[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21943-21945]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF THE 350TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONGREGATION SHEARITH ISRAEL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 6, 2004

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, on September 12, 2004 a service was held for 
the 350th anniversary of the Congregation Shearith Israel in New York 
City. The Congregation, founded by 23 impoverished Brazilian Jews 
seeking refuge in New Amsterdam, marked the beginning of Jewish life in 
America. What began as a small settlement, nearly 122 years before 
American independence, grew into a community that not only benefited 
from the equality and religious freedom found here, but had a profound 
influence on such ideals over the course of American history. The 
American Jewish community has played a role in the extension of 
freedom, justice and social equality to all our people. Mr. Speaker, I 
would like to enter into the Record the sermon given by Rabbi Marc D. 
Angel on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the Congregation 
Shearith Israel.

       We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are 
     created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with 
     certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, 
     Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'' These words from the 
     American Declaration of Independence reflect the deepest 
     ideals and aspirations of the American people. America is not 
     merely a country, vast and powerful; America is an idea, a 
     vision of life as it could be.
       When these words were first proclaimed on July 4, 1776, 
     Congregation Shearith Israel was almost 122 years old. It was 
     a venerable community, with an impressive history--a bastion 
     of Jewish faith and tradition, and an integral part of the 
     American experience. When the British invaded New York in 
     1776, a large group of congregants including our Hazan Rev. 
     Gershom Mendes Seixas, left the city rather than live under 
     British rule. Many joined the Revolutionary army and fought 
     for American independence.
       Some remained in New York, and conducted services in our 
     synagogue building on Mill Street. Early in the war, two 
     British soldiers broke into the synagogue and desecrated two 
     Torah scrolls. This was not just an attack on scrolls, but 
     was a symbolic assault on the spiritual foundations of 
     Judaism, the self-same foundations upon which the American 
     republic has been built. In our service today, we read from 
     one of these Torah scrolls as a symbolic response to those 
     soldiers, and to all those who would seek to undermine the 
     eternal teachings of Torah and the principles of American 
     democracy: we are not intimidated, we are not afraid. 
     Generation by generation, we will continue to live by our 
     ideals and by our faith. Generation by generation, we will 
     lend our strength to the great American enterprise that 
     promises hope and freedom, one nation under God, with liberty 
     and justice for all.
       Our story in America is not built on historical 
     abstractions, but on generations of Jews who have played 
     their roles in the unfolding of this nation. It is a very 
     personal history, ingrained in our collective memory.
       Attending this service today are descendants of Jews of the 
     Colonial period, whose ancestors served in the American 
     Revolution; descendants of families including de Lucena, 
     Gomez, Nathan, Hendricks, Phillips, Franks, Cardozo, Seixas. 
     We welcome descendants of Rev. Johannes Polhemus, minister of 
     the Dutch Reformed Church, who was on the same ship as the 
     first group of 23 Jews who arrived in New Amsterdam in 
     September 1654.
       We welcome representatives of our sister congregations that 
     date back to the Colonial period: from the Touro Synagogue in 
     Newport; from Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia; we have 
     representatives or words of congratulations from the historic 
     congregations in Savannah, Charleston and Richmond. We 
     welcome members of our sister congregation, the Spanish and 
     Portuguese community of London.
       We welcome elected officials and representatives. We 
     welcome officers of the 20th precinct, who serve our 
     community with courage and dedication. We welcome leaders of 
     the American Jewish community, and those who have worked so 
     hard for Celebrate 350, the national umbrella group 
     commemoration the 350th anniversary of American Jewry. Indeed 
     we welcome all congregants and friends who have gathered here 
     today on this historic occasion.

[[Page 21944]]

