The Message, Volume 1, Number 23, September 1973 Page: 2 of 6
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Hidden Selections of Houston’s African American and Jewish Heritage and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Rice University Woodson Research Center.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Akiba Institute
The Message Acknowledges
One of the Akiba Institute's most popular
programs has been its Home Study Groups,
designed to provide members with the oppor-
tunity to study a subject of Jewish interest
in the convivial and comfortable atmosphere
of a private home, rather than in the usual
auditorium or classroom.
This coming year, there will be six such
study groups in the expanded Akiba program,
two of which are already filled by members
of the 1973 and 1974 Adult Pilgrimages to
Israel. However, still wide open for member-
ship are four Sunday evening groups, each
with a specific field of interest. All meet-
ings will be held monthly from October thru
May, 1974.
Meeting at 8 P.M. the first Sunday of each
month will be a group concerned with Jewish
history. Designated as the Aleph Group, it
will be conducted by Larry Laufman,a Brandeis
University graduate with a B.A. in Near East
and Judaic Studies and an M.A. in Contemporary
Jewish Studies.
As its text, the Aleph Group will use Beryl
D. Cohon's Men at the Crossroads which deals
with a most fateful period in Jewish history,
the Jesus generation and the individuals and
groups of the first century who influenced
the future of Judaism.
The second, or Bet Group, will meet on the
second Sunday of each month, also at 8 P.M.
Group leader will be Dr. Robert Friedman,
formerly a member of the faculty of the
Beth Yeshurun Hillel High School, who has had
much experience as a discussion leader thru
his activities with the Houston Reading Dis-
cussion Groups and Plays for Living.
Using Generations in Crisis by Gilbert S.
Rosenthal as its text, the Bet Group will
take as its subject Jewish ethics and will
consider Judaism's answers to the moral
dilemmas of our times, covering a great many
topics ranging from Jewish-Christian relat-
ions to the sexual revolution.
The Gimel Group is designed exclusively
for Young Marrieds, those couples who have
been married for seven years or less. It
will meet the third Sunday of each month at
8 P.M. under the direction of Herb and Jill
Kalman, who have conducted these Young Mar-
rieds 1 Study Groups for the past year and a
half with outstanding success.
Contemporary Judaism is the theme for these
Young Marrieds and they will have the priv-
ilege of hearing a variety of stimulating
guest speakers on subjects relevant to their
interests and problems. The Sunday night
net-tonethers will also provide them with an
The MESSAGE thanks Howard Frankel,
Communications Chairman of Beth Yeshurun,
and Myrna (Mrs. Jack) Rudolph for hours of
volunteer work on the just-turned-weekly
newspaper. Howard engaged and has been
directing a new editor, Ione (Mrs. Sidney)
Moran, and Myrna will continue helping
with layout and paste-up as she has for
the last four weeks. Paste-up is a diffi-
cult job, but Myrna has been gamely stick-
ing with it to help meet deadlines!
leader.
Rabbi Segal will hold a special meeting
with new members of the synagogue on Sept-
ember 12th in order to familiarize them
with the many Akiba programs and hopefully
to inspire their participation in these
excellent study groups. A card providiing
complete details concerning the Home Study
Groups will be mailed out to the entire
congregation in the near future.
excellent opportunity for socializing and
making new friends among those with whom they
have so much in comnon.
Fundamentals of Judaism will be the theme
for the Daled Group which meets at 8 P.M. on
the fourth Sunday of every month. They will
study basic Jewish laws, customs and cere-
monies and consider the ways in which they
have been changed in modern times and how
they affect Judaism today.
Leading the Daled Group will be E. Robby
Roberts, a Jewish scholar who completed his
studies at the Teachers Institute of Yeshiva
University. He is a member of the National
Speakers Forum and a well known lecturer in
the field of Judaism. Text to be used will
be To Be A Jew by Hayim Donin.
Membership limit in the Aleph, Bet and
Daled groups is 40 people in each group,
and for the Gimel, or Young Marrieds Group,
the limit is set at 50 couples. There is,
of course, no charge for participation in
these groups. Should there be a sufficient
demand (a minimum of 20 people) to warrant
opening an extra section, the Akiba Insti-
tute will be happy to do so.
The closed groups are designated the
ASTROS I, composed of members of the 1973
Pilgrimage to Israel, and ASTROS II, res-
tricted to members of next year's Pilgrim-
age. (A.S.T.R.O. stands for Adult Synagogue
Trip Religiously Oriented.) The ASTROS I
will Ke engaged in Bible Study, and the
ASTROS II group in the History and Geography
of Israel. Both groups are under the direc-
tion of Rabbi Segal who is the Pilgrimage
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View one place within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Congregation Beth Yeshurun (Houston, Tex.). The Message, Volume 1, Number 23, September 1973, periodical, September 7, 1973; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1287854/m1/2/?q=%221973-10%22: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.