Wednesday, September 04, 2002
The Passing of Rabbi Irwing J. Block
Rabbi Block
Dr. Irving J. Block, founder of the Brotherhood Synagogue and one of the most esteemed religious leaders in the city, has.... after a long bout with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 8xs.
Rabbi Block retired in 1994, after 41 years of service. His retirement conicided with the 40th anniversary of the synagogue he founded, long known as a flagship instiution for bringing Jews back to Judaism, promulgating friendship and understanding between races, religions and ethnic groups, and caring for the homeless, the troubled and the disabled, the immigrants and the minorities. Its mission has continued under Rabbi Daniel Alder, who for six years had been Rabbi Block’s associate.
The synagogue was founded by Dr. Block and a group of like-minded associates in 1954, and for 20 years it shared joint quarters with Rev. Dr. Jesse W. Stitt and his Village Presbyterian Church on West 13th Street. The ideal of a community of faiths was shared by Drs Block and Stitt, and they traveled together, espousing their principles, in the U.S. as well as in Germany and Israel.They were honored with awards from Bucknell University, the Salvation Army, and many other civic and religious groups. They appeared on "The Big Surprise," quiz program on Tv, with Dr. Block answering questions on Christianity and Dr. Stitt on Judaism, and withdrewwhen the change in the seasons interfered with the observance of Sabbath. Only the death of Dr. Stitt and the appointment of an unfriendly minister terminated the sharing of the quarters, and ultimately, the existence of the Village Church.
After a year of "wandering in the wilderness," meeting in volunteered quarters such as the NYU Loeb Studebnt Center, in 1975 the sysnagogue settled into the former Friends Meeting House at 29 Gramercy park South, purchased from the United Federation of Teachers. Built in 1859, reputed to have served as an "underground railroad" stop in the pre-Civil War years, and landmarked under the threat of destruction for a high-rise project, it was the perfect match of the needs of a congregation and the preservationist-minded efforts of the Gramercy Park community. The relationship was a model of a interfaith community, and the local Christian leaders - Dr. Thomas J. Pike of Calvary/St. George’s Episcopal Parish, Msgr. Harry Byrne of the Epiphany RC Parish and others - formed a tight-knit ecumenical group, rotating the celebration of Thanksgiving in each other’s sanctuaries. It has survived throughout the years, a crowning glory of liberarism and tolerance that should set example for the world.
Rabbi Block was born in Bridgeport, Ct, served in the US Army in WWII, and went back to school, majoring in accounting at the University of Connecticut, Class of 1947. The call of his Jewish heritage brought him to studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 1947-48, and subsequently to rabbinical studies at the hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in New York. During his studies in Israel he joined the Hagganah Defense League and participated in Israel’s war for independence, for which he was recognized with the Israeli Victory medal.
Rabbi Block was ordained in 1953 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, from which he subsequently received the degree of Masrte of Hebrew Letters, and in 1978, an honorary Doctorate of Divinity.
While serving as a student Rabbi, he decided to form a synagogue that would attract alienated Jews and would emphasize the principles of interfaith brotherhood and community service. He followed these principles for 41 years, and his heritage has persisted in the Brotherhood Synagogue long after his retirement. In 1982, Brotherhood was the first Manhattan synagogue to heed the call of Mayor Koch, asking that religious indtitutions establish sheltrs for the homeless. The synagogue has an award-winning afternoon Hebrew School, providing religious instruction and Bar/Bat-Mitzvah prepsration for students attending secular schools.The synagogue has social services for the mentally challenged and provides space fot the AA and Alzheimer’s support groups. Since 10 years prior to Rabbi Block’s retirement the synagogue has provided a field service program for students of the General Theological Seminary (Episcopal). In 1992 Rabbi Block was awarded an honorary doctorate by the GTS..
In may 1994 Rabbi Block invited a leader of the the local Muslim community, the late Seif Ashmawy, publisher of the Voice of Peace and a voice of the Sunni Moslems on WABC’s Religion on the Line, along with the Consul-General of Egypt and some of their adherents and family members.The congregation opened its heart to their hopeful message and offered hope of their own. An ordinarily sceptical Holocaust survivor showered kisses and tears on Seif.. Peace was given a chance, but not for long, and not for want of trying.
