Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0730

Staff Only

Finding aid note: Stored onsite at the Woodson Research Center.

Scope and Contents

The holding consists of books (both written and owned by Rabbi Schachtel), unpublished sermons and miscellaneous writings, musical compositions, correspondence, newsclippings, transparencies, photographs (both loose and contained in scrapbooks), and architectural drawings and specifications. Also included are records, cassette tapes and reels containing recordings of Rabbi Schachtel speaking on the radio, and memorabilia related to President Lyndon B. Johnson, such as a telegram laminated to a plaque for display and a copy of the Inaugural book. The materials are dated from as early as 1935 to 2001, including correspondence sent to Rabbi Schachtel’s wife Barbara and newsclippings written after the Rabbi’s death in 1990.

Dates

Creation: circa 1935-2001

Creator

Schachtel, Hyman Judah, 1907-1990 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored onsite at the Woodson Research Center.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from the Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel Papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library.

The Woodson Research Center use policy is that researchers assume sole responsibility for any infringement of privacy, literary rights, copyrights, or other rights arising from their use of the archival materials. In addition to any restrictions placed by donors, certain kinds of archival materials are restricted for the life of the creator plus 50 years. These materials include, but are not limited to, student grades, transcripts, and any job applications or recommendations.

Biographical / Historical

Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel (1907-1990) was the chief rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston from 1943 to 1975, continuing there as rabbi-at-large for the remainder of his life. He was the author of several published works, including The Real Enjoyment of Living (1954), The Shadowed Valley (1962), and How to Meet the Challenge of Life and Death (1990). Schachtel was born in London in May 1907, and came to the United States on the Lusitania with his family in 1914. They settled in Buffalo, New York, where Schachtel’s father Bernard secured employment as a cantor. Schachtel was ordained into the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1931. His first pulpit was at Congregation Shaaray Tefila (sometimes referred to as the West End Synagogue) in New York City, where he served from 1931 until his arrival in Houston. Schachtel became a close personal friend of Lyndon B. Johnson, and delivered the inaugural prayer at President Johnson’s inauguration in Washington D.C. on January 20, 1965.

Schachtel received a doctorate in Education from the University of Houston in 1948, as well as honorary degrees from Southwestern University in Georgetown and Hebrew Union College. Locally, he served terms as president of the Houston Rabbinical Association and Texas Kallah of Rabbis. He was also a member of the executive board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and served as vice-president and secretary-treasurer of the organization’s southwest region. Schachtel was a dedicated advocate of interfaith understanding, and was honored for this work by the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the American Jewish Committee, and B’nai Brith.

Rabbi Schachtel was well known to generations of Houstonians through his columns in the Houston Post and a radio show on KODA-FM. He died on January 11, 1990.

Excerpted from: Handbook of Texas Online, Phyllis Harris, "Schachtel, Hyman Judah," accessed March 15, 2018, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsc83.

Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on November 20, 2017. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Extent

3 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Arrangement

The materials in this collection have been arranged in eight series as follows: Series I: Works by Rabbi Schachtel Series II: Synagogues Series III: Schachtel Home, Building Specifications Series IV: Lyndon B. Johnson Inauguration Series V: Newsclippings Series VI: Photographs Series VII: Scrapbooks Series VIII: Personal Papers

Series I: Works by Rabbi Schachtel contains four Sub-Series: A: Radio Show Recordings B: Published Works C: Sermons and Unpublished Works D: Music Compositions

Series VII: Personal Papers contains three Sub-Series: A: Books from Schachtel’s private library B: Correspondence C: Travel Diaries and Planners

Within each category, items are arranged by date.