[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 12 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      WELCOMING RABBI MARA NATHAN

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro) 
is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize our 
congressional prayer leader today, Rabbi Mara Nathan, and thank her for 
being here.
  Rabbi Nathan began her tenure at Temple Beth-El in San Antonio in 
July 2014, where she was the first woman to serve as senior rabbi of a 
major congregation in the State of Texas.
  At Temple Beth-El, Rabbi Nathan spent her time contributing to her 
congregation through community building, worship innovation, and 
teaching Torah to learners of all ages.
  Prior to being ordained in 2000 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish 
Institute of Religion in New York, she received a bachelor of arts 
degree in history as well as certificates in Jewish studies and women's 
studies from Northwestern University in 1993.
  During her studies, she was a recipient of the Steinhardt Fellowship, 
a scholarship awarded to rabbinical students to further informal 
education with teens and college-age students, and received academic 
awards for Hebrew, history, and Talmudic studies.
  Before coming to San Antonio, Rabbi Nathan served almost 20 years at 
Larchmont Temple in New York, from 1994 to 2014, playing an 
instrumental role in all aspects of congregational life, including 
spiritual worship, ritual, and teaching.
  We are happy to have Rabbi Nathan; her husband, Larry; and their 
children, Isaac, Solomon, and Miriam, in the San Antonio community.
  Thank you, Rabbi, for your words of inspiration.

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