Each month, Jstyle will highlight a Jewish Clevelander who is a young professional striving to make a living in the CLE while adapting Judaism to work with his or her modern lifestyle.
This month, we found Bryan Stone, a 27-year old real estate lawyer. Stone, who now resides in downtown Cleveland, is a member of The Temple-Tifereth Israel in downtown. He appreciates everything from fine art to travel to sports having strong allegiances to the Cleveland Browns and Ohio State Buckeyes.
Find out more about Stone’s modern Jewish living–including his handcrafted Kosher laws–to why he wants to stay in the CLE with his future Jewish wife.
Tell me about your Jewish background/education.
I started off at Park Synagogue preschool. I went to Orange High School and did Hebrew high school. I had my bar mitzvah at The Temple downtown. It’s a landmark. It’s one of my favorite buildings anywhere. It’s an example of Phoenician art deco. It’s art deco, and we’re in Cleveland–you don’t see that a lot!
You are an appreciator of art.
I am. I’m kind of a dork when it comes to stuff like that.
What did you study in college?
I was a political theory and constitutional democracy major at Michigan State. Basically, I had to go to law school. I went to law school at Ohio State.
Do you feel a special connection to OSU? I know many people who do.
I do. I feel like in Cleveland you’re usually connected to Cleveland sports teams, but I don’t know. There’s something about being at an OSU game. The pageantry and everyone just screaming is crazy. I’m so excited that Urban Meyer is our coach.
What about Cleveland sports?
I am a die hard Browns fan, which is depressing sometimes. I have been in the Dawg Pound, and it was the scariest thing ever. I was surrounded by three really, really drunk guys that would not sit down. I was like 14 and snuck in. These guys were jumping up in their chairs, and they could have fallen and killed me, but it was fun. I’m Cleveland all the way, but I don’t follow the teams as much as I should. I’m more of a college sports fan.
Describe your Jewish involvement from high school onward.
Starting in high school and through college, I went to a couple of lectures I found interesting through an organization of Orthodox rabbis called Aish HaTorah. They reach out to reform and secular Jews, too. I started going there once a week, and I just continued it. It was more like Jewish philosophy. I like to understand why we believe in stuff the stuff we do. I liked it a lot, but law school got so hectic that I didn’t have time to continue it.
In high school, I was in TFTY (a sister organization of NFTY, the North American Federation of Temple Youth). I did AZA (Aleph Zedek Aleph male fraternity of BBYO). I was on the Saltzman Youth Panel for the Federation. I actually interned at AIPAC (The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) in college, and then I was vice president for Spartans for Israel at Michigan State, and I was the president and co-founder of Michigan State’s Krav Maga club. I know its quirky. I’m currently working to create a young professional group for Jewish people.
What would that be like?
So far, I’ve been talking to AIPAC. It’s young professionals, but there is a Jewish slant. I’ve been talking with Rabbi Rosie from The Temple. It’s not so easy to find Jewish professionals, and I think it would be cool to do that.
What are your kosher laws?
Well, I was studying with a rabbi in college at Michigan, and he told me a kosher-related story about a Holocaust survivor, and I thought to myself that if someone was willing to die to keep kosher, it’s really not that hard to do in my life.
It’s a progression. I’ve gotten better over the years. It started with pork, but I loved pepperoni, so I stayed with pepperoni for a little bit, and then I stopped eating it all together. Then I moved to shellfish. I really like stone crab. That’s probably my favorite food, but I don’t eat it anymore. Now, I try not to mix milk and meat, but I still struggle.
Have you had any mentors in the Cleveland Jewish community?
Yes. Rabbi Rosie Haim at the Temple has been a close family friend for years and years, and she’s always just had an eye out for me. Rabbi Roger Klein was the person who initially sparked my interest in Judaism. He was the guy who first talked to me seriously about religion and what it meant to be Jewish. Rabbi Lebinsky, from AISH guy, was the person who helped me kind of figure out what I believed in. He was my go to if I had a religious question. Randy Diamond, who is a family friend but really active in the Jewish community, and he hooked me up with Rabbi Lebinsky. He was the one who introduced me to all these people.
How do you make your religion work for you as a young professional?
Now that I have “pleasure” reading time, I try to read more about Judaism. I try to go to events when I can–lectures and stuff like that.
What is your favorite place to go out in CLE?
Right now, it’s Ohio City because that seems to be where everyone goes out. Everyone goes to Town Hall, but I’m really excited about the new flats area. I think West 9th is going to be really cool. It already has a lot of good restaurants. It’s going to be bookended by West 6th and the new flats project, so I think it will be awesome. Plus, everyone lives around there. I’ve been trying Gillespie’s Map Room across the street from my apartment and like it a lot.
What is your go to drink?
Tequila on the rocks with a splash of tonic.
What is the best place for drinks in Cleveland?
Anything at the Velvet Tango Room because they are crazy drink artists there.
How do you feel about Jewish marriage and Jewish dating?
Both are important to me. I want to marry a Jewish girl.
If you could plan a day in Cleveland, what would you do?
It would probably be a Sunday because Cleveland is cool on a Sunday. I would do brunch somewhere probably in Ohio City. It would probably be the summer because summer is cool in Cleveland. I would go to one of the festivals held in Cleveland because there’s always one in the early afternoon. Hopefully, I would find food there from a Cleveland food truck. In the afternoon, if it’s a pretty day, I would do something outdoors. I used to go jet skiing on Lake Erie for my birthday every year. It doesn’t have to be realistic right? After, we would do drinks somewhere, and then out to dinner.
To nominate a young Jewish professional for our monthly Jews in Action, please email Andria Kaplan at akaplan@jstylemagazine.com or Madeleine Winer at mwiner@jstylemagzine.com.
