[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 69 (Friday, May 24, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO RABBI AVIS MILLER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 23, 2002

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to Rabbi Avis Dimond 
Miller in honor of her 18th anniversary as a Rabbi of Adas Israel 
Congregation in Washington, DC.
  I have known Rabbi Miller for many years. She is an accomplished 
Rabbi, a talented teacher, and a good friend. I have appreciated first-
hand the power of her sermons, the impact of her activism, and the 
great admiration and respect she has earned from congregants, 
colleagues, and community members.
  As the first woman to serve a major Conservative pulpit, and the 
first woman ever appointed to chair a national committee for the 
Rabbinical Assembly of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, 
Rabbi Miller is an impressive role model and a pioneer in the 
Conservative Jewish movement. In her tenure at Adas Israel, she has 
been instrumental in developing programs for young adults and young 
families, and she has authored training manuals to help other 
synagogues encourage unaffiliated Jewish families to participate in 
their communities. In her role as chairwoman of the Rabbinical Assembly 
of the committee on outreach, she has played a tremendous role in 
helping countless Jewish Americans embrace their Jewish identity.
  Rabbi Miller has also inspired the congregation to have an ambitious 
social action agenda, on issues ranging from the plight of Ethiopian 
Jewry to the blight of homelessness. She is credited with organizing 
the congregation's Bikkur Holim Committee, a program for visiting the 
sick, and publishing the first Jewish guide on the subject. She has 
lectured extensively on medical ethics issues regarding, genetic 
discrimination, and she will soon put forth an anthology of sermons she 
delivered during Adas Israel High Holiday services over the past 18 
years.
  In Hebrew, the number 18 is the numeric equivalent of the word chai--
life, and Rabbi Miller has truly been a lifeline for the synagogue. 
Through her involvement in life cycle events, births, bar and bat 
mitzvah ceremonies, marriages, and deaths, she has been a pillar of 
strength and compassion.
  We owe Rabbi Miller a debt of gratitude for her service to Adas 
Israel Synagogue and the greater Washington Jewish community. On June 
2, 2002, when Adas Israel celebrates Rabbi Miler's special I8 year 
milestone, it will be my pleasure to join Rabbi Wohlberg, her family 
and friends, and the entire Adas Israel community in paying tribute to 
her achievements and wishing her continued success in all of her 
endeavors.

                          ____________________