| Rabbi James D. "Jimmy" Kessler | |
|---|---|
Rabbi Jimmy Kessler speaking before the University of Texas System Board of Regents in support of UTMB and John Sealy Hospital. |
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| Born | December 10, 1945 Houston, Texas, United States |
| Occupation | Rabbi |
| Spouse | Shelly Kessler |
| Children | 2 children |
James Lee "Jimmy" Kessler (born December 10, 1945), the founder of the Texas Jewish Historical Society, is the first native Texan to serve as rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel in Galveston, Texas.[1]
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Kessler was born in Houston, Texas. He studied for his doctorate, in Texas Jewish history, at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion and received his BA from the University of Texas in Austin.[2] His long interest in Texas Jewish history lead to him founding the Texas Jewish Historical Society in 1980. Today the society has grown to more 750 members and has sponsored and supported research for scholars and students of Texas Jewish history.[3][4]
After graduating from the University of Texas, and being ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati he served as director of the Texas Hillel, the Hillel that serves the students attending the University of Texas. While there Kessler taught very popular courses in the Religious Studies programs at UT and served on several committees at the request of the president of UT. His strong dedication to education and youth continues to this day through his serving as Campus minister to Jewish students at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) as well as his position as Jewish chaplain for patients at UTMB's hospitals.[5]
Kessler has led Congregation B'nai Israel for over 25 years.[2] [6]
Kessler holds an honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and serves on the Commission for Sustaining Rabbinic Education, an organization that works to create, promote, and implement educational programs for the Reform Rabbinate.[7][8]
Kessler is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas, where he also holds the position of Jewish History Editor.[9]
Past honors that have been bestowed on Kessler include being named the first Chairman of the Church-State Relations Advisory Board for the Texas Department of Human Resources, past board member for the Central Conference of American Rabbis, past director of the Harris & Eliza Kempner Fund, trustee for the Abe and Anne Siebel Fund, director of the Abe and Peggy Levy Fund, and a past 25 year member of the Institutional Review Board of the University of Texas Medical Branch and a current member of the Human Research Committee at the Transitional Learning Center, founding chair of the Community Liaison Committee for the Galveston National Laboratory[10] and Chaplain for the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. Kessler serves on the Ethics Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.[11] [12]
In July 2009, Kessler became the first rabbi in the 171-year history of Texas freemasonry to be named the presiding officer of a Masonic lodge, when Harmony lodge of Galveston installed him as their new leader. Harmony lodge dates itself to 1839.[13]
In 1990, Kessler and two other authors wrote Deep in the Heart: The Lives and Legends of Texas Jews : A Photographic History. [14] In 1995, Kessler wrote Songs for the Soul: Selections from Psalms. [15] In 1997, Kessler published Henry Cohen: The Life of a Frontier Rabbi. [16]