       A number of those present today participated in the 
     Tercentenary celebrations of 1954. We have a member here 
     today whose mother--now 107 years old--was part of our 
     community during the 250th anniversary celebrations in 1904/
     5.
       Among us are descendants of Jews from all parts of the 
     world, Jews who came to America at different times and under 
     different circumstances; including those who are themselves 
     first generation Americans and first generation Jews. For 350 
     years, our generations have been part of the American 
     experience, and have striven to make this a better nation.
       We have just read from the Revolutionary Period Torah 
     scroll, from the section know as ``Kedoshim'', only a few 
     columns from where the British soldier damaged the scroll. 
     Kedoshim opens with a challenge to the people of Israel to be 
     a holy nation, to live according to the commandments of God, 
     to have the courage and inner strength to maintain Torah 
     ideals in a world that is not always receptive to such lofty 
     teachings. The portion goes on to specify how we are to 
     manifest holiness: through charity; honesty; commitment to 
     truth and justice; through the avoidance of gossip and 
     hatred. It culminates with the words: ve-ahavta le-re-aha 
     kamokha, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The 
     very principles of enjoined by this passage are the spiritual 
     foundations of the United States of America. These teachings 
     are constant reminders of how to live a good life and build a 
     righteous society; they also are prods to make us realize how 
     far short we fall from these ideals, how much more work 
     remains to be done.
       On this 350th anniversary of the American Jewish community, 
     we reflect on the courage and heroic efforts of our 
     forbearers who have maintained Judaism as a vibrant and 
     living force in our lives. We express gratitude to America 
     for having given us--and all citizens--the freedom to 
     practice our faith. This very freedom has energized and 
     strengthened America.
       Within Congregation Shearith Israel, we have been blessed 
     with men and women who have helped articulate Jewish ideals 
     and American ideals. Their voices have blended with the 
     voices of fellow Americans of various religions and races, to 
     help shape the dream and reality of America.
       The American Declaration of Independence pronounced that 
     all men are created equal. In his famous letter to the Jewish 
     community of Newport, in August 1790, President George 
     Washington hailed the United States for allowing its citizens 
     freedom--not as a favor bestowed by one group on another--but 
     in recognition of the inherent natural rights of all human 
     beings. This country, wrote President Washington, ``gives 
     bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance''.
       And yet, if equality and human dignity are at the core of 
     American ideals, the fulfillment of these ideals have 
     required--and still require--sacrifice and devotion. Reality 
     has not always kept up with the ideal. In 1855, Shearith 
     Israel member Uriah Phillips Levy--who rose to the rank of 
     Commodore in the U.S. Navy--was dropped from the Navy's 
     active duty list. He was convinced that anti-Semitism was at 
     the root of this demotion. He appealed the ruling and 
     demanded justice. He asked: are people ``now to learn to 
     their sorrow and dismay that we too have sunk into the mire 
     of religious intolerance and bigotry? . . . What is my case 
     today, if you yield to this injustice, may tomorrow be that 
     of the Roman Catholic or the Unitarian, the Presbyterian or 
     the Methodist, the Episcopalian or the Baptist. There is but 
     one safeguard: that is to be found in honest, whole-hearted, 
     inflexible support of the wise, the just the impartial 
     guarantee of the Constitution.'' Levy won his case. He helped 
     the United States remain true to its principles.
       Shearith Israel member Moses Judah (1735-1822) believed 
     that all men were created equal--including black men. In 
     1799, he was elected to the New York Society for Promoting 
     the Manumission of Slaves. During his tenure on the standing 
     committee between 1806 and 1809, about 50 slaves were freed. 
     Through his efforts, many other slaves achieved freedom. He 
     exerted himself to fight injustice, to expand the American 
     ideals of freed and equality regardless of race or religion.
       Another of our members, Maud Nathan, believed that all men 
     were created equal but so were all women created equal. She 
     was a fiery, internationally renowned suffragette, who worked 
     tirelessly to advance a vision of America that indeed 
     recognized the equality of all its citizens--men and women. 
     As president of the consumer league of New York from 1897-
     1917, Maud Nathan was a pioneer in social activism, working 
     for the improvement of working conditions of employees in New 
     York's department stores. Equality and human dignity were the 
     rights of all Americans, rich and poor, men and women.
       The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that human 
     beings have unalienable rights; among them are life, liberty 
     and the pursuit of happiness. These words express the hope 
     and optimism of America. They are a repudiation of the 
     tyranny and oppression that prevailed--and still prevail--in 
     so many lands. America is a land of opportunity, where people 
     can live in freedom. The pursuit of happiness really 
     signifies the pursuit of self-fulfillment, of a meaningful 
     way of life. America's challenge was--and still is--to create 
     a harmonious society that allows us to fulfill our 
     potentials.
       President George Washington declared a day of national 
     Thanksgiving for November 26, 1789. Shearith Israel held a 
