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In 1922, there was a group of
14 Jewish teens who wanted to join their school's fraternity; the Alpha Zeta Alpha. The fraternity would not let them join
because they were Jewish. They decided that they would protest the Greek system and start a Jewish fraternity using Hebrew
letters. From this point on they would be the Aleph Zadik Aleph. At first, the letters had no meaning. Two years later, when
the Aleph Zadik Aleph for Young Men was adopted by B'nai B'rith, the name was interpreted to represent the motto of the sponsoring
organization. The first Aleph was to stand for Ahavah, brotherly love; Zadik, T'zedakah, benevolence; the second Aleph Achdoos,
harmony. This first group would be known as Mother Chapter #1.
- Abe Babior was elected as the Aleph Zadik Alephs first president
and Nathan Mnookin would be the fraternitiy's first advisor.
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A few months after the fraternity
was started, Mnookin moved to Kansas City where he started another chapter of this fraternity. The men asked Sam Beber to
be their next advisor. Beber had many dreams for the fraternity. He saw the fraternity spreading throught the Us. His Idea
was to have an unmistakably Jewish fraternity. Sam Beber is now regarded as the founder of the Aleph Zadik Aleph.
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On May 3, 1924, at a meeting at Harry
Lapidus's house, the Aleph Zadik Aleph was declared an International order. At the same meeting, the Supreme Advisory
Council
was started as the policy making body of the fraternity.
- During July 4-6 1924, the first National
Convention of the Aleph Zadik Aleph was held at the JCC in Omaha, Nebraska. At this time, there were four chapters: Mother
Chapter AZA #1 in Omaha, Nebraska, AZA #2 in Kansas City, Kansas AZA #3 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and AZA #4 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Two-Thirds of the membership came for a weekend of brotherhood and friendship. There was a deadlock for the Grand Aleph Godol
race between Charles Shane and William Horowitz. Eventualy, the decision was turned over to the Supreme Advisory Council and,
on the fact that Shane was 20 and Horowitz was only 17, Shane became the first Grand Aleph Godol and Horowitz the first Grand
Aleph S'gan.
- At the 1925 B'nai B'rith International
Convention, Henry Monsky presented a petition to get the Aleph Zadik Aleph adopted by B'nai B'rith. Of course, The petition
was accepted, and the Aleph Zadik Aleph was now the junior order of B'nai B'rith.
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