Temple Sha'arey Shalom welcomes with excitement: Rabbi David Saperstein
"The Jewish contribution to the fight for civil rights in America: a lecture in honor of Rabbi Sy Dresner
March 8, 2019: Services @ 7:30pm
The featured speaker at the service on Friday evening, March 8, at 7:30, at Temple Sha'arey Shalom, 78 South Springfield Avenue, Springfield, will be Rabbi David Saperstein. He will speak on “The Jewish contribution to the fight for civil rights in America: a lecture in honor of Rabbi Sy Dresner.“
Rabbi Saperstein has been designated by Newsweek Magazine as the most influential rabbi in America and by the Washington Post as the "quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill.” From 2015 to 2017, he served as the United States Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, the country’s chief diplomat on religious freedom issues.
Rabbi Israel S. (Sy) Dresner was Temple Sha'arey Shalom’s first full-time rabbi. He was one of the most active Jewish religious leaders in America in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He was once known as the Most Arrested Rabbi in America and continues to be known as the Most Jailed Rabbi in America. As a result of Rabbi Dresner’s close relationship with the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Dr. King spoke at Temple Sha'arey Shalom twice, in 1963 and 1966.
A dinner will precede the service and Rabbi Saperstein’s speech. The dinner will begin at 6:00 and both Rabbi Saperstein and Rabbi Dresner will participate. Members of the temple will be charged $12 per person for the dinner; non-members will pay $18 per person. Dinner is by reservation only and must be paid for in advance. For more information and dinner reservations, please call the temple at (973) 379-5387.