Ahron Opher Papers

Manuscript Collection No. 694

1929-1994 9.2 Linear ft.

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE
The Ahron Opher Papers were donated in 2002 by Ahron Opher, Chicago, Illinois. Ahron Opher, by the act of donating his papers to the American Jewish Archives, assigned the property rights to the American Jewish Archives. All literary rights to material authored by Ahron Opher are held by Opher and his heirs. Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Director of the American Jewish Archives. The Ahron Opher Papers are open to all users. The original manuscript collection is available in the reading room of the American Jewish Archives.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH top
Ahron Opher was born in Safed, Israel in 1911. He studied at the Radbaz Yeshiva and graduated from the Teacher’s College of Jerusalem before emigrating to the United States in 1929. He then received his BA from the College of the City of New York with a degree in Psychology and Sociology. Opher later obtained a M.H.L. at the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City and a D.D. from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1935.
Opher held many rabbinic positions during his life of service. He was the rabbi of the Child Guidance Clinic of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society and Cedar Knoll Schools in Pleasantville and Hawthorne, New York from 1935-1938. In 1938 he transferred to Hebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights in New York City where he stayed until 1946 when he left for Congregation B’nei Jeshurun in Paterson, New Jersey. In 1952 Opher moved to Chicago to become the rabbi for the South Shore Temple for ten years. In 1962 he was presented with a unique opportunity that would both challenge and frustrate him. Opher accepted the position of Rabbi Chief Minister at the United Progressive Congregation of Johannesburg, South Africa. His time there was fraught with controversies between himself, a progressive and reform oriented rabbi, and the conservative congregations already there. The difficulties were mainly about how many changes would be allowed into services and rituals. Opher was adamant about changing things to make them more relevant to the times, such as allowing more English into the services.

In 1964 Opher left South Africa for Temple Solael in Canoga Park, California where stayed for four years. In 1968 he moved to Overland Park, Kansas to become the rabbi at Temple Beth El. He stayed there for only one year when he moved on to Beth Am in Teaneck, New Jersey. In 1973 Opher moved to Sarasota, Florida where he became a rabbi at Temple Emanu-El. He stayed in Sarasota for the remainder of his career.

In addition to his rabbinic duties Opher was quite involved in Jewish, community and civic organizations. He held positions of leadership in many local and national organizations and institutions. In New York he headed the Manhattan-Washington Lodge of B’nai B’rith (1939-1940) and in New Jersey he was president of the State Region of the American Jewish Congress (AJC), 1949-1952. When he lived in Chicago he was the president of the Midwest Council of the AJC and served on its National Executive Board (1954-1956). For six years he was Executive Vice-President of the Synagogue Council of America (SCA) (1944-1948) and also served as Vice-President of the National Association of Boards of Rabbis which comprised the main religious branches of American Jewry. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Institute of Religion (1942-1946), the Executive Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) (1942-1944) and for twelve years served on the Committee on Rabbinic Ethics (1942-1944). Opher was also a member of the Committee of Liturgy of the CCAR (1950-1962) and was among the pioneers in the field of creative worship.

Ahron Opher had a wide reputation as a dynamic speaker, erudite scholar and civic leader, and served his community diligently throughout his life. Opher served on the Governor’s Commission on Human Rights in New Jersey (1950-1952) and on the Mayor’s Commission on Youth Welfare in Chicago (1958-1960). He chaired the Citizens Committee on Children’s Shelter in Passaic County, New Jersey. He was a member of the Panel on Theological Problems of the War Department and of the Tri-Faith Consultative Body to the US Delegation at the United Nations. He was active in various local and national inter-faith endeavors, having been president of the Ministerial Association of Chicago’s South Shore, the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Commission, and national vice president of Religion in American Life. Opher was also a president of the Ministerial Association of Sarasota and a president of the National Association of American Reform Retired Rabbis. Opher served many other organizations in various capacities.

Opher was also a dedicated scholar and instructor. In 1949-1952 he was an instructor at the Hebrew Union College (HUC) School of Education and Sacred Music in New York City. He later was a lecturer at the College of Jewish Studies in Chicago, Illinois (1958-1962) and at the College of Jewish Studies in Los Angeles, California (1964-1968). In 1968 Opher was a lecturer as well in Park College in Parkville, Missouri. He also took the time to write some books, such as The Conversions of the Khazars; Bialik, A Giant of Hebrew Literature; Judaism - Orthodox, Conservative and Reform and Experiments in Creative Worship. He has also contributed to numerous periodicals in both Hebrew and English as well as being a frequent lecturer on college campuses, radio, and television.

