[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25499]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       TRIBUTE TO RABBI STANLEY HALPERN AND RABBI MICHAEL STEVENS

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                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 14, 1999

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor to commend two of 
Northwest Indiana's most distinguished citizens, Rabbi Stanley Halpern 
and Rabbi Michael Stevens. On Sunday, October 17, 1999, Rabbis Halpern 
and Stevens will be honored for their exemplary and dedicated service 
to Northwest Indiana and to the State of Israel. Their praiseworthy 
efforts will be recognized at the Northwest Indiana-Israel Dinner of 
State, as they receive the Shema Yisrael Award. The Shema Yisrael Award 
is given to worthy recipients who demonstrate their dedication and 
outstanding service of Israel and their community.
  Rabbi Stanley Halpern, a resident of Portage, Indiana, came to Temple 
Israel in Gary, Indiana, in 1988 from Central California where he 
served as the Executive Director of the Bureau of Jewish Education in 
Sacramento. Rabbi Halpern is very involved in several organizations, 
including: the Jewish Deaf Congress, the Gary Interfaith Clergy 
Council, and the Interfaith Alliance of Northwest Indiana. He also 
serves as chaplain of the Gary Police Department. Additionally, he 
serves on the board at the Northwest Indiana Open Housing Center, the 
Bio-Ethics Committee of Munster Community Hospital, the Liheyot panel 
of the UAHC Committee on Family Concerns, and the CJF Special Committee 
on Accessibility. Though Rabbi Halpern is dedicated to his career and 
his community, he has never limited his time and love for his 16-year-
old daughter, Sasha.
  Rabbi Michael Stevens, a native of Brooklyn, New York, received both 
a bachelor's and master's degree in music, as well as a master's degree 
in Hebrew literature. In 1976, Rabbi Stevens was ordained as a Rabbi at 
the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. 
Before coming to Northwest Indiana in 1987 to serve the Temple Beth-El 
in Munster, Rabbi Stevens served as Rabbi of Beth Israel Temple Center 
in Warren, Ohio, and of Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Montreal, Quebec. 
He also served as Interim Rabbi of Congregation Keneseth Israel in 
Allentown, Pennsylvania. While Rabbi Stevens has dedicated considerable 
time and energy to his work, he always made an extra effort to give to 
the community. He has served on the Lake County AIDS Pastoral Care 
Network, reviewed concerts of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, 
composed music for the Temple Beth-El choir, and has played the role of 
the Rabbi in a production of ``Fiddler on the Roof.'' He has served for 
many years on the faculty of the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute camp in 
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and currently teaches in the Department of 
English and Philosophy at Purdue University Calumet. Rabbi and Judy 
Stevens are the proud parents of four wonderful children, David, 
Joshua, Andrea, and Aaron.
  The special guest at this gala event will be Mr. Uriel Lynn. Mr. Lynn 
is a distinguished lawyer and businessman and a former highly regarded 
member of Israel's Knesset.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my distinguished colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Rabbis Stanley Halpern and Michael Stevens for receiving 
the Shema Yisrael Award. Their dedicated service to both the State of 
Israel and our Northwest Indiana community is commendable and 
admirable.

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