[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 77 (Thursday, April 23, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF RABBI ALAN MAYOR SOKOBIN

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                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 23, 2020

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker. I rise today to honor the life of Alan 
Mayor Sokobin, Rabbi Emeritus of The Temple--Congregation Shomer Emunim 
in Sylvania, Ohio. Rabbi Sokobin suddenly passed from this life on 
Friday April 3, 2020.
  Rabbi Sokobin was a giant in our community. Learned, faith-filled, a 
family man, loving, a leader, compassionate, a World War II veteran, 
funny, high-spirited, reverent, a community leader and so much more. As 
we mourn Rabbi Sokobin's passing, in the midst of Passover, as the 
Jewish people commemorate the exodus from Egypt to the promised land, 
they recognize the importance of welcoming the stranger, to opening 
one's home and the Passover dinner table to the other. Rabbi Sokobin 
spent his life welcoming the stranger and his imprint on our community 
is writ large, his contributions invaluable.
  Alan Mayor Sokobin was born on March 8, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, 
to parents Pauline and Max. At the age of fifteen he slipped away from 
his family to join the Navy, honorably serving in Europe and Japan. 
After the war he graduated from Syracuse University, and then pursued 
rabbinic studies at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He went 
on to receive his Doctor of Theology degree from Burton College. 
Marrying the love of his life on May 19, 1957, together he and Mickey 
raised two children and eventually presided over a family including 
five grandchildren.
  Rabbi Sokobin came to our community in 1972 to join the congregation 
as co-rabbi with Leon Feuer. He soon established himself as an 
intellectual and ecumenical community leader, pairing with Toledo's 
mayor to improve Toledo Municipal Court, chairing the Labor-Management-
Citizens Committee, and working with Promedica Health System. Rabbi 
Sokobin's greatest gift to the faith community was the partnerships he 
formed with Toledo's faith leaders in the Catholic, Muslim, and other 
religious traditions.
  After officially retiring in 1992, Rabbi Sokobin decided to go to Law 
School and graduated in 1996. He was named outstanding student of his 
class by a vote of faculty members. Rabbi Sokobin remained a constant 
figure not only in his congregation, but our community as the years 
passed into this decade. His wise counsel was sought and carefully 
considered regarding issues of the day. His thoughtful countenance and 
astute observations were treasured. Yet, it was always the most 
charming sight to see Rabbi Sokobin pull a balloon ever present in his 
pocket and fashion an animal as children--and adults--watched in 
wonder.
  The young Anne Frank noted ``Our lives are fashioned by our choices. 
First we make our choices. Then our choices make us.'' Rabbi Alan Mayor 
Sokobin chose to live his life serving God with his whole heart,'' a 
choice that made many all the richer. He spent his days putting the 
pieces of the world back together, he worked to fix the disconnected, 
to repair the world--he truly embodied tikkun olam. Today we mourn at 
his passing, but we celebrate his life and the progress he made to fix 
our broken world. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family as 
they mourn this great man.

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