[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 48 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN RECOGNITION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST BAT MITZVAH IN THE 
                        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 17, 2022

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay 
tribute to the centennial anniversary of the first Bat Mitzvah of an 
American girl, which took place on March 18, 1922, at the Society for 
the Advancement of Judaism (SAJ) in New York City.
  At 12 years of age, Judith Kaplan became the first girl on American 
soil to formally step into the Jewish community by becoming a Bat 
Mitzvah (daughter of the commandments). Her father, Rabbi Mordecai M. 
Kaplan, founded SAJ just three months prior, in January of 1922. He 
believed strongly that girls should have equal religious opportunities, 
so he arranged for his daughter to read from the Torah soon after the 
synagogue was created.
  This momentous occasion helped begin the meaningful inclusion of 
women and girls in Jewish religious life. Bat Mitzvahs became common 
place, Jewish women started to serve in leadership roles in synagogues 
and organizations, and exactly 50 years later, the first female rabbi 
in American history was ordained by a rabbinical seminary.
  Judith Kaplan's Bat Mitzvah was also the first in a long line of 
countless innovative and groundbreaking advancements in Jewish thought 
and practice by SAJ and their leadership.
  Rabbi Kaplan established SAJ as the first synagogue based on the 
principles of Reconstruction, which views Judaism as a constantly 
evolving civilization. He believed that Jewish life was rooted in 
tradition but also able to adapt alongside the ever-changing 
circumstances of wider society under that guiding principle.
  Since Rabbi Kaplan's pioneering tenure, SAJ has continued to live up 
to his powerful legacy of American Jewish innovation. The synagogue is 
considered a cornerstone of Jewish life in New York's Upper West Side. 
SAJ, led by an all-female clergy and staff, is an intellectual stalwart 
in the community that is dedicated to practicing a modern, American, 
egalitarian form of Judaism. They advance Jewish education, arts, 
music, and cultural self-expression as vital to the religious practice.
  SAJ upholds the Jewish tenet of tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase that 
means to repair the world. The synagogue embodies this teaching by 
working for economic, immigrant, and reproductive justice; affirming 
LGBTQ+ members and interfaith families; and actively supporting and 
partnering with New York City's Westside Campaign Against Hunger to 
fight against food insecurity.
  I honor Judith Kaplan's courage and celebrate the 100th anniversary 
of her groundbreaking Bat Mitzvah.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
Society for the Advancement of Judaism's remarkable contributions to 
the Jewish community in New York City and all over the world.

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