[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 126 (Thursday, October 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1830-E1831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN HONOR OF THE 350TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONGREGATION SHEARITH ISRAEL
______
HON. JERROLD NADLER
of new york
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, October 6, 2004
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, on September 12, 2004 a service was held for
the 350th anniversary of the Congregation Shearith Israel in New York
City. The Congregation, founded by 23 impoverished Brazilian Jews
seeking refuge in New Amsterdam, marked the beginning of Jewish life in
America. What began as a small settlement, nearly 122 years before
American independence, grew into a community that not only benefited
from the equality and religious freedom found here, but had a profound
influence on such ideals over the course of American history. The
American Jewish community has played a role in the extension of
freedom, justice and social equality to all our people. Mr. Speaker, I
would like to enter into the Record the sermon given by Rabbi Marc D.
Angel on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the Congregation
Shearith Israel.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'' These words from the
American Declaration of Independence reflect the deepest
ideals and aspirations of the American people. America is not
merely a country, vast and powerful; America is an idea, a
vision of life as it could be.
When these words were first proclaimed on July 4, 1776,
Congregation Shearith Israel was almost 122 years old. It was
a venerable community, with an impressive history--a bastion
of Jewish faith and tradition, and an integral part of the
American experience. When the British invaded New York in
1776, a large group of congregants including our Hazan Rev.
Gershom Mendes Seixas, left the city rather than live under
British rule. Many joined the Revolutionary army and fought
for American independence.
Some remained in New York, and conducted services in our
synagogue building on Mill Street. Early in the war, two
British soldiers broke into the synagogue and desecrated two
Torah scrolls. This was not just an attack on scrolls, but
was a symbolic assault on the spiritual foundations of
Judaism, the self-same foundations upon which the American
republic has been built. In our service today, we read from
one of these Torah scrolls as a symbolic response to those
soldiers, and to all those who would seek to undermine the
eternal teachings of Torah and the principles of American
democracy: we are not intimidated, we are not afraid.
Generation by generation, we will continue to live by our
ideals and by our faith. Generation by generation, we will
lend our strength to the great American enterprise that
promises hope and freedom, one nation under God, with liberty
and justice for all.
Our story in America is not built on historical
abstractions, but on generations of Jews who have played
their roles in the unfolding of this nation. It is a very
personal history, ingrained in our collective memory.
Attending this service today are descendants of Jews of the
Colonial period, whose ancestors served in the American
Revolution; descendants of families including de Lucena,
Gomez, Nathan, Hendricks, Phillips, Franks, Cardozo,
Seixas. We welcome descendants of Rev. Johannes Polhemus,
minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, who was on the same
ship as the first group of 23 Jews who arrived in New
Amsterdam in September 1654.
We welcome representatives of our sister congregations that
date back to the Colonial period: from the Touro Synagogue in
Newport; from Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia; we have
representatives or words of congratulations from the historic
congregations in Savannah, Charleston and Richmond. We
welcome members of our sister congregation, the Spanish and
Portuguese community of London.
We welcome elected officials and representatives. We
welcome officers of the 20th precinct, who serve our
community with courage and dedication. We welcome leaders of
the American Jewish community, and those who have worked so
hard for Celebrate 350, the national umbrella group
commemoration the 350th anniversary of American Jewry. Indeed
we welcome all congregants and friends who have gathered here
today on this historic occasion.
A number of those present today participated in the
Tercentenary celebrations of 1954. We have a member here
today whose mother--now 107 years old--was part of our
community during the 250th anniversary celebrations in 1904/
5.
Among us are descendants of Jews from all parts of the
world, Jews who came to America at different times and under
different circumstances; including those who are themselves
first generation Americans and first generation Jews. For 350
years, our generations have been part of the American
experience, and have striven to make this a better nation.
We have just read from the Revolutionary Period Torah
scroll, from the section know as ``Kedoshim'', only a few
columns from where the British soldier damaged the scroll.
