorro o o as e reater Cle ela d art ers p t e or a at o o C s represe t the area’s largest corporations and dedicated to revitalizing Northeastern Ohio. Both before and following his retirement, Dick has been actively engaged in a wide range of philanthropic endeavors, re e t s last omm tme t to Cle ela d l e t e arts t e state o srael a d e s l e Dick’s lifelong passion for classical music has inspired his extensive involvement in the Musical Arts Association/Cleveland Orchestra. He has been a trustee for 29 years, serving both as its President a d C a rma a d as amed C a rma mer tus e ra d o er at e era e all s amed Dick’s and wife Patricia’s honor in recognition of their philanthropy.
Dick is the Founding Chairman of the Negev Foundation, established over 30 years ago to support high tech agricultural research developed in Ramat Negev, Israel. Among the research center’s many successes is the development of ways to grow superior fruits and vegetables using brackish (salty) water from 3,000 feet below the Negev Desert instead of fresh water which is a scarce commodity in the Middle East. Currently, the Foundation is leading the Ohio-Israel Initiative, a series of joint efforts between Ohio and Israeli farmers and agricultural scientists, in conjunction with the Ohio State Department of Agriculture and The Ohio State University Department of Agriculture. The Foundation has sent over 350 Ohio farmers and ele ted o fi als to srael to s are te olo a d establish relationships leading to commerce between Ohio and Israel. Dick has held leadership positions and been involved in countless other organizations, including Greater Cleveland Foodbank, Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Anti-Defamation League, Mt. Sinai Foundation, Chamber Music America, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Case Western Reserve University. He has also received numerous awards in recognition of his tireless efforts on behalf of the many causes he supports. These include the Cleveland Orchestra’s Distinguished Service Award, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Charles Eisenman Award and Gries Family Award, the Key to the City of Cleveland presented by Mayor Michael White, the Jewish National Fund’s Tree of Life Award and Cleveland Heights High School’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Chamber Music America named its highest award in honor of Dick. He has also performed as Principal Viola and soloist with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra.
One project that was a highlight of Dick’s philanthropic efforts and captured several of his interests and talents was the Violins of Hope. These violins, which had survived the Holocaust and were lovingly restored in Israel by master violin maker Amnon Weinstein, were brought to Cleveland in the fall of 2015. Dick chaired an unprecedented consortium of the area’s institutional powerhouses who joined forces to teach the lessons of the Holocaust and genocide through the story of the violins. Key sponsors included Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, The Cleveland Orchestra, Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Institute of Music, Ideastream and Facing History and Ourselves. Other partners were Kol Israel Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Jewish Film Festival, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Diocese of Cleveland Schools, and most of the area’s other public school systems and private schools. The program’s inaugural event was a Cleveland Orchestra concert showcasing the violins and featuring music that Jews had been forbidden to play in Nazi-occupied Europe. The event also marked the dedication of Silver Hall, in the new Maltz Performing Arts Center at Case Western Reserve University. The concert was followed by the opening of a specially curated exhibition of the violins and their stories at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. There were 90 concerts, lectures, classes, live stream video, and other activities connected to the program. Dick has been married for 33 years to Patricia M. Kozerefski, a glass artist and former physical therapist. They are the parents of Julie Xing Bogomolny, and Dick’s three sons, Mike, Mark and Edward. Seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren complete the family.
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
5
History of Tetiev
old synagogue
T
etiev is a small town in today’s Ukraine (formerly Russia), about 70 miles southwest of Kiev. The town was established by Catherine the Great, in the late 1700s. Before World War I, about 7,000 Jews lived in Tetiev.