In 1936 Opher married Irene Zinman of Minneapolis, Minnesota and later had one son, Michael. Ahron Opher died in 2002.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE top
The Aharon Opher Papers contain the correspondence, writings and services of Rabbi Ahron Opher and are arranged into five series as follows:
A. CORRESPONDENCE AND SUBJECT FILES, 1932-1994

B. WRITINGS AND LECTURES, 1929-1993

C. SERVICES, 1931-1974, n.d.

D. PERSONAL, 1929-1989

E. AUDIORECORDINGS, 1929-1989, n.d.

Series A. Correspondence and Subject Files (1932-1994) contains the letters and files of Opher. The exchange of letters between Opher and fellow members of the Synagogue Council of America (SCA) is quite important as he was the Executive Vice-President at that time (3/1-3). Also of interest is the file and scrapbooks on South Africa (2/13, 22/1-4). The scrapbooks contain correspondence, newspaper clippings, temple programs, and some of the creative services that Opher wrote for the congregation. These files also detail the many controversies that Opher faced, being a Reform rabbi, a progressive and imaginative man and a foreigner.
Opher’s services would be mainly of interest to scholars tracing the history and growth of the creative liturgy movement. Opher integrated new aspects of worship to the services, such as incorporating more English and less Hebrew in both the spoken and sung sections. These services can be found throughout Series C., but some examples that were printed in booklet form are available to look at as well (19/1-2).

Series D. Personal, contains the scrapbooks that Opher put together throughout his life and career. Since some of the scrapbooks were rapidly deteriorating, photocopies of the pages were made and kept in order so the integrity of the scrapbook remains. This series highlights aspects of Opher’s life that he felt most strongly about, whether it was pride in some achievement, vindication in the storm of controversy, or letters of support from congregants in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Ahron Opher Papers were, inasmuch as was possible, arranged using Opher’s own filing system. This is exemplified in Series C. Services. In this case the series was arranged exactly as Opher had the files in his own office. The reasoning behind this was that much of the series was undated.

BOX AND FOLDER LISTING top
  SERIES A. CORRESPONDENCE AND SUBJECT FILES (1932-1994)

Box	Folder	Contents

1	1	American League for a Free Palestine. 1946-1947, 1953.
	2	Anderson, Charles E. 1989.
	3	Arfa, Cyrus. 1994.
	4	Artz, Max. 1947.
	5	Award dinner. 1984.
	6	Bamberger, Bernard J. 1961.
	7	Berman House, Inc. 1946.
	8	Bible Study Group. 1992.
	9	Blumberg, H. 1964.
	10	Brandeis Institute. 1966.
	11	Cobb, Lee J. 1966.
	12	Congregation Bnai Jeshurun (Nathan Barnert Memorial Temple) (Paterson, N.J.).
			 n.d.
	13	Dreffin, Scott A. 1990-1991.
	14	Fleck, Aaron. 1976.
	15	General correspondence. 1952, 1989, 1998.
	16	Gerstein, Stanley R. 1980.
	17	Goldstein, Israel. 1962.
	18	Holocaust memorial service. 1991.
	19	Hospice of Sarasota County, Inc. 1984.
	20	Interfaith work. 1940-1983.
	21	Jewish Chautauqua Society. 1965.
	22	Jewish Community Council of Sarasota, Florida. 1978-1982.
	23	Konovitch, Barry. 1978.
	24	Kapner, Jerome. 1979.
	25	Lazarus, Helen. 1977.
	26	Lederman, Arthur N. 1979.
	27	Maggin, Sherwood. 1993-1994.
	28	Mashioff, Harold H. 1940-1943.
	29	Messianic Jews. 1990.
	30	New College (Sarasota, Fla.). 1985.

2	1	Park College (Parkville, Mo.). 1968-1969.
	2	Park College (Parkville, Mo.). Modern Jewish Life and Thought course. 1968.
	3	Praise. 1978-1997.
	4	Radio program. 1982.
	5	Raisin, Max. 1946-1952.
	6	Rodriguez Country Growers. 1987.
	7	Rosenblum's Hebrew Book Store. 1967.
	8	Religious Schools. n.d.
	9	Sarasota Board of Rabbis. 1990.
	10	Sarasota Jewish Community. 1986.
	11	Schulman, Albert M. 1979-1980.
	12	Segal, Henry. 1985-1986.
	13	South Africa. 1961-1968.
	14	South Shore Temple [Chicago, Ill.]. 1962.
	15	State Attorney. 1989.

