[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5400]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO TEMPLE BETH JACOB ON THE OCCASION OF THE SEVENTY-FIFTH 
                      ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 16, 2005

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Temple Beth Jacob as it 
celebrates the 75th anniversary of its founding. As the oldest 
congregation on the San Francisco Peninsula, Temple Beth Jacob stands 
as a testament to the long tradition of involvement of the Jewish 
community in the religious and public life in the Bay Area.
  Founded in 1930, Temple Beth Jacob was the first Jewish religious 
institution created between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose. 
Its membership today is burgeoning with a vibrant congregation of more 
than 450 families from throughout the Peninsula to worship, to learn, 
and to strengthen both the Jewish community and the Bay Area community 
as a whole.
  The congregation is led by Rabbi Nathaniel Ezray, who is now in his 
tenth year as the head of this congregation. Over the years, he's 
demonstrated a sincere commitment to translating the lessons of faith 
into actions that will benefit the community. In a 1995 interview, he 
said, ``What's compelling for me is the social justice of Judaism. I 
want our congregation to respond together to domestic violence, AIDS, 
black-Jewish relations. My passion is teaching, but the pulpit allows 
me the opportunity to teach in many different ways and to create 
meaning and relevance.'' He lives with his wife, Mimi, and their 
daughter, Emily, and son, Ethan, in Redwood City.
  In the decades before Rabbi Ezray began at the synagogue, Rabbi H. 
David Teitelbaum led the congregation at Temple Beth Jacob for 38 
years. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from only 100 active 
families to its present size of nearly four times that number. A 
longtime advocate for civil rights, Rabbi Teitelbaum traveled to Selma, 
Alabama in the 1960's to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
believing that the history of persecution of the Jewish people creates 
in them a special obligation to protect the human rights of all. He 
continues to serve as a beacon for the community and his former 
congregation in his current role as Executive Director of the Board of 
Rabbis of Northern California.
  Temple Beth Jacob has a long tradition of coordinating with other 
religious institutions in the Bay Area to provide vital services to the 
community at large. In addition to providing a school and a pre-school 
to the community, Temple Beth Jacob's efforts have helped to house the 
homeless through the Interfaith Homeless Network and feed the hungry 
through the Urban Ministry's ``Breaking Bread'' program. They are 
annual cosponsors of the Martin Luther King observance in Redwood City, 
and have hosted the event over the years. All told, Temple Beth Jacob 
is a model of dedicated community action.
  Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to honor Temple Beth Jacob as it celebrates 
its 75th anniversary. After three quarters of a century, Temple Beth 
Jacob remains a source of pride for the Peninsula, and promises to be a 
center of our community for decades to come.

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