The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING RABBI NEIL BRIEF
______
HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Rabbi Neil Brief's service to Ezra Habonim Niles Township Jewish Congregation and the Skokie, Illinois community. In 1971 Rabbi Brief became the Rabbi for the Congregation, and he became Rabbi Emeritus in 2004.
Rabbi Brief overcame poverty as a child and developed his leadership skills by becoming president of the Brooklyn Brownsville Boys Club and coaching two club championship basketball teams.
He attended New York University and distinguished himself at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion through his study of numerology, which he later adapted to meet the needs of his congregants. He worked throughout his higher education, as a waiter, busboy, camp counselor and teaching religious school. He then served his country as an Army Chaplain, counseling soldiers of all faiths and rising to the rank of Captain within two years.
Rabbi Brief helped bring people together. He brought Skokie's clergy closer together through spearheading the creation of and serving as president of the Niles Township Clergy Forum. And he helped strengthen his congregants' marriages through his leadership in Jewish Marriage encounter.
Rabbi Brief helped lead and serve his community through his work with the Skokie Commission on Family Services, the Rotary Club, the United Way of Skokie Valley and many other service organizations.
He has always stood by those who were oppressed and through his congregational, interfaith, political and humanist work, helped create Skokie spirit and become a true leader in the community. He helped organize rallies drawing thousands of people to protest prejudice in the community.
Rabbi Brief trained as a Reform rabbi and is a member of the rabbinical organizations of Judaism's Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist.
Rabbi Brief and his beloved late wife Erica, raised three children in Skokie--Dena, David, and Debra--all of whom graduated from Niles North High School. They were married for 57 years.
On this momentous occasion, I wish to congratulate Rabbi Neil Briefs 50 years of service to Ezra Habonim Niles Township Jewish Congregation and the Skokie, Illinois community. He has been a treasured friend to me and my family, and an inspiring leader in our community.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 190
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