Kedoshim opens with a challenge to the people of Israel to be
a holy nation, to live according to the commandments of God,
to have the courage and inner strength to maintain Torah
ideals in a world that is not always receptive to such lofty
teachings. The portion goes on to specify how we are to
manifest holiness: through charity; honesty; commitment to
truth and justice; through the avoidance of gossip and
hatred. It culminates with the words: ve-ahavta le-re-aha
kamokha, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The
very principles of enjoined by this passage are the spiritual
foundations of the United States of America. These teachings
are constant reminders of how to live a good life and build a
righteous society; they also are prods to make us realize how
far short we fall from these ideals, how much more work
remains to be done.
On this 350th anniversary of the American Jewish community,
we reflect on the courage and heroic efforts of our
forbearers who have maintained Judaism as a vibrant and
living force in our lives. We express gratitude to America
for having given us--and all citizens--the freedom to
practice our faith. This very freedom has energized and
strengthened America.
Within Congregation Shearith Israel, we have been blessed
with men and women who have helped articulate Jewish ideals
and American ideals. Their voices have blended with the
voices of fellow Americans of various religions and races, to
help shape the dream and reality of America.
The American Declaration of Independence pronounced that
all men are created equal. In his famous letter to the Jewish
community of Newport, in August 1790, President George
Washington hailed the United States for allowing its
citizens freedom--not as a favor bestowed by one group on
another--but in recognition of the inherent natural rights
of all human beings. This country, wrote President
Washington, ``gives bigotry no sanction, to persecution no
assistance''.
And yet, if equality and human dignity are at the core of
American ideals, the fulfillment of these ideals have
required--and still require--sacrifice and devotion. Reality
has not always kept up with the ideal. In 1855, Shearith
Israel member Uriah Phillips Levy--who rose to the rank of
Commodore in the U.S. Navy--was dropped from the Navy's
active duty list. He was convinced that anti-Semitism was at
the root of this demotion. He appealed the ruling and
demanded justice. He asked: are people ``now to learn to
their sorrow and dismay that we too have sunk into the mire
of religious intolerance and bigotry? . . . What is my case
today, if you yield to this injustice, may tomorrow be that
of the Roman Catholic or the Unitarian, the Presbyterian or
the Methodist, the Episcopalian or the Baptist. There is but
one safeguard: that is to be found in honest, whole-hearted,
inflexible support of the wise, the just the impartial
guarantee of the Constitution.'' Levy won his case. He helped
the United States remain true to its principles.
Shearith Israel member Moses Judah (1735-1822) believed
that all men were created
[[Page E1831]]
equal--including black men. In 1799, he was elected to the
New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves.
During his tenure on the standing committee between 1806 and
1809, about 50 slaves were freed. Through his efforts, many
other slaves achieved freedom. He exerted himself to fight
injustice, to expand the American ideals of freed and
equality regardless of race or religion.
Another of our members, Maud Nathan, believed that all men
were created equal but so were all women created equal. She
was a fiery, internationally renowned suffragette, who worked
tirelessly to advance a vision of America that indeed
recognized the equality of all its citizens--men and women.
As president of the consumer league of New York from 1897-
1917, Maud Nathan was a pioneer in social activism, working
for the improvement of working conditions of employees in New
York's department stores. Equality and human dignity were the
rights of all Americans, rich and poor, men and women.
The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that human
beings have unalienable rights; among them are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness. These words express the hope
and optimism of America. They are a repudiation of the
tyranny and oppression that prevailed--and still prevail--in
so many lands. America is a land of opportunity, where people
can live in freedom. The pursuit of happiness really
signifies the pursuit of self-fulfillment, of a meaningful
way of life. America's challenge was--and still is--to create
a harmonious society that allows us to fulfill our
potentials.
President George Washington declared a day of national
Thanksgiving for November 26, 1789. Shearith Israel held a
service, at which Hazan Gershom Mendes Seizas called on this
congregation ``to unite, with cheerfulness and uprightness .
. . to promote that which has a tendency to the public
good.'' Hazzan Seixas believed that Jews, in being faithful
to Jewish tradition, would be constructive and active
participants in American society.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were not
reserved only for those born in America; they are the rights
of all human beings everywhere. This notion underlies
the idealism of the American dream, calling for a sense of
responsibility for all suffering people, whether at home
or abroad. American Jews have been particularly sensitive
and responsive to this ideal.
