Finding aid for the Libbie L. Braverman Papers, Series III


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Braverman, Libbie L.
Title: Libbie L. Braverman Papers, Series III
Dates: 1936-1963
Extent: 0.40 linear feet (1 container)
Abstract: Libbie L. Braverman was a nationally prominent teacher, author, lecturer, and consultant in the field of Jewish education. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio, while in high school. She received a teaching certificate from Cleveland Normal School (ca. 1920) and a B.S. in Education from Western Reserve University in 1933. From 1946-1952 she was director of the Euclid Avenue Temple School and in 1945, became the first woman elected to the Board of the National Council for Jewish Education. She wrote numerous books and articles, including many co-authored with Nathan Brilliant. She was married to architect Sigmund Braverman in 1924. The collection consists of a curriculum, manuals for teachers, pageants, and a workbook.
MS Number MS 5169
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

Biography of Libbie L. Braverman

Libbie Levin Braverman (1900 1990) was a nationally prominent teacher, author, lecturer, and consultant in the field of Jewish education. Braverman was the daughter of Orthodox Rabbi Morris A. Levin. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, the family relocated several times before moving to Cleveland, Ohio. Braverman's father encouraged Libbie's interest in Jewish education and, in addition to tutoring that she received from him, she studied Hebrew and Torah at the Talmud Torah in Chicago where she was often the only girl in the class. When Braverman was in high school, the Levin family moved to Cleveland where Rabbi Levin served the congregation Anshe Grodno and headed the Community Hebrew Schools, and Libbie began teaching Hebrew at Euclid Avenue Temple (Anshe Chesed), a Reform congregation, and B'nai Jeshurun, a Conservative congregation.

Braverman received a teaching certificate from Cleveland Normal School (ca. 1920) and a B.S. degree in Education from Western Reserve University (1933). After teaching and supervising at the Euclid Avenue Temple school, one of the largest in the country, she served as director from 1946 1952. Throughout her career she did educational consulting, lectured, and led educational institutes throughout the United States. Beginning in 1931 she visited Palestine/Israel eighteen times, trips that provided material for many of her books and articles. In 1924 she married Sigmund Braverman, an architect, who became a partner in the firm of Braverman and Halperin, best known for its synagogue buildings. (See WRHS MS 3807, Sigmund Braverman Papers, MS 4537, Sigmund Braverman Papers, Series II, and PG 210, Sigmund Braverman Photographic Collection.)

In 1945 Libbie Braverman became the first woman elected to the Board of the National Council for Jewish Education and, in 1952, the first woman engaged to lecture by the Jewish Chautauqua Society. She was the author of two children's books, Children of Emek (1937, 1964) and Children of Freedom (1953), and an autobiography, Libbie (1986). In addition, she was the co author of at least eight other books and the author or co author of numerous articles. Among the publications that Braverman co authored with Nathan Brilliant (principal of the Euclid Avenue Temple school from 1927 1946, and director of the Bureau of Education from 1946 to 1960), were the following books: Religious Pageants for the Jewish School (1941), High Holy Days Children Services (1943), Children's Services for Sabbath, Holiday and Special Occasions (1948), and Activities in the Religious School (1951). In 1969 Braverman and Rabbi Samuel M. Silver co authored a book for adolescents, The Six Day Warriors: An Introduction to Those Who Gave Israel Its Vigor and Its Victories. Libbie Braverman received honors from numerous Jewish groups and, in her later years, established several educational awards and funds in Jewish centers and schools both in America and in Israel.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Libbie Levin Braverman


Scope and Content

The Libbie L. Braverman Papers, Series III, 1936-1963 and undated, consist of a curriculum, manuals for teachers, pageants, and a workbook.

This collection is of value to researchers studying the development of Jewish education in twentieth century America. Libbie Braverman was a pioneer in this field in Cleveland, Ohio, primarily at Anshe Chesed Congregation (formerly Euclid Avenue Temple), and throughout the United States; the materials she prepared reflect the development of her career throughout the mid twentieth century. Those with an interest in Zionist education before the establishment of the state of Israel will find the collection of value.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by document type and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 4566 Libbie L. Braverman Papers; 4812 Libbie L. Braverman Papers, Series II; and PG 508 Sigmund and Libbie L. Braverman Photographs.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Anshe Chesed Congregation (Cleveland, Ohio)
Braverman, Libbie L. (Libbie Levin), 1900-
Jewish educators -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Jewish religious education -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Jewish religious schools -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Jewish teachers -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Jewish women -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland
Women -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5169 Libbie L. Braverman Papers, Series III, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Alan Bennett in 2010.

Processing Information

Processed by Lifsa Schachter and Sean Martin in 2013.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Libbie L. Braverman Papers, Series III 1936-1963 undated

Box Folder
1 1 Curriculum, Euclid Avenue Temple Religious School undated
1 2 Manuals, for parents, teachers, youth workers on Chanukah; for teachers of teaching Hebrew reading; and for Young Judea youth leaders commemorating Palestine Day in 1936 1936 undated
1 3 Pageants, Religious Pageants for the Jewish School, by Nathan Brilliant and Libbie Braverman 1941
1 4 Pageants, With Lifted Hands..., A Choral Pageant concerning Jews in America, on the 300th Anniversary, National Federation of Temple Youth 1954
1 5 Pageants, "The Work of Her Hands", by Libbie Braverman, Renee Katz, and Rena Newman, on the 50th Anniversary of Hadassah 1963
1 6 Workbook, for "Children of the Emek," revised 1950
1 7 Workbook, Supplement to Activities in the Religious School 1950
1 8 Workbook, Teach Me to Pray 1955
1 9 Workbook, Teach Me to Pray 1957