A small group of Tetiever Jews came to Cleveland before the turn of the 20th century, and in 1899, established the Tetiever Verein (social club) later known as the Tetiever Social and Benevolent Society. More Jews from Tetiev joined their fellow townsmen in Cleveland in the early years of the 20th century, as many Jews left the hardship and persecution of eastern Europe for freedom and economic opportunity in America. The Society evolved into the Tetiever Ahavath Achim Anshe Sfard Congregation in 1910. The congregation met for religious services in members’ homes, until 1911, when a house was purchased on East 40th Street near Woodland Avenue. A synagogue was built on the property in 1914, and the congregation remained at that location until 1927. Following World War I, those Jews who had remained in Tetiev (including many family members of those settled in Cleveland) faced increased poverty and a series of devastating pogroms. In 1919-20, there were a number of attacks on Tetiev’s Jews by roving groups of bandits, including some with varying allegiances to Ukrainian and Bolshevik military forces. During these attacks, Jewish businesses and homes were looted and burned. Women were raped. People of all ages were murdered. e fi al destru t o ame Mar earl people were killed over the course of a couple of days. The
6
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
History of Tetiev
new synagogue most devastating loss came in the main synagogue. Two thousand people took shelter in the building, thinking they ould be sa e ut t e s a o ue as set o fire a d all those inside perished, except for perhaps 10 people who miraculously escaped. Virtually the entire town was destroyed. The Red Army put a stop to the pogrom and evacuated the remaining 1,500 Jews to a nearby town. In 1922, the Cleveland synagogue sent agents to Odessa, K e a d surrou d areas to see sur ors o t e fi al pogrom and assist them in coming to Cleveland. Several families were reunited through these efforts. As Cleveland’s Jews moved further east from the central city area, the synagogue purchased property on Linn Drive in the Glenville neighborhood and a new synagogue was built and dedicated in 1927. Rabbi Mordechai Landa, a Tetiev native, as t e o re at o s first ullt me sp r tual leader ser rom t e a fil ated roups lude t e et e er Ladies Aid Society and Young Women’s Relief Society, which assisted new immigrants from Tetiev; the Tetiever Ladies Auxiliary which raised funds; and the United Tetiever Service Organization which kept in contact with Tetievers serving in the armed forces during World War II. As Jews migrated to the eastern suburbs, the congregation purchased property on Warrensville Center Road, near Ma field e r e propert as sold er es were held in a house on the property until a new building was completed in 1957. In 1959, the Kinsman Jewish Center and Congregation N’vai Zedek merged with the Tetiev congregation to form the Warrensville Center Synagogue. The Tetiev community’s proud, resilient legacy is carried on today at Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai Synagogue.
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
7
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our sponsors:
Presenting Sponsor
Stanley Knapp & Frances Senser
Resilience Sponsor Dick Bogomolny & Pattie Kozerefski
Norma Lerner
Muriel Weber
Richard & Emily Smucker
Community Sponsor Walter & Jean Kalberer
Milton & Tamar Maltz
Albert & Audry Ratner
Video Sponsor Beth Mooney
Jim & Myrna Spira
Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai Synagogue is also grateful to all those who contributed to pay tribute to Dick Bogomolny and to honor our cause.
Unity and Community Windows at Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai Synagogue
8
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
9
First, I thank the general co-chairs who have not only been personal friends but also people with whom I have worked on many projects within our community over these many years.
I also want to thank the generous donors who contributed, perhaps for the first time, to Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai’s Modern Orthodox Congregation, and those who will take the time to join the broadcast on Sunday, December 6th, during the Virtual Brunch Awards Ceremony. Special regards to Rabbi Noah Leavitt, and the congregation leadership. I was impressed by the openness of the congregation in welcoming and doing projects with people of all faiths and religious beliefs.You have really defined the meaning of Modern Orthodox. Most of all, I want to thank my wife, Pattie, without whose support, for many reasons, I would not be here today.
