Nine years ago today our teacher, mentor and friend Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman, z”l, founding president of what was then known as the Wexner Heritage Foundation, died at the age of 89. We are honored to commemorate Herb’s yahrzeit with the announcement of a remarkable project that will enable Herb’s extraordinary legacy of service to the Jewish people and the State of Israel to endure in perpetuity.
Our chairmen, Les and Abigail Wexner, have generously sponsored the digitization of Herb’s collection of writings, papers and artifacts, under the auspices of the American Jewish Archives, on the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The complete record of Rabbi Friedman’s life and career is now available and searchable for scholars and students worldwide via the internet.
“Herb’s friendship and leadership inspired me, his friendship and counsel meant the world to both of us. I miss him," said Les Wexner of Rabbi Friedman. “We are honored to support this effort to ensure that his legacy is preserved for future generations of Jewish leaders and scholars.”
All of us in The Wexner Foundation’s orbit are blessed to have benefited from the vision and leadership that Herb exercised in partnering with Les to strengthen leadership in the Jewish world. The Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman collection is a rich trove which covers each phase of his life and career, including not only his work at Wexner but also his service as an Army chaplain in the aftermath of World War II, in the Haganah and its efforts to create the State of Israel and decades at the helm of UJA.
The collection is available for browsing here and the American Jewish Archives has also issued a press release.
We are grateful to the Wexners for their generosity in making this resource available and to the outstanding and professional staff at the American Jewish Archives who brought it to fruition. May Rabbi Friedman’s life and leadership continue to inspire us all, and may his memory be a blessing.
If anyone would like any assistance in finding materials relating to the Friedman collection, please contact the AJA at kproffitt@huc.edu or by phone at 513-487-3000.
