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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Rabbi Dr. Moses Mescheloff of Chicago,
4 who passed away on May 9, 2008; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Rabbi Dr. Moses Mescheloff was born in New York
6 City in 1909; he entered the Talmudical Academy of Rabbi Isaac
7 Elchanan Theological Seminary at the age of 13 and was the
8 school's first native English-speaking student; he received
9 his ordination in 1932 and graduated with high honors,
10 including Phi Beta Kappa, from the City College of New York the
11 same year; and
 
12     WHEREAS, In 1935, Rabbi Mescheloff married the former Magda
13 Schonfeld; together, they would ultimately have 3 children, 16
14 grandchildren, and 55 great-grandchildren; and
 
15     WHEREAS, After holding pulpits in Scranton, Pennsylvania
16 and North Adams, Massachusetts, Rabbi Mescheloff was invited to
17 become the first rabbi at Beth Jacob Congregation, in Miami
18 Beach, Florida, the only congregation in Miami Beach at that
19 time, in 1937; as rabbi, he took a primary role in establishing
20 institutions that led to the rapid growth of the area's Jewish
21 community, including kosher food, a mikvah, adult education
22 courses, a Hebrew school, and Jewish women's organizations; he

 

 

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1 also helped to establish a good relationship between the city's
2 fledgling Jewish community and its non-Jews and was featured on
3 several long-running radio shows; and
 
4     WHEREAS, During World War II, Rabbi Mescheloff became a
5 civilian chaplain, counseling soldiers in the field and their
6 wives and parents at home; he also served as a member of the
7 delegation attempting to save European Jewish refugees on the
8 ship St. Louis, joining other leading rabbis in an attempt to
9 allow the refugees to enter the United States; and
 
10     WHEREAS, In 1954, Rabbi Mescheloff came to Chicago in time
11 to celebrate Chanukah with his new congregation of Congregation
12 K.I.N.S. of West Rogers Park; in addition to his long tenure at
13 K.I.N.S. and the many organizational positions he held, he also
14 wrote articles for a number of magazines, both scholarly and
15 popular; in 1980, he received the degree of Doctor of Hebrew
16 Letters from the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie; and
 
17     WHEREAS, In addition to his position at K.I.N.S., where he
18 was rabbi emeritus at the time of his death, Rabbi Mescheloff
19 held many other posts in Chicago; he was a past president of
20 the Chicago Rabbinical Council, the Religious Zionist Council,
21 and the Chicago Board of Rabbis; he was also a member of
22 numerous other organizations and was involved in many public
23 causes in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Rabbi Mescheloff is survived by his wife of 73
2 years, Magda; his children, Renah (Rabbi Alexander) Bell, Rabbi
3 Dr. Efraim (Felice) Mescheloff, and Rabbi Dr. David (Irene)
4 Mescheloff; and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Rabbi Mescheloff will be remembered by all who
6 knew and loved him as a man of great dignity and kindness who
7 was able to create connections between people, both between
8 Jews and other Jews and, when necessary, between the Jewish and
9 non-Jewish community; therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
11 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
12 his family and friends, the passing of Rabbi Dr. Moses
13 Mescheloff; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to the family of Rabbi Dr. Moses Mescheloff as an
16 expression of our sympathy.