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[Pages S2114-S2115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BICENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF RABBI ISAAC MAYER WISE
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from Ohio,
Sherrod Brown, to mark the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of
Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise founded the Central
Conference of American Rabbis in 1889, and this year, its members are
celebrating the 130th anniversary of its establishment at their annual
convention in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH. Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise is
widely acknowledged as one of the fathers of American Reform Judaism.
We would like to recognize the bicentennial anniversary of Rabbi Isaac
Mayer Wise's birth, as well as his extraordinary professional
achievements, which have had an indelible effect on the religious life
of the American nation.
He created three major American institutions, all still vibrant
today: the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now the Union for
Reform Judaism, in 1873; the Hebrew Union College, HUC, in 1875; and
the Central Conference of American Rabbis, CCAR, in 1889. As founding
president and faculty member of HUC for 25 years, Wise shaped and
established Jewish seminary education in America. As CCAR president, he
guided a fledgling American rabbinate to take its place within the
broader American clergy as equal partners. Celebrating the 130th
anniversary of its founding in 2019, the CCAR is today the world's
oldest and largest rabbinical association.
In 1854, Wise founded and edited a weekly newspaper, the Israelite--
later, The American Israelite--in Cincinnati. The following year, Wise
founded and edited a German language newspaper, ``Die Deborah.'' Wise
was also a scholar and educator. He authored over a dozen volumes, both
fiction and nonfiction, many of which dealt with intergroup relations
and the place of the Jew within American society.
It is a deep source of pride to us and so many Ohioans that the roots
of Reform Judaism run through Cincinnati and endure there. We are so
proud of Hebrew Union College and all who serve there and learn there
now, and we know that all leads back to the man we honor today, Rabbi
Isaac Mayer Wise.
Isaac Mayer Wise was an American icon. His writings have been studied
by scholars of many disciplines and backgrounds and we are proud to
recognize him today.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I join my friend and colleague, Senator
Portman, in rising to recognize the 200th anniversary of the birth of
one of
[[Page S2115]]
the giants of American religious life, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. Rabbi
Wise adopted Ohio as his home and is recognized as the father of
American Reform Judaism. His ideas and teachings and the many great
institutions he founded have had a profound effect on American Judaism
and on people of faith throughout our country and around the world.
Rabbi Wise believed in liberty, in life, and in faith; he wanted to
ensure that his ancient religious tradition, which had sustained people
for millennia, remained relevant in a new and fast-changing nation. He
pioneered ideas like men and women sitting together during services and
choral singing and gave so many a new way to understand and practice
their faith.
The groundbreaking institutions he founded left an indelible mark on
Judaism and remain an integral part of our country's religious life to
this day: the Central Conference of American Rabbis--CCAR--the Union of
American Hebrew Congregations, today known as the Union for Reform
Judaism, and Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati.
Rabbi Wise made Cincinnati his home, and in large part because of the
institutions he created, Cincinnati became central to the fabric of
American Judaism. HUC is a center of Jewish thought, and this year, the
CCAR will celebrate its 130th anniversary in the Queen City. The weekly
newspaper Rabbi Wise founded, the Israelite, was based in Cincinnati,
and that paper helped shape Reform Judaism.
Senator Portman and I join the people of Ohio in remembering this
great Ohioan on the bicentennial of his birth. Rabbi Wise and his
legacy are a great source of pride for so many Ohioans; we are honored
to recognize his incredible contributions to Judaism, to Ohio, and to
our country.
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