Abraham Segal Dead at 66

Funeral services were held today for Abraham Segal, a distinguished educator of American Reform Judaism and the immediate past director of the Department of Education of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, who died Tuesday at the age of 66 after along illness. He became a member of the UAHC staff in 1965 as the director of adult and teacher education. From 1935 until his move to New York, Segal earned a leading reputation as both a secular and Jewish educator in the school systems of Philadelphia.

For 30 years he served as a teacher of English and Shakespeare in various Philadelphia high schools, as an instructor at Gratz College and as a leading participant in the city-wide activities in the Board of Jewish Education. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Gratz College.

During his professional career, Segal authored a wide range of texts utilized in Jewish education. He was the co–author for the social and studies volume used by religious school students on “Israel Today,” published by the UAHC. The volume has sold over 75,000 copies and is presently being translated into Hebrew.

He also co-authored such works as a Hebrew Bible text “Joseph and His Brothers,” “The Eternal People,” “Teaching Jewish History,” which was translated into French and Italian, “Teaching of the Sidur,” and he singularly authored such works as “Guide for Jewish Youth,” “Holy Days and Holidays.”