On March 8th, 1847, Hazan Jacques Judah Lyons addressed a
gathering at Shearith Israel for the purpose of raising funds
for Irish famine relief. The potato crop in Ireland had
failed in 1846, resulting in widespread famine. Hazan Lyons
well realized that the Jewish community needed charitable
dollars for its own internal needs; and yet he insisted that
Jews reach out and help the people of Ireland. He said that
there was one indestructible and all-powerful link between us
and the Irish sufferers: ``That link, my brethren, is
HUMANITY! Its appeal to hear surmounts every obstacle. Clime,
color, sect are barriers which impede not its progress
thither.'' In assisting with Irish famine relief, the Jewish
community reflected its commitment to the well-being of all
suffering human beings. American Jewry grew into--and has
continued to be--a great philanthropic community perhaps
unmatched in history. Never have so few given so much to so
many. In this, we have been true to our Jewish tradition, and
true to the spirit of America.
Who articulated the hope and promise of America more
eloquently than Emma Lazarus? ``Give me your tired, your
poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the
wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the
homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the
golden door.'' How appropriate is it that her poem is affixed
to the great symbol of American freedom, the Statue of
Liberty.
Alice Menken, (for many years president of our Sisterhood)
did remarkable work to help immigrants, to assist young women
who ran into trouble with the law, to promote reform of the
American prison system. She wrote: ``We must seek a balanced
philosophy of life. We must live to make the world worth
living in, with new ideals, less suffering, and more joy.''
Americans see ourselves as one nation, indivisible, under
God, with liberty and justice for all. Yet, liberty and
justice are not automatically attained. They have required--
and still require--wisdom, vigilance, and active
participation. American legal tradition has been enriched by
the insights and the work of many American Jews.
In one of his essays, Justice Benjamin Nathan Cardozo--a
devoted member of Shearith Israel--referred to a Talmudic
passage which has been incorporated into our prayer book. It
asks that the Almighty let His mercy prevail over strict
justice. Justice Cardozo reminded us that the American system
relies not only on justice--but on mercy. Mercy entails not
merely an understanding of laws, but an understanding of the
human predicament, of human nature, of the circumstances
prevailing in human society. Another of our members, Federal
Judge William Herlands, echoed this sentiment when he stated
the Justice without Mercy--is just ice!
Our late rabbis Henry Pereira Mendes, David de Sola Pool
and Louis C. Gerstein, were singularly devoted to social
welfare, to religious education, to the land of Israel. They
distinguished themselves for their devotion to Zionism, and
played their parts in the remarkable unfolding of the State
of Israel. They, along with so many American Jews, have
keenly understood how much unites Israel and the United
States--two beacons of democracy and idealism in a very
troubled world.
These individuals--along with so many other American Jews--
were exponents of the American ideals and the American dream.
During the past 350 years, the American Jewish community has
accomplished much and contributed valiantly to all aspects
of American life. We have been free to practice our faith
and teach our Torah. We have worked with Americans of
others faiths and traditions to mold a better, stronger,
more idealistic nation.
America today is not just a powerful and vast country. It
is also an idea, a compelling idea that has a message for all
people in all lands. As American Jews, we are committed to
the ideals of freedom and equality, human dignity and
security, to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the
pursuit of harmony among ourselves and throughout the world.
We have come far as a nation, but very much remains to be
done. May God give us the strength and the resolve to carry
on, to work proudly as Jews to bring the American dream to
many more generations of humanity.
I close with a prayer spoken by Mordecai Manuel Noah at the
consecration of our second Mill Street Synagogue on April 17,
1818: ``May we prove ever worthy of His blessing; may He look
down from His heavenly abode, and send us peace and comfort;
may He instill in our minds a love of country, of friends,
and of all mankind. Be just, therefore, and fear not. That
God who brought us out of the land of Egypt, who walked
before us like `a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by
night,' will never desert his people Israel.''
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