3	1	Synagogue Council of America. 1943-1956.
	2	Synagogue Council of America. United Nations organizations. 1945.
	3	Synagogue Council of America. Resignation. 1945-1947.
	4	Temple Beth Am (Teaneck, N.J.). 1969-1972.
	5	Temple Beth El (Overland, Kan.).. 1968.
	6	Temple Emanu-El (Sarasota, Fla.). 1985.
	7	Temple Israel of the City of New York (Hebrew Tabernacle) (New York City, 
			N.Y.). 1945-1946.
	8	Temple Menorah (Chicago, Ill.). 1955.
	9	Temple Solael (Canoga Park, Cal.). 1964, 1968.
	10	Temple Solael (Canoga Park, Cal.). Resignation. 1968-1970.
	11	Torah. 1983-1984.
	12	Union of American Hebrew Congregations. 1977-1984.
	13	Union of American Hebrew Congregations. 1984.
	14	World Union for Progressive Judaism. 1962-1964.
	15	Wise, David J. 1982-1983.
	16	Wise, Stephen S. 1932-1945.
	17	Yorty, Sam. 1966.

SERIES B. WRITINGS AND LECTURES (1929-1993)

4	1	"Bio Ethics."
	2	Bulletins. Congregation Bnai Jeshurun (Nathan Barnert Memorial Temple) 	
			(Paterson, N.J.). 1945-1947, 1952.
	3	Bulletins. Hebrew Tabernacle (Washington Heights, N.Y.). 1943-1946.
	4	Temple Emanu-El (Sarasota, Fla.). 1991-1993.
	5	Bulletins. Temple Solael (Canoga Park, Cal.). 1947-1966.
	6	" How the Jews Will Repossess Jesus." n.d.
	7	Interview. n.d.
	8	Interview. n.d.

5	1	"The Jewish Concept of Messiah." n.d.
	2	Jewish identity. Notes. n.d.
	3	"The Jews of Khazaria." Thesis. 1934.
	4	Lectures. n.d.
	5	Message of Israel. 1983-1985.
	6	Notes. English. n.d.
	7	Notes. Hebrew. n.d.
	8	Notes. Hebrew. n.d.
	9	Notes. Hebrew. n.d.

6	1	Notes. Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Poetry. n.d.
	3	"Revelations - The Jewish Law." n.d.
	4	School notes. 1929-1935.
	5	School notes. n.d.
	6	School notes. n.d.
	7	Union of American Hebrew Congregations School of Jewish Studies. Exams. 		n.d.

7	1	Writings. n.d.
	2	Writings. n.d.

SERIES C. SERVICES (1931-1974, n.d.)

	3	English. 1937-1938.
	4	English. 1946-1948, 1952.
	5	English. 1946-1958.
	
8	1	English. 1946-1958.
	2	English. 1946-1959.
	3	English. 1947-1948.
	
9	1	English. 1947-1948.
	2	English. 1947-1956.
	3	English. 1947, 1957-1958.
	4	English. 1952-1953, 1962, n.d.
	
10	1	English. 1956-1961, n.d.
	2	English. 1957, n.d.
	3	English. 1958.
	4	English. 1968-1974, n.d.
	5	English. n.d.
	6	English. n.d.

11	1	English. n.d.
	2	English. n.d.
	3	English and Hebrew. 1931-1951.
	4	English and Hebrew. 1949-1951.
	5	English and Hebrew. 1956-1959.
	6	Hebrew. n.d.

12	1	Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Hebrew. n.d.	
	3	Hebrew. n.d.
	4	Hebrew. n.d.	
	5	Hebrew. n.d.
	6	Hebrew. n.d.
	7	Hebrew. n.d.

13	1	Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Hebrew. n.d.
	3	Hebrew. n.d.
	4	Hebrew. n.d.
	5	Hebrew. n.d.

14	1	Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Hebrew. n.d.	
	3	Hebrew. n.d.
	4	Hebrew. n.d.	
	5	Hebrew. n.d.
	6	Hebrew. n.d.
	7	Hebrew. n.d.
	
