[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 42 (Thursday, March 12, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1491-S1492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING KEMP MILL SYNAGOGUE'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY AND THE SERVICE OF 
                      RABBI YAAKOV ``JACK'' BIELER

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this Saturday, I will have the 
privilege and pleasure of visiting Kemp Mill Synagogue, KMS, for a 
Melava Malka on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. KMS held its 
first service on March 17, 1990, attended by a group of 50 worshipers 
in a Kemp Mill home, and held its first services in its current 
location on Kemp Mill Road on Shabbat of September 19, 1998. The Modern 
Orthodox Synagogue is a vibrant and loving community where members of 
the congregation gather to daven, learn, celebrate, and observe 
lifecycle events, smachot, and rituals together.
  In 1994, Rabbi Yaakov (Jack) Bieler officially became the first rabbi 
of KMS. As the leader of the KMS community, Rabbi Bieler has led and 
inspired the development of an ambitious program of shiurim, study 
groups, scholars-in-residence and educational programs. Weekly Divrei 
Tora by men and women enlighten the congregation by offering a 
diversity of perspectives. Youth groups and social activities 
contribute to creating a warm and engaged community.
  Rabbi Bieler is a great friend and true leader in Maryland's faith-
based community. While he has been at KMS for over 20 years, his 
commitment to his faith and community has been a lifelong passion. 
Rabbi Bieler was raised in Bayside, Queens, and attended local public 
schools. In 1969, he graduated from the James Striar School of Jewish 
Studies in New York, where he honed his mastery of Jewish texts. He 
spent the years of 1969 to 1971 studying at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh in 
Israel.
  When Rabbi Bieler returned to New York, he studied at Yeshiva 
University, where he was ordained by the Rabbi Isaac Eichanan 
Theological Seminary. This prestigious program, which dates back to 
1886, challenges and trains leaders of Judaism to hold fast to the ways 
of the Torah while responding to the questions and demands of modern 
society. During this time, he also pursued a master of arts in Jewish 
Education from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Education, completing his 
studies in 1974.
  While Rabbi Bieler's studies prepared him to be a Jewish religious 
leader, he always sought new ways to share his knowledge with others. 
To this end, Rabbi Bieler has spent much of his life in the classroom. 
He served on the faculty and was a chairman of the Talmud Department of 
the Joseph H. Lookstein Upper School of Ramaz from 1974 to

[[Page S1492]]

1988. In these roles, he helped to educate children in Judaic and 
general studies, holding himself and others to high standards in the 
classroom and in the community. And he has always been committed to 
menschlichkeit, or the values of human dignity and mutual respect, and 
the strength of Jewish heritage. Today, he is still guided by these 
commitments.
  Rabbi Bieler served concurrently on the faculty of the Adult 
Education Institute of the Lincoln Square Synagogue between 1971 and 
1977 and as a permanent scholar-in-residence of Congregation Kehilath 
Jeshurun from 1977 to 1988. This service speaks to Rabbi Bieler's 
belief that our education--in faith and in life--never ends; we are 
always learning, always seeking to become better versions of ourselves. 
His role as an educator grew and changed before he found his way to 
Kemp Mill Synagogue. In 1988, he assumed the position of lead teacher 
and chairman of the Judaic Studies Department at the Hebrew Academy of 
Greater Washington, now the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, a Modern 
Orthodox Jewish day school in Rockville, MD. He worked at the Hebrew 
Academy of Washington for a number of years and in a variety of roles, 
becoming the Upper School assistant principal in charge of Judaic 
Studies in 1991. During his tenure, Rabbi Bieler strove to provide 
students with a firm foundation in Torah and Jewish law, to encourage 
creativity and critical thinking, and promoted a deep sense of 
community and personal responsibility in students.
  Rabbi Bieler is a man who is much loved and respected by his 
community. And he is a humble man, so it falls to others to recite his 
many achievements. During his tenure at Ramaz, he was awarded the Gruss 
Outstanding Educator award. In 1985, he received a prestigious 
Jerusalem Fellows fellowship and spent the year with family, including 
his beloved wife Dr. Joanie Bieler, in Jerusalem. Among other 
achievements, Rabbi Bieler has published numerous articles on Jewish 
education and issues facing Judaism today, especially concerning Modern 
Orthodoxy.
  Rabbi Bieler will be retiring from his service as the leader of the 
Kemp Mill Synagogue community on June 30, 2015. He has faithfully 
served KMS for most of its 25-year history, leading and inspiring the 
development of an ambitious educational program indicative of his love 
for teaching, learning, and sharing Judaism. Under his leadership, KMS 
has encouraged a congregation of mutual enlightenment and diversified 
perspectives. Furthermore, youth groups and social activities have been 
cultivated and grown, creating a warm and engaged community. KMS is an 
important hub of community and faith in Silver Spring. KMS members are 
leaders in the Jewish Federation, local day schools, the Rabbinical 
Council, the Emunah Society, the Kemp Mill Civic Association, the 
Orthodox Union, and the larger community. They are committed to worship 
and to service, to the United States, and to the State of Israel.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating KMS on its 25th 
anniversary and acknowledging the inspired service, dedication, and 
leadership of Rabbi Yaakov and Dr. Joanie Bieler who will undoubtedly 
continue to be involved in their community and inspire others to serve 
even when their formal leadership roles at KMS come to an end. I wish 
them all the best.

                          ____________________