I am deeply honored to have been selected to receive the Unity and Community Award. I was raised as a Reform Jew and for decades have been a member of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple. So, what is my relationship to Cedar Sinai? It started out innocently with a discussion with Stuart Muszynski about early memories of my mother, Hilda. She used to take my brother and me to visit our only grandparent, Leah Berkowitz, my mother’s mother, during the Jewish High Holy Days at the Tetiever Shul on Linn Drive in the Glenville area of Cleveland. As was the tradition, the women sat upstairs and the men downstairs. Grandma Leah would stop praying and show us off to the other women, who did the exact same thing when their children and grandchildren visited. At one point, Stuart invited me to come to the new Cedar Sinai Synagogue to see the glass windows which depicted the history of the four congregations that came together to become a single congregation, one of which was the Tetiever Shul. Last year, he told me that 2020 would be the 100th anniversary of the Tetiev pogrom, one of the most tragic events in Jewish history, thirteen years before Hitler came to power. He wanted me to be the recipient of the Unity and Community Award as Cedar Sinai remembered the pogrom. They were also celebrating the resilience against anti-Semitism through those people who had a connection with Tetiev and had settled in Cleveland to make a better life for themselves and their families. I began to research the Tetiev pogrom. Pogrom is a Russian word meaning “to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.” Some of these, on a much smaller scale than the Tetiev pogrom, had been occurring since the 1880s and continued on after the overthrow of the Tsar, the end of WWI and the formation of the Soviet Union into the 1920s. They were perpetrated only against Jews and were carried out only by non-Jewish people, instigated by a handful of outsiders, against the Jewish neighbors and included killings, rapes, stealing of house contents and then burning down of the Jewish houses. There was not only horror visited on the victims, but this created a situation in which there were many orphans, wives without husbands, husbands without wives, and other social destruction with no infrastructure left to act as support for the victims. At this point, Muriel Weber, whom I had met through her work at Kol Israel Foundation and who is a leader at Cedar Sinai, began to send me information tracing my family history. It turns out that my real connection to Tetiev was not on my maternal grandmother’s side, but it was with my great-grandparents and grandparents on my father’s side. They had lived in and migrated from Tetiev in the early 1900s to escape what was going on. It is unclear why they came to Cleveland, but they joined others who had escaped ahead of the pogrom of 1920 to be joined by the very few who had survived it. Muriel’s research found a plaque commemorating those who had died, trapped in the burning synagogue of Tetiev. The plaque was created by the few descendants of those who perished. On it are two columns, one with the family name and the other listing the number of those family members who perished. There are five members of the Bogomolny family, spelled exactly as is my name, and that is my connection and is why I agreed to participate to become today’s honoree.
Many thanks to all of you. Richard J. Bogomolny
10
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
Resilience Sponsor
Dick, Congratulations on receiving the Unity and Community Award! You are an inspiration to all of us. We are honored and proud to support you! Best wishes, Mrs. Norma Lerner Resilience Sponsor
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
11
Mazel Tov Dick on the well-deserved Unity and Community Award! Your leadership and accomplishments are inspiring.
Love, Muriel 12
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
Resilience Sponsor
Congratulations for this well-deserved recognition to Dick Bogomolny who has been a wonderful example on how to live a life of accomplishment and service to all of humanity. In great appreciation, Emily and Richard Smucker
Resilience Sponsor
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
13
Mazel Tov, Dick! Your unassuming leadership in the faith, arts, and Jewish cultural and heritage communities is a true inspiration for us all. We are blessed to count you as a dear friend.
Milton & Tamar Maltz
Congratulations to our dear friend
Dick,
on this well-deserved honor! We are proud of all your accomplishments and we are honored to support you.
With Best Wishes, Walter and Jean Kalberer 14
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
COMMUNITY Sponsor
COMMUNITY Sponsor
Dick, L’Dor V’Dor From Generation to Generation
A proud heritage and remarkable life accomplishments. You are the best! Mazel Tov, Audrey and Albert Ratner
Greetings X
Tom and Joanie Adler Jacob and Eve Bannet Allan and Sheila Farkas Rina Frankel Howard and Sherie Frum David J. & Nancy H. Hooker Alex Machaskee Marc and Amy Morgenstern
Mitchell Balk and Mt. Sinai Healthcare Foundation Robert and Sylvia Reitman Schmelzer Brothers, Realty & Investments Larry and Lynn Schmelzer Sharon Schmelzer Joseph and Marla Shafran David and Marsha Tavens Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
15
Dick , Congratulations on being honored with the Unity and Community Award . Your resilience , your commitment and your passion inspires us all . Beth Mooney
16
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
VIDEO Sponsor
Dear Dick, You represent the best of our community in servant leadership, devotion to the welfare of the general community and devotion to the welfare of the Jewish community. You clearly are a reflection of your Tetiever roots, the resilience of the Jewish people against anti-Semitism, the core values of the Greater Cleveland community and the aspiration to perform Tikkun Olam (Repair the World). With Love and Admiration, Stuart and Susan Muszynski Values-in-Action Foundation
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
17
We are so glad to offer our congratulations to
DICK BOGOMOLNY on being this year’s recipient of the Unity & Community Award. Considering all the time and treasure you have bestowed upon causes in Cleveland, Israel and elsewhere, you are truly a role model for us all. We are so happy to have you as part of our shul’s Tetiever family. May your generosity and spirit continue to motivate others to help our people throughout the world.