     service, at which Hazan Gershom Mendes Seizas called on this 
     congregation ``to unite, with cheerfulness and uprightness . 
     . . to promote that which has a tendency to the public 
     good.'' Hazzan Seixas believed that Jews, in being faithful 
     to Jewish tradition, would be constructive and active 
     participants in American society.
       Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were not 
     reserved only for those born in America; they are the rights 
     of all human beings everywhere. This notion underlies the 
     idealism of the American dream, calling for a sense of 
     responsibility for all suffering people, whether at home or 
     abroad. American Jews have been particularly sensitive and 
     responsive to this ideal.
       On March 8th, 1847, Hazan Jacques Judah Lyons addressed a 
     gathering at Shearith Israel for the purpose of raising funds 
     for Irish famine relief. The potato crop in Ireland had 
     failed in 1846, resulting in widespread famine. Hazan Lyons 
     well realized that the Jewish community needed charitable 
     dollars for its own internal needs; and yet he insisted that 
     Jews reach out and help the people of Ireland. He said that 
     there was one indestructible and all-powerful link between us 
     and the Irish sufferers: ``That link, my brethren, is 
     HUMANITY! Its appeal to hear surmounts every obstacle. Clime, 
     color, sect are barriers which impede not its progress 
     thither.'' In assisting with Irish famine relief, the Jewish 
     community reflected its commitment to the well-being of all 
     suffering human beings. American Jewry grew into--and has 
     continued to be--a great philanthropic community perhaps 
     unmatched in history. Never have so few given so much to so 
     many. In this, we have been true to our Jewish tradition, and 
     true to the spirit of America.
       Who articulated the hope and promise of America more 
     eloquently than Emma Lazarus? ``Give me your tired, your 
     poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the 
     wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the 
     homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the 
     golden door.'' How appropriate is it that her poem is affixed 
     to the great symbol of American freedom, the Statue of 
     Liberty.
       Alice Menken, (for many years president of our Sisterhood) 
     did remarkable work to help immigrants, to assist young women 
     who ran into trouble with the law, to promote reform of the 
     American prison system. She wrote: ``We must seek a balanced 
     philosophy of life. We must live to make the world worth 
     living in, with new ideals, less suffering, and more joy.''
       Americans see ourselves as one nation, indivisible, under 
     God, with liberty and justice for all. Yet, liberty and 
     justice are not automatically attained. They have required--
     and still require--wisdom, vigilance, and active 
     participation. American legal tradition has been enriched by 
     the insights and the work of many American Jews.
       In one of his essays, Justice Benjamin Nathan Cardozo--a 
     devoted member of Shearith Israel--referred to a Talmudic 
     passage which has been incorporated into our prayer book. It 
     asks that the Almighty let His mercy prevail over strict 
     justice. Justice Cardozo reminded us that the American system 
     relies not only on justice--but on mercy. Mercy entails not 
     merely an understanding of laws, but an understanding of the 
     human predicament, of human nature, of the circumstances 
     prevailing in human society. Another of our members, Federal 
     Judge William Herlands, echoed this sentiment when he stated 
     the Justice without Mercy--is just ice!
       Our late rabbis Henry Pereira Mendes, David de Sola Pool 
     and Louis C. Gerstein, were singularly devoted to social 
     welfare, to religious education, to the land of Israel. They 
     distinguished themselves for their devotion to Zionism, and 
     played their parts in the remarkable unfolding of the State 
     of Israel. They, along with so many American Jews, have 
     keenly understood how much unites Israel and the United 
     States--two beacons of democracy and idealism in a very 
     troubled world.
       These individuals--along with so many other American Jews--
     were exponents of the American ideals and the American dream. 
     During the past 350 years, the American Jewish community has 
     accomplished much and contributed valiantly to all aspects of 
     American life. We have been free to practice our faith and 
     teach our Torah. We have worked with Americans of others 
     faiths and traditions to mold a better, stronger, more 
     idealistic nation.
       America today is not just a powerful and vast country. It 
     is also an idea, a compelling idea that has a message for all 
     people in all lands. As American Jews, we are committed to 
     the ideals of freedom and equality, human dignity and 
     security, to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the 
     pursuit of harmony among ourselves and throughout the world. 
     We have come far as a nation, but very much remains to be 
     done. May God give us the strength and the resolve to carry 
     on, to work proudly as Jews to bring the American

[[Page 21945]]

     dream to many more generations of humanity.
       I close with a prayer spoken by Mordecai Manuel Noah at the 
     consecration of our second Mill Street Synagogue on April 17, 
     1818: ``May we prove ever worthy of His blessing; may He look 
     down from His heavenly abode, and send us peace and comfort; 
     may He instill in our minds a love of country, of friends, 
     and of all mankind. Be just, therefore, and fear not. That 
     God who brought us out of the land of Egypt, who walked 
     before us like `a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by 
     night,' will never desert his people Israel.''

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