[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 7, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                     HONORING RABBI ADAM BALDACHIN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 7, 2017

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and welcome a new 
leader in the community, Rabbi Adam Baldachin, who on February 5, 2017 
will be installed as the new Rabbi of Shaarei Tikvah in Scarsdale.
  Rabbi Baldachin joined Shaarei Tikvah in July 2016, drawn by the 
community's energy and warmth. He previously served as the Rabbi of 
Montebello Jewish Center in Rockland County. There, he founded the 
Rockland Clergy for Social Justice, a group of Jewish, Christian and 
Muslim clerics advocating for fair and equitable education for the 
public school students of East Ramapo, a district controlled by an 
ultra-Orthodox school board.
  Rabbi Baldachin has also served communities as close as Riverdale, 
which is also a part of my district, and as far as Israel and Uganda. 
In Uganda he worked with the Abayudaya, the local Jewish Community, 
teaching Hebrew, leading services, and helping to build sustainable 
businesses.
  A native of New Providence, NJ, Rabbi Baldachin earned his 
undergraduate degree from the Joint Program of Columbia University and 
the Jewish Theological Seminary. He then completed his Rabbinical 
Degree with an M.A. in Midrash at the Seminary, where he received the 
prestigious Gladstein Fellowship in Entrepreneurial Rabbinic 
Leadership. He also completed extensive training in community 
organizing with JOIN for Justice and in pastoral care, interning as a 
chaplain at Self Help with Holocaust survivors.
  When not serving his congregation, Rabbi Baldachin loves spending 
time with his beautiful family. He and his wife, Maitel, have three 
wonderful children and they are his pride and joy.
  I know that Shaarei Tikvah is in very good hands with Rabbi 
Baldachin, and I know his presence will only strengthen our community 
further. Congratulations to him on this day.

                          ____________________