[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 28 (Monday, February 13, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              CONGREGATION EMANU-EL: CELEBRATING 150 YEARS

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                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 13, 1995
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of the most 
outstanding religious institutions in the United States, Congregation 
Emanu-El, which will soon be celebrating the 150th anniversary of its 
founding. This remarkable temple, which is located on Fifth Avenue at 
East 65th Street in the heart of my district, has tended to the 
spiritual needs of its congregants as well as the social and 
philanthropic needs of the greater community for a century and a half.
  I want to first congratulate Dr. Ronald B. Sobel, who has served as 
the temple's senior rabbi since 1973. Rabbi Soebl is a world-renowned 
scholar and spiritual leader who deserves enormous credit for helping 
to make Emanu-El into one of the largest and most respected synagogues 
in the world.
  In fact, Temple Emanu-El is physically the largest synagogue in the 
world and boasts the largest membership of any reform temple. But its 
origins were indeed quite humble. In 1845, a handful of German 
immigrants pooled $30 and rented a small room on the Lower East Side, 
thus becoming the fist reform Jewish congregation in the city. As the 
congregation grew, its members found new locations, first a former 
Methodist church and then a former Baptist church. In 1868, Emanu-El 
congregants raised over half a million dollars and built a new facility 
on Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street. Finally, in 1925, construction began 
on the Temple's final and current home. In 1930, this magnificent 
structure was dedicated.
  The history of Temple Emanu-El is the history of New York, the 
Nation, and indeed the entire World. Early in this century, the temple 
founded a committee to assist victims of the Russian massacres. Seven 
members of the congregation were killed serving in World War I and 22 
were killed during the Second World War. During this war, the temple 
established a recreational canteen which ultimately served 1.3 million 
American men and women in uniform. In recent years, the temple 
instituted programs to address the pressing needs of New York City. The 
Sunday lunch program--developed in 1983--provides 140 homeless citizens 
with a hot lunch each week. In 1988, the temple opened a homeless 
shelter which has become one of our city's most successful facilities 
of its kind.
  Over the years, the leaders of Congregation Emanu-El has read like a 
``Who's Who'' of American civic leadership. Emanu-El members have 
included Adolph Ochs, publisher of the New York Times; Oscar S. Straus, 
the first Jewish Cabinet Member, who served as President Theodore 
Roosevelt's Secretary of Commerce and Labor; and Irving Lehman, who 
served as chief justice of the New York State Court of Appeals. More 
recently, Emanu-El president Maxwell Rabb served as U.S. Ambassador to 
Italy.
  Mr. Speaker, for 150 years, Congregation Emanu-El has served as a 
beacon of community spirit and religious commitment. It is an honor to 
represent this institution in the U.S. Congress, and I sincerely hope 
that my colleagues will join me in congratulating Temple Emanu-El on 
this auspicious occasion.


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