back in 1975...
Walter and Linda Lieber came to visit Cleveland where a small group of Messianic Jews were meeting on a weekly basis in home groups. They felt lead to move from the Akron/Canton area and take up residence in Cleveland Heights where they joined the small fellowship of Jewish believers including Howard and Cynthia Rose and opened up their home for a Erev Shabbat (Friday evening). The small fellowship became chartered with the UMJC (Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations) and eventually moved to the Church of the Western Reserve in Gates Mills where it continued meeting on Erev Shabbat. The work continued to grow and Tikvat moved to larger quarters.
During the year of 1982 Walter stepped down from his position and was relieved as Leader by Pastor Steve Coyle who later was followed by Rabbi Howard Silverman. In 1985 Walter again assumed leadership until 2004 when he announced that he was moving to Miami, Florida where he had accepted another position in International Ministry.
Tikvat Yisrael searched for a new rabbi for several years while they met at the First Assembly of God Church on Richmond Road in Lyndhurst, OH. The Board of Elders reached out to the MJAA (Messianic Jewish Alliance of America) for referrals. Eventually, Rabbi Eric David Lakatos became a candidate in early 2008.