15	1	Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Hebrew. n.d.	
	3	Hebrew. n.d.
	4	Hebrew. n.d.	
	5	Hebrew. n.d.
	6	Hebrew. n.d.
	7	Hebrew. n.d.
	8	Hebrew. n.d.
	9	Hebrew. n.d.	
	10	Hebrew. n.d.
	11	Hebrew. n.d.	
	12	Hebrew. n.d.
	13	Hebrew. n.d.
	14	Hebrew. n.d.
	15	Hebrew. n.d.
	16	Hebrew. n.d.	
	17	Hebrew. n.d.
	18	Hebrew. n.d.	
	19	Hebrew. n.d.

16	1	Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Hebrew. n.d.	
	3	Hebrew. n.d.
	4	Hebrew. n.d.	
	5	Hebrew. n.d.
	6	Hebrew. n.d.
	7	Hebrew. n.d.
	8	Hebrew. n.d.
	9	Hebrew. n.d.	
	10	Hebrew. n.d.
	11	Hebrew. n.d.	
	12	Hebrew. n.d.
	13	Hebrew. n.d.
	14	Hebrew. n.d.
	15	Hebrew. n.d.
	16	Hebrew. n.d.	
	17	Hebrew. n.d.
	18	Hebrew. n.d.	
	19	Hebrew. n.d.
	20	Hebrew. n.d.
	21	Hebrew. n.d.
	22	Hebrew. n.d.
	23	Hebrew. n.d.	
	24	Hebrew. n.d.
	25	Hebrew. n.d.	
	26	Hebrew. n.d.
	27	Hebrew. n.d.
	28	Hebrew. n.d.
	29	Hebrew. n.d.
	30	Hebrew. n.d.	
	31	Hebrew. n.d.
	32	Hebrew. n.d.	
	33	Hebrew. n.d.
	34	Hebrew. n.d.
	35	Hebrew. n.d.

17	1	Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Hebrew. n.d.	
	3	Hebrew. n.d.
	4	Hebrew. n.d.	
	5	Hebrew. n.d.
	6	Hebrew. n.d.
	7	Hebrew. n.d.
	8	Hebrew. n.d.
	9	Hebrew. n.d.	
	10	Hebrew. n.d.
	11	Hebrew. n.d.	
	12	Hebrew. n.d.
	13	Hebrew. n.d.
	14	Hebrew. n.d.
	15	Hebrew. n.d.
	16	Hebrew. n.d.	
	17	Hebrew. n.d.
	18	Hebrew. n.d.	
	19	Hebrew. n.d.
	20	Hebrew. n.d.
	21	Hebrew. n.d.
	22	Hebrew. n.d.
	23	Hebrew. n.d.	
	24	Hebrew. n.d.
	25	Hebrew. n.d.	
	26	Hebrew. n.d.
	27	Hebrew. n.d.
	28	Hebrew. n.d.
	29	Hebrew. n.d.
	30	Hebrew. n.d.	
	31	Hebrew. n.d.
	32	Hebrew. n.d.	
	33	Hebrew. n.d.
	34	Hebrew. n.d.
	35	Hebrew. n.d.

18	1	Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Hebrew. n.d.	
	3	Hebrew. n.d.
	4	Hebrew. n.d.	
	5	Hebrew. n.d.
	6	Hebrew. n.d.
	7	Hebrew. n.d.
	8	Hebrew. n.d.
	9	Hebrew. n.d.	
	10	Hebrew. n.d.
	11	Hebrew. n.d.	
	12	Hebrew. n.d.
	13	Hebrew. n.d.
	14	Hebrew. n.d.
	15	Hebrew. n.d.
	16	Hebrew. n.d.	
	17	Hebrew. n.d.
	18	Hebrew. n.d.	
	19	Hebrew. n.d.
	20	Hebrew. n.d.
	21	Hebrew. n.d.
	22	Hebrew. n.d.
	23	Hebrew. n.d.	
	24	Hebrew. n.d.
	25	Hebrew. n.d.	
	26	Hebrew. n.d.
	27	Hebrew. n.d.
	28	Hebrew. n.d.
	29	Hebrew. n.d.
	30	Hebrew. n.d.	
	31	Hebrew. n.d.
	32	Hebrew. n.d.	
	33	Hebrew. n.d.
	34	Hebrew. n.d.
	35	Hebrew. n.d.
	36	Hebrew. n.d.
	37	Hebrew. n.d.
	38	Hebrew. n.d.
	39	Hebrew. n.d.
	40	Hebrew. n.d.
	41	Hebrew. n.d.
	42	Hebrew. n.d.

