Principal was an inspiration to S.F. youth

In the years 1926 and 1929, one of my great teachers in the Central Hebrew School in San Francisco was Rabbi David Stolper. This beloved teacher and principal of the Jewish Educational Society was a native of Lithuania.

He broadened the curriculum, created a Hebrew high school, Yeshiva Ktano, and wrote many Jewish plays, which he directed. He also established a junior congregation, Kol Yaakov, with boys leading Saturday services.

We learned prayers, read the Torah, chanted the Haftorah, and even delivered sermons in Hebrew. Every Saturday the students would gather for refreshments and the singing of Hebrew songs.