Frank and Beth Rosenberg 18
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
We are grateful for all you do for our community and world! Chuck and Ilana Horowitz Ratner
To Richard J. Bogomolny This, then, is a Tzadik: one in whom we see our true selves, who allows us to realize that each one of us is essentially divine. And so, just by being there, but especially by our bonding with him, he connects us to the G-d who breathes within each one of us. Health, Happiness & Peace The Negev Foundation Family
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
19
Dick, Congratulations on receiving the Unity and Community Award. May you be blessed with health and happiness!
Our best wishes to you, Stanley and Dr. Sally Wertheim
Our thanks and gratitude to CIM Board Chair Emeritus
Dick Bogomolny for his decades of service to the Greater Cleveland community.
20
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
Richard, We are very fortunate to have you do what you do for our community and for your selfless good deeds of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.
Fondly, Jan and Will Sukenik
Dick ,
Congratulating you on all your efforts on behalf of the Orchestra, Community and Humanity.
Bob Madison Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
21
Dear Dick, The Cleveland Orchestra congratulates Dick Bogomolny on receiving the Oheb ZedekCedar Sinai Unity and Community Award. His passion for the Jewish and Northeast Ohio communities continues to be an inspiration to us all, and we are deeply grateful for his leadership. Congratulations, Dick.
Pictured: The Richard J. Bogomolny and Patricia M. Kozerefski Grand Foyer at Severance Hall
Dick, You deserve this award for all you do for our community and for the State of Israel! Aliki and Peter Rzepka 22
Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
Our congratulations to you on receiving this most deserving award! We are inspired by your commitment and service to the community. May you go from strength to strength!
Sincerely, Julia and Larry Pollock
Dick,
Congratulations to you on receiving this honor! Best wishes,
Jerry Zahler
Mazel Tov to Dick Bogomolny on this well-deserved honor!
Thank you for your years of leadership and dedication to our community.
On behalf of Oswald Companies 450 employee owners, we are humbled and honored to recognize our special friend and loyal client, Richard Bogomolny, as this year’s recipient of the annual Unity and Community Award. Marc S. Byrnes Company Chairman Emeritus Oswald Companies
Rabbi Noah and Dr. Chaya Leavitt
Yasher Koach to DICK BOGOMOLNY A true friend of Cleveland’s Holocaust Survivor Community.
Thank you, Dick,
for all that you have done and continue to do.
The David and Inez Myers Foundation Unity & community virtual brunch 2020
23
*During cal synagogue which the thenTetiever Pogrom o set on fire. Most perished started newwas lives.
$10,000
The Officers and Board of Presenting Oheb Zedek-Cedar Sinai Sponsor are honored to Congratulate
• Bogomolny Special recognition at Richard e at the event • thisLogo on front cover o being year’s recipient page of theonCJN book of our Unity & tribute Community Award. •personify Welcoming or tribute You what it means invitation • forFull page ad to care one’s community, here in Cleveland, • Logo on tribute video greater America and Israel. and delivered boxed 8 invites to virtual eve We admire•and respect your dedication to ensuring the successfor 8 brunch of so many organizations and are happy to have you as part of our Tetiever family.
$2,500
Community Sponsor
• ribute book as•
Listing on tribute vide Listing on inside of inv
23749 Cedar Road, Lyndhurst, OH 44122 • Phone: 216-382-6566 • www.oz-cedarsinai.org • E: office@oz-cedarsinai.org