James Lee Kessler
, Hebrew Union College, 12 March 1997, Retrieved on 2012-03-13. (born December 10, 1945), the founder of the

Texas Jewish Historical Society The Texas Jewish Historical Society, (sometimes abbreviated TJHS), which began in 1980, is a society dedicated to the preservation of Jewish history in Texas. History The society was founded in 1980 by Rabbi Jimmy Kessler of Galveston. He publish ...

, was the first native

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

to serve as

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

of Congregation B'nai Israel in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

Early life and education

Kessler was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. After attending local schools including being valedictorian and president of his graduating class at San Jacinto Senior High School, he earned his BA from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in Austin, where he was a member of

Tau Delta Phi Tau Delta Phi (), whose members are commonly known as Tau Delts, is a national Fraternities and sororities in North America, social fraternity founded on , in New York City. Since its inception, dozens of chapters have been founded and thousands o ...

fraternity. He earned the first

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...

, at the

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Jewish Institute of Religion in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, where he was also ordained as a rabbi.

Career

Kessler first served as director of the Texas Hillel, which serves the students attending the

. While there, Kessler taught very popular courses in the Religious Studies programs at UT and served on several committees at the request of the University president. He was a respected counselor at a summer retreat for Jewish youth - Echo Hill Ranch. This was a well-known camp for kids and pre-teens situated near Kerrville,TX. In its heyday, it was host to well over 200 campers each year in the 1960's through about 2000. In 1976, he was called as rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel in Galveston, Texas, serving them for five years. He returned as rabbi in 1989, and led the congregation until 2014 when he became Rabbi Emeritus. This is the first and oldest Reform Jewish congregation in Texas. Kessler's strong dedication to education and youth continued: he served as campus minister to Jewish students at the

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febru ...

(UTMB), and taught philosophy at Galveston College. He also served as Jewish

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

for patients at UTMB's hospitals.

Academics and leadership

Based on his long interest in Texas Jewish history, in concert with colleagues and friends, Kessler founded the

in March of 1980. He was also elected the first and founding president. Today the society has grown to more 750 members and has sponsored and supported research for scholars and students of

. Kessler was a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the

Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...

's ''

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

,'' where he also held the position of Jewish History Editor.. Tshaonline.org (1920-03-12). Retrieved on 2012-03-13.

Public service

Kessler was engaged in numerous public activities: he was appointed as the first Chairman of the Church-State Relations Advisory Board of the Texas Department of Human Resources. He participated in the management of foundations, such as director of the Harris & Eliza Kempner Fund, trustee for the Abe and Anne Siebel Fund, and director of the Abe and Peggy Levy Fund. He was a 27-year member of the Institutional Review Board of the University of Texas Medical Branch. He was a member of the Human Research Committee at the

Transitional Learning Center The Transitional Learning Center (TLC) is a post-acute brain injury rehabilitation facility headquartered in the island city of Galveston, Texas. It was started by the non-profit Moody Foundation in 1982, in response to a brain injury suffered by a ...

, and founding chair of the Community Liaison Committee for the

Galveston National Laboratory The Galveston National Laboratory (GNL) in Galveston, Texas, United States, is a high security National Biocontainment Laboratory housing several Biosafety level 4 research laboratories. The lab is run by the University of Texas Medical Branch ( ...

. He was chaplain for the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.Microsoft Word – FallWinter2003.doc

In July 2009, Kessler became the first rabbi in the 171-year history of Texas

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

to be named the presiding officer of a

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

, when Harmony Lodge of Galveston installed him as its new leader. Harmony Lodge was established in 1839. In 2015 he was appointed the Grand Chaplain of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Texas, FA&AM. Jimmy Kessler was a 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and was also a York Rite Mason.

Death

Jimmy Kessler passed away on September 14th 2022 after succumbing to Cancer. Jewish religious and Masonic funeral services were held at Temple B'nai Israel in Galveston, Tx.

Legacy and honors

*Awarded an

honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

in Divinity from

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

*Awarded the first certification by the Texas Jewish Historical Society for the Extraordinary Preservation of Texas Jewish History.

Books

*Kessler, with Cathy Schechter and Ruthe Winegarten, wrote ''Deep in the Heart: The Lives and Legends of Texas Jews : A Photographic History.'' (1990) *''Songs for the Soul: Selections from Psalms''(1995) *''Henry Cohen: The Life of a Frontier Rabbi.'' (1997) *''Ramblings of a Texan rabbi'' (2020)

References

External links

Review of Rabbi Kessler's BookRabbi Kessler's Book Release in time for Temple B’nai Israel's 136th yearFind a Grave for James Lee Kessler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Jimmy 1945 births Living people Jews and Judaism in Galveston, Texas American Reform rabbis People from Galveston, Texas University of Texas at Austin alumni Rabbis from Texas 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis