THE MALTZ MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE; Beachwood, Ohio

If you would like a day trip that transports you both in time and space, try The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood, Ohio. I have driven past this place a thousand times on my way to the Beachwood Mall and Legacy Village. Located on Richmond Road midway between Chagrin Blvd. and Cedar Road, it is easy to miss as it is built down into a ridge. But the “wow” factor hits you when you turn into the driveway. It is quite a complex.

Here is a place I would never have thought to visit. Although the neighborhood I grew up in was ethnically mixed, with the vast majority of my neighbors being either Jewish, Greek or Irish, mostly Jewish, my sense was that the Maltz was just another boring, local museum. Last summer, there was some publicity in the local paper that The Maltz Museum was a hosting a traveling exhibit featuring pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Not knowing when I would get another opportunity to see segments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, my wife and I and some friends drove to Cleveland to see the exhibit.

The Maltz Museum was opened in 2005. It is a beautiful and impressive 24,000 sq. ft. facility, certainly a worthy center for preserving Jewish history and archiving the Jewish contribution to Northeast Ohio. It is the progeny of Milton Maltz, a media mogul whose home was Cleveland, and now is operated through a consortium consisting of The Maltz Family Foundation, The Temple–Tifereth Israel, The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, and the Western Reserve Historical Society.

It was clear from the minute one enters the building that this is a world class museum. While the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit was interesting, it is the museum’s 2 major permanent exhibits, the American Story and the Temple-Tifereth Israel Gallery, that knock your socks off.

The American Story chronicles the migration of the Jews to Northeast Ohio. It is the quintessential immigrant story told in pictures, artifacts, and multi-media interactive displays. Whether you are Jewish, or of Italian extraction like me, or any other immigrant group, the story hits home as you wander through the twists and turns of the exhibit’s labyrinth pathways. It doesn’t tell the Jewish story. It tells the American story. Towards the end of the exhibit there is a section dedicated to World War II, and a Holocaust exhibit that hits just the right balance.

The Temple-Tifereth Israel Exhibit is a stunning collection of Jewish artifacts. These are not only impressive for their historical value, but as items of art and beauty. The Exhibit is filled with tapestries, ritual silver and pottery and china, scrolls, paintings and statuary, the most exquisite Jewish art from all over the world. It will leave you awe struck.

Our mistake was not allowing ourselves sufficient time to appreciate all that this museum has to offer. If you visit, allow yourself at least 4 hours to do any kind of justice to these exhibits.

Located in the heart of Beachwood, there are plenty of restaurants to visit…but to keep the Jewish theme intact, try Corky and Lenny’s just east of the freeway on Chagrin Boulevard.

The Maltz Museum is located at 2929 Richmond Road @ Shaker Boulevard; Beachwood, Ohio. Telephone: 216-593-0575. The museum is opened 11–5 on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. It is opened Wednesday 11-9; Saturday 12-5. Closed on Monday. There is an admission fee between $7.00-$12.00 based on the nature of the special exhibits. Worth every penny!!