Subsequent to retirement, Rabbi Block authored a memoir, A Rabbi and His Dream (Ktav, 1999), with much dramatic detail of Israel’s war of independence, his ecumaenical communion and subsequent clash with the Presbyterians, and the many conflicts that make Judaism a source of vitality and ideas. Post-retirement, he continued with his activities on behalf of Ethiopian Jews and Russian emigrees, as health permitted..
The survivors include his widow, Dr. Phyllis Rabinove, a French scholar and long-time synagogue volunteer, son Herbert, LLB, a link with the Jewish community during the David Dinkins administration and currently with the xxxx, daughter in law Judith (nee Greenberg), and grandson Joseph Alexander, and a brother, Rabbi Emeritus A. Allen Block of Canarsie’s Temple Emanu-el.
It is recommended that any donations in Rabbi Blocks memory be made to the Brotherhood Synagogue. Memorial services will be announced .
Dr. Irving J. Block, founder of the Brotherhood Synagogue and one of the most esteemed religious leaders in the city, has.... after a long bout with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 8xs.
Rabbi Block retired in 1994, after 41 years of service. His retirement conicided with the 40th anniversary of the synagogue he founded, long known as a flagship instiution for bringing Jews back to Judaism, promulgating friendship and understanding between races, religions and ethnic groups, and caring for the homeless, the troubled and the disabled, the immigrants and the minorities. Its mission has continued under Rabbi Daniel Alder, who for six years had been Rabbi Block’s associate.
The synagogue was founded by Dr. Block and a group of like-minded associates in 1954, and for 20 years it shared joint quarters with Rev. Dr. Jesse W. Stitt and his Village Presbyterian Church on West 13th Street. The ideal of a community of faiths was shared by Drs Block and Stitt, and they traveled together, espousing their principles, in the U.S. as well as in Germany and Israel.They were honored with awards from Bucknell University, the Salvation Army, and many other civic and religious groups. They appeared on "The Big Surprise," quiz program on Tv, with Dr. Block answering questions on Christianity and Dr. Stitt on Judaism, and withdrewwhen the change in the seasons interfered with the observance of Sabbath. Only the death of Dr. Stitt and the appointment of an unfriendly minister terminated the sharing of the quarters, and ultimately, the existence of the Village Church.
After a year of "wandering in the wilderness," meeting in volunteered quarters such as the NYU Loeb Studebnt Center, in 1975 the sysnagogue settled into the former Friends Meeting House at 29 Gramercy park South, purchased from the United Federation of Teachers. Built in 1859, reputed to have served as an "underground railroad" stop in the pre-Civil War years, and landmarked under the threat of destruction for a high-rise project, it was the perfect match of the needs of a congregation and the preservationist-minded efforts of the Gramercy Park community. The relationship was a model of a interfaith community, and the local Christian leaders - Dr. Thomas J. Pike of Calvary/St. George’s Episcopal Parish, Msgr. Harry Byrne of the Epiphany RC Parish and others - formed a tight-knit ecumenical group, rotating the celebration of Thanksgiving in each other’s sanctuaries. It has survived throughout the years, a crowning glory of liberarism and tolerance that should set example for the world.
Rabbi Block was born in Bridgeport, Ct, served in the US Army in WWII, and went back to school, majoring in accounting at the University of Connecticut, Class of 1947. The call of his Jewish heritage brought him to studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 1947-48, and subsequently to rabbinical studies at the hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in New York. During his studies in Israel he joined the Hagganah Defense League and participated in Israel’s war for independence, for which he was recognized with the Israeli Victory medal.
Rabbi Block was ordained in 1953 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, from which he subsequently received the degree of Masrte of Hebrew Letters, and in 1978, an honorary Doctorate of Divinity.
While serving as a student Rabbi, he decided to form a synagogue that would attract alienated Jews and would emphasize the principles of interfaith brotherhood and community service. He followed these principles for 41 years, and his heritage has persisted in the Brotherhood