Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld served as senior rabbi of Anshe Chesed Congregation (Fairmount Temple) in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, from 1958-1986. Throughout his career he played key roles in national and local Jewish organizations and actively fought for civil rights. A native of New York City, Lelyveld received a B.A. from Columbia University in 1933, and was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 1939. From 1939-1944, he served congregations in Hamilton, Ohio, and Omaha, Nebraska. From 1944-1946 he was Executive Director of the Committee on Unity for Palestine, and from 1946-1956 served as Associate National Director, and then National Director, of B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundations. He also played leadership roles in a number of other national Jewish organizations, including American Jewish Congress, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the Synagogue Council of America. On the local Cleveland level, he served in various capacities on the Cleveland Jewish Welfare Fund, the Jewish Community Federation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Cleveland Chapter, and the Cleveland Board of Rabbis. Lelyveld was also the author of Atheism is Dead and of numerous monographs and articles. He was active in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, participating with other Cleveland clergy in voter registration efforts in Mississippi and serving as a minister-counselor to the Council of Federated Organizations under the auspices of the Commission on Race and Religion of the National Council of Churches. While serving in this capacity, Lelyveld was severely beaten. He also delivered the eulogy at the funeral of slain civil rights worker Andrew Goodman in 1964. The collection consists of correspondence, sermons, speeches, writings, and family material.
