Jewish Stars in Texas: Rabbis and Their Work (review)

Jewish Stars in Texas presents highly informative, very entertaining biographies of eleven rabbis who served congregations in the Lone Star State, mostly in the first half of the twentieth century. The book covers their personal and professional lives, and Hollace Ava Weiner writes in a style that lends intimacy to the stories told, so that we come to know these men and their wives, to share the highs and lows of their lives as they led their flocks.

Many of the biographies stress the multiple roles of the Texan rabbi. They conducted services and performed pastoral functions. They served as chaplains for various organizations and joined civic groups, like the Elks, the Masons, the Shriners, and the Kiwanis Club. They worked for social justice and participated in interfaith activities. They taught Hebrew school and organized adult educational programs. Some adjusted easily and met and even exceeded the expectations of their congregants. Others had more difficulty and were constantly in conflict with their synagogue boards. While the congregants had multiple and sometimes contradictory expectations for their rabbis, above all, they wanted a rabbi who could help further their integration into the local community. Almost all of the rabbis were, or became, Reform.

Many of the rabbis took their responsibility for advocating social justice very seriously. Some worked for better labor conditions; others protested against civil rights abuses. However, they quickly learned they had to be careful not to overstep invisible boundaries. When Ephraim Frisch of San Antonio increased his social-activist rhetoric, he got himself into a great deal of trouble. Frisch preached sermons passionately supporting Roosevelt and showing utter disdain for big business. When he gave a sermon on the Socialist Arbeiter Ring, one of his supporters recalled that it "brought coals of wrath against him" (p. 175). Yet, as Weiner perceptively points out, Frisch's positions were nearly identical to the ones taken not only by his father-in-law, Henry Cohen of Galveston, but by numerous rabbis around the country. What got Frisch into trouble was that rather than speaking out selectively on a few issues and working in coalitions to highlight others, Frisch spoke out aggressively at every opportunity. When the police ransacked the premises of a striking labor union, Frisch wrote a long article attacking the police. It appeared in the San Antonio Light (23 June 1937) with the headline "Rabbi Frisch Hits S.A. Police in Labor Raid." Most of his board members at Temple Beth-El were irate.

Weiner emphasizes that the Texan congregations wanted their rabbis to be good "mixers." When, in 1910, Temple Emmanuel of Beaumont first advertised for a rabbi, its members placed a notice in the American Israelite requesting "...a good lecturer who can make himself agreeable with either Orthodox or Reform Congregation. In other words, we want a MIXER" (p. 21). Samuel Rosinger, who answered the ad and served as Beaumont's rabbi from 1910 to 1965, showed a willingness to adjust himself to the needs of the congregants. While he held strong views on religious and ethical issues, he learned how to present these positions in a non- confrontational manner. Judging from his longevity in the community, Rosinger clearly was a good mixer.

When G. George Fox arrived in Fort Worth, he found that although Jewish names were on many of the stores on Main Street, organized Judaism was slow to emerge. Even in 1910, "Cowtown" was still a place "where drunken gamblers unloaded six shooters in the air" (p. 82). Fox, twenty-five years old at the time, decided to give a Lincoln's Birthday Address for his inaugural sermon, and he announced his topic in the local press. The response was near hysteria, since as Fox noted in his memoir, "Lincoln was alright up north, but this was Texas" (p. 84). Temple President Sam Levi warned the...