[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING CONGREGATION B'NAI ABRAHAM ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 90TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I want to offer my 
congratulations to congregation B'nai Abraham, located in Beloit, WI, 
as its members mark 90 years of service to the Jewish community in 
southern Wisconsin.
  Mr. President, B'nai Abraham was founded on November 7, 1907, by a 
group of people who were collecting funds to help a destitute man. It 
was a highly appropriate beginning to a congregation dedicated to 
providing comfort, inspiration, solace, guidance, and support. Since 
then, the members of congregation B'nai Abraham have nurtured a strong 
sense of community responsibility, and the congregation has embraced 
the role of the synagogue, as with any house of religious faith, as a 
shelter and a center for renewal of the spirit.
  But faith, like the body that carries it, only grows stronger with 
exercise, and by that I mean its application in our daily lives. The 
values I learned in my community, including diligence, compassion a 
sense of justice and feeling of responsibility to my community, have 
been cornerstones of my career in public service, and I have tried to 
apply those values in my work, including my efforts on bipartisan 
congressional reform, my support of Israel and the Middle East peace 
process, and my commitment to civil rights.
  As with so many other Americans, the people who founded B'nai Abraham 
came from a culture whose members sought these shores to escape 
oppression, and they relied on one another for support even as the 
whole new world of challenge and opportunity spread itself out before 
them.
  Mr. President, I grew up among the members of that community, and I 
counted on my congregation to provide the grounding in values and 
traditions every young person needs as he or she is growing up, as well 
as a sense of spiritual and cultural refreshment. It is particularly 
important for people of faith who find themselves in the minority to 
have a place to worship and to pass along their values and traditions 
to their children.
  B'nai Abraham places a very strong emphasis on education, and 
congregations like B'nai Abraham also serve to represent their members 
to others and promote the awareness of Jewish heritage in our 
communities.
  In that way, B'nai Abraham's members not only educate their neighbors 
but also show how people of diverse backgrounds still share 
experiences, histories and concerns, which can be a powerful 
encouragement to the continued efforts of so many Americans to promote 
understanding, tolerance, and cooperation.
  Mr. President, I am a member of many communities America, the State 
of Wisconsin and the town of Middleton, but without this community of 
faith that has done so much to guide and support me, I would be a 
poorer man.
  So, Mr. President, let me offer my warmest congratulations to 
congregation B'nai Abraham, and may its members enjoy good health and 
good fortune as they prepare to celebrate 100 years.

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