Funeral services were held in Brooklyn today for Rabbi Abraham M. Heller, spiritual leader of the Flat-bush Jewish Center for the past 50 years, who died Thursday of a brain tumor at the age of 76. Rabbi Heller was born in Lithuania, came to the United States as a child and was educated at New York University, the University of Minnesota, Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he was ordained.
He was a past president of the New York Board of Rabbis and a leader of the Board of Jewish Education of New York. His association with the Flatbush Jewish Center began in 1924 when he was appointed rabbi of the then newly formed congregation consisting of 50 families. During his long tenure it grew into one of the largest Conservative congregations in the U.S. Rabbi Heller was a founder of the Bialik Day School and the Solomon Schecter High School, both at the Flatbush Jewish Center.
He was the author of four books: “Jewish Survival,” a collection of sermons; “Vocabulary of Jewish Life,” dealing with concepts of Judaism; “Israel’s Odyssey,” a study of Israel and Zionism; and “The Jew and His World,” a study of Jewish civilization. He was an organizer of Young Judea and had served as chairman of the general assembly of the Synagogue Council of America and on the board of the Rabbinical Assembly.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
