SPOTLIGHT ON THE HEIGHTS
APRIL 24, 2026 | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | CJN.ORG 1
SPOTLIGHT ON THE HEIGHTS A Cleveland Jewish News Advertising Special Section
HAC’s Dessler: Cleveland’s Orthodox community is ‘thriving’ MARTHA SOROHAN msorohan@cjn.org “Cleveland’s Orthodox community is thriving,” according to Rabbi Simcha Dessler, menahel/ educational director of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland in Cleveland Heights. He attributes it to numerous factors. “Strong infrastructure, Dessler shared values, potential for community engagement and personal growth and affordability in comparison with other communities, are some of the appeals,” he told the Cleveland Jewish News. The Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s 2022 Cleveland Jewish Population Study released two months ago showed more than 93,000 people living in Jewish Cleveland households. The population is spread among 36,100 Jewish households, or 4.1% of all Cleveland area households, with 73,600 people identifying as Jewish. This figure is a relatively high share compared with other U.S. cities, according to the study. Orthodox Jews make up 14% of Cleveland’s Jewish population, up from 10% in 2011. Dessler said that the Heights’ strong Jewish infrastructure benefits both young and old. “Cleveland’s diverse Jewish community has a reputation to be warm, nurturing, embracing, philanthropic and generous,” he said. “They feel that they are part of something larger than
themselves.” Dessler has lived in Cleveland Heights since 1993, and his position at the Hebrew Academy gives him a front-row seat to area demographics. The academy’s growth in recent years has been significant. “We’ve welcomed between 30 and 70 new families each year,” he said. “Many are second-, third- or fourth-generation students.” While many have grown up in the area, and are enrolling their oldest children at the academy, others are enrolling offspring for what the rabbi calls “the academy experience.” Hebrew Academy of Cleveland is among several Heights-area day schools which also draw families, as do its shuls which are part of its established Jewish communal infrastructure. Cleveland Heights is home to many Orthodox businesses along South Taylor Road, close proximity to Hebrew Academy of Cleveland. “I think the community empowers its residents to feel they are part of something larger than themselves or their families,” Dessler said. “And every family has something to contribute to the community. The families are community-minded and can see how their own family can best contribute as well as benefit from this country’s most wonderful communities.” Dessler encouraged Orthodox families considering moving to this area to do so. “But, I also make it clear that to be successful, they need to come with a plan and a purpose to come for the right reasons,” he said. First and foremost is employment, according to Dessler.
“Our community offers a fabulous sense of belonging, with numerous opportunities for families to thrive here,” he said. “Cleveland’s diverse Jewish community has a reputation to
be warm, nurturing, embracing, philanthropic and generous, with a strong Jewish infrastructure benefitting both young and old – indeed, the entire family.”
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