Since the State of Israel is often in the news these days, I thought that a great book to read would be, “Jewish Stars of Texas: Rabbis and Their Work” by Hollace Ava Weiner. This unique book about eleven rabbis and their Texas towns spans from the 1870s to the 1920s. Texas history from the perspective of Texas’ Jewish communities is sure to be informative and fascinating!
Jewish Stars in Texas
This wonderful book highlights eleven prominent Texas rabbis. It covers more than just “rabbi history.” It also delves into the political climate of their times, as well as the contributions of these Jewish communities to their locale. It discusses the lives of Texas rabbis from Hempstead, Beaumont, Tyler, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Lubbock, Brownsville, El Paso, and Galveston. The closest of these to Katy is Houston. Chapter 10 focuses on Houston Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel of Congregation Beth Israel and is titled, “The Celebrity Rabbi, or Splintering over Zionism.” What was outstanding about this chapter was the amount of information I learned about Houston in general, and about that Jewish community in particular. Who knew that Westheimer Avenue was a country lane that belonged to hay merchant, Michael Westheimer? Or that Ben Taub was the son of a Hungarian immigrant who sold tobacco from a pushcart? Or that William Marsh Rice was counseled by banker Emmanuel Raphael to establish Rice University?
“Jewish Stars in Texas” is both enjoyable to read and informative. Author Hollace Ava Weiner does not sugar coat Texas’ history or the controversial splintering of these Jewish communities. She has done an excellent job of portraying these renegade rabbis of those times.
I wanted to spend a mnuite to thank you for this. It’s good to know about history, especially in our own area.