100 Years in 100 Days: Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver

Shaker Heights Patch is celebrating the 100 years of Shaker Heights history by creating an online scrapbook. Each day for 100 days, we'll feature a photograph that helps tell the story of Shaker Heights.

Today's photo features Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, an influential religious leader and Zionist who helped establish the nation of Israel.

Rabbi Silver came to Cleveland from New York in 1917, to lead The Temple Tifereth-Israel. Within 10 years, the congregation grew into the largest Reform congregation in the country.

Throughout his life, Silver was a passionate Zionist: he addressed the Federation of American Zionists when he was 16. He became affiliated with Zionists of America in the 1920s, and headed the organization in 1945. Three years later, he advocated before the United Nations for the establishment of the state of Israel.

Silver moved to Shaker Heights in 1943 and lived at 19810 Shaker Blvd. until his death in 1963.

Sources: "We Proudly Hail: A Collection of Biographies of Famous Citizens of Shaker Heights" - Richard Klyver, "Silver, Abba Hillel" - Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

You can join our celebration of Shaker Heights history. Share your memories in the comments. Or upload your photos and we'll feature them in this scrapbook. Follow #ShakerCentennial on Twitter.