Rabbi Maurice N. Eisendrath

WHEREAS Rabbi Maurice N. Eisendrath led the Union, and through it, American Reform Judaism, from relative obscurity to a position of world-wide prestige and respect;

WHEREAS he had consistently and fearlessly, often in the face of criticism from within and without American Jewry, enunciated the moral imperatives of Judaism as they applied to contemporary issues;

WHEREAS he had extended and expanded the involvement and participation of laymen at all levels of the Union and the Reform Jewish movement;

WHEREAS in all this time, through the trials and traumas of Jewish and American life, his prophetic voice was never silenced nor compromised and his social passion had never waned;

WHEREAS he tirelessly and effectively brought about greater emphasis on Jewish education, on service to congregations, on programs for young people, which now extend beyond the borders of North America, as well as innovative camp programs through the Union's seven regional camps and one national camp;

WHEREAS he guided Reform Judaism from its earlier posture of parochial concern to one which now encompasses K'lal Yisrael, as a co-founder of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and by having the Union participate in other similar umbrella groups cooperating in behalf of Jewish everywhere;

THEREFORE , we, the delegates to the 52nd General Assembly of the UAHC, express our profound loss at his untimely death and, at the same time, express our gratitude to God for his extraordinary leadership. To his beloved wife, Rita, his mother and family, we, on behalf of the American Reform Movement, express our sympathy and love.

"May the memory of the righteous be for a blessing."