Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Stella Fried considers Cincinnati her home away from home. Stella graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2024 with a BA in Film with a focus in Screenwriting and a Minor in Deaf Studies. Stella puts her film, writing and graphic design skills to use building up her family business’s online presence. A life-long learner, Stella strives to learn something new every day. You can also find Stella behind the desk at the Downtown Main Library, where they are happy to answer your questions. When not working, Stella can be found with a book in one hand and a knitting or crochet project in the other.
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Covedale Cemetery rededication
By Stella Fried
Contributing Writer
One hundred and seventy-six. That’s how many gravesites were vandalized at the Beth Hamedrash Haggadol and the Tifereth Israel cemeteries in the Covedale complex in June 2024. This week, on June 8, 2025, after a year of dedicated hard work from Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati (JCGC) and many wonderful volunteers and donors from across the country and world, nearly all of those 176 gravesites have been restored, with the final part of the restoration to be complete by the end of summer.
The connection to the number 176 runs deeper than the gravesites. Rabbi Yosef Alt of Golf Manor Synagogue explained that Parashat Naso is the longest Torah portion at 176 verses. In a complete act of Besheret, Naso was the Torah portion read on the weekend of the rededication.
176 can also be broken down into twenty-two times eight. There are 22 letters that make up the Aleph-Bet, that spell the words in our Torah and Siddurim that can connect our people together. Eight represents new beginnings, like the renewal of one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is rich with Jewish history, and Carrie Rhodus, JCGC Operations Manager, made sure to impart some of that history on the attendees. The Covedale Cemetery complex has several noted figures, from Dov Behr Manischewitz, the founder of Manischewitz, to Bernard Marks, who brought more than four thousand people to the Land of Israel on the ship The Exodus as part of Aliyah Bet.
By looking at the past, we can understand our future. In Judaism, every life is important. Every person buried in Covedale Cemetery complex deserves to be remembered and loved. Thanks to JCGC and their wonderful partners across the globe, Covedale Cemetery complex remains a place for our community to remember those who came before us, and to honor those who go on to call Covedale Cemetery complex their forever home.