19	1	Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Hebrew. n.d.	
	3	Hebrew. n.d.
	4	Hebrew. n.d.	
	5	Hebrew. n.d.
	6	Hebrew. n.d.
	7	Hebrew. n.d.	
	
20	1	Creative services. n.d.
	2	Creative services. n.d.
	3	"Experiments in Ritual." n.d.
	4	"Experiments in Ritual." n.d.
	5	Holocaust and High Holy Days. Hebrew. n.d.
	6	"The Meaning of Passover." Hebrew. n.d.
	7	Prayers. English and Hebrew. n.d.

21	1	Prayers. English and Hebrew. n.d.
	2	Prayers. Hebrew. n.d.
	3	Sabbath prayer book. n.d.
	4	Special services. n.d.
	5	Special services. n.d.
	6	Special services and prayers. n.d.
	7	Summer sermonettes. n.d.
	8	Summer sermonettes. Number 13 - Deuteronomy 26. n.d.


SERIES  D. PERSONAL (1929-1989)

22	1	Awards. 1980, 1989, n.d.
	2	Biographical information.
	3	Photographs, n.d.
	4	Photographs, n.d.
	5	Photographs, n.d.
	6	Rabbi's manuals.
	7	Scrapbook. Through Hebrew Tabernacle. 1929-1943.
	8	Scrapbook. Through Hebrew Tabernacle. Photographs. 1929-1943.
	9	Scrapbook. 1944-1946.
	10	Scrapbook. Paterson, New Jersey and Synagogue Council of America. 
			1945-1947.
	11	Scrapbook. Paterson, New Jersey and Synagogue Council of America. 
			1947-1949.
	12	Scrapbook. Paterson, New Jersey and American Jewish Congress. 1947-1949.
	13	Scrapbook. Children's shelter and nuclear conference. 1949-1952.
	14	Scrapbook. South Shore Temple, Chicago, Illinois. October 1952-May 1961.
	
23	1	Scrapbook. South Africa. August 1962-July 1963.
	2	Scrapbook. South Africa. June 1963-April 1964.
	3	Scrapbook. Johannesburg, California, Kansas, New Jersey. September 1963-	
			March 1973.
	4	Scrapbook. South Africa. April-July 1964.
	5	Scrapbook. Kansas. 1968-1969.
	6	Scrapbook. Sarasota, Florida. 1972-1978.
	7	Scrapbook. Faith without Prejudice. 1979-1984.
	8	Scrapbook. 1980.

24	1	Plaques.

SERIES E. AUDIORECORDINGS

C-4217	"Akiba and Talmud." 19 Jan 1983.            
C-4218	"America and Israel - Lands of Paradise." 1989.
C-4219	"Antisemitism." 11 Jan 1984.
C-4220	"Assimilation." 18 Jan 1984.
C-4221	"Baal Shem Tov and Hasidism." 2 Feb 1983.
C-4222	"The Challenge of Freedom" and "Rebirth." n.d.
C-4223	"Covenant." n.d.
C-4224	"Encountering the Divine Presence." Kushner, Malino, Geller. n.d.
C-4225	"Encounters." 17 Jan 1979.
C-4226	"Five Faces of Judaism." 17 Feb 1982.
C-4227	"Herzl - Zionism." 23 Feb 1983.
C-4228	"Israel Future." 5 Feb 1986.
C-4229	"Jewish Mission." n.d.
C-4230	"Judaism is a Social Religion" and "Christmas and Chanuka." n.d.
C-4231	"Moses." 23 Jan 1984.
C-4232	"Paganism and Judaism." 14 Jan 1981.		
C-4233	"Prophets." Jan 12 1983.
C-4234	"Prophets." 12 Feb 1986.
C-4235 	"Rabbinic Literature - Synagogue Judaism." Samuel Sandmel. 12 Jan 1978.
C-4236	"Rebirth." n.d.
C-4237	"Reform." 27 Jan 1982.
C-4238	"Roots." n.d.
C-4239	"Roots." 10 Jan 1979.
C-4240	"WGSA." 1 Apr 1981.
C-4241	"You Can't Please Everyone" and "The Many Faces of Man." n.d.
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The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.
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