[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 85 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S4787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     TRIBUTE TO RABBI STEPHEN BAARS

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to my 
friend Rabbi Stephen Baars, of Bethesda, MD, whom I had the honor of 
sponsoring as our guest Chaplain for this morning. Given all that Rabbi 
Baars has done to help others, it was fitting that he was picked to 
lead the Senate in prayer. No tribute would be complete, however, 
without giving Senators a greater understanding of his outstanding and 
unique accomplishments.
  Born and raised in London, Rabbi Baars originally envisioned himself 
working in business or sales until, at age 19, he went on vacation to 
Israel and became enamored with Judaism. When he finally returned to 
London 6 months later, he had made up his mind to become a rabbi. 
Shortly thereafter, he moved back to Jerusalem, where he attended 
rabbinical school for 9 years through Aish HaTorah, a nonprofit network 
of Jewish educational centers.
  After completing his studies, Rabbi Baars moved to Los Angeles to 
work for Aish HaTorah. It was in L.A. that he tried a second career as 
a stand-up comedian. On the advice of a friend, Rabbi Baars began 
taking comedy classes at UCLA and performing stand-up in clubs. In 
fact, he is the only rabbi to have performed at the famous L.A. Improv. 
Eventually, he would stop performing because he found his spiritual 
work more rewarding. His comedic skills, however, would play a role in 
his future work, serving as means for him to get his message across to 
audiences.
  In 1990, Rabbi Baars moved to the Washington, DC, region and began 
teaching Jewish studies classes throughout the DC area. Some of his 
students included Senators, Representatives, and top business leaders. 
In 1998, he established a Washington, DC, chapter of Aish HaTorah, and 
served as its executive director. It was there that he established his 
most ambitious and creative project yet. In 2002, troubled by America's 
high divorce rate, Rabbi Baars created BLISS, an innovative, 
nondenominational marriage seminar that mixes humor with advice taken 
from the Torah and Talmud. Always an optimist who sees the best in 
people, Rabbi Baars conducts these seminars and prepares his 
provocative ``Think Again'' e-mail newsletter with the belief that 
human beings all contain the skills and attributes they need to be good 
spouses and parents and that they just need to learn how to reach deep 
into themselves to utilize these abilities.
  Rabbi Baars continues to operate BLISS, which has won rave reviews 
from many of its participants. Not too long ago, he was kind enough to 
demonstrate a sample presentation to my staff, who very much enjoyed 
it. He has stated that his goal for BLISS is to help reduce the divorce 
rate in America to the single digits. Some may mock this goal as naive, 
but as Rabbi Baars says, ``If you pick a goal that's reasonable to 
achieve, you didn't look high enough.''
  Of course, it should come as no surprise that someone as dedicated to 
helping families as Rabbi Baars is happily married. He and his wife 
Ruth have been together for 16 years and have been blessed with seven 
wonderful children. His wife and family are a constant source of 
strength and support for Rabbi Baars as he pursues his life's work.
  Thank you, Rabbi Baars, for all you have done to bring families 
together. It was truly an honor to have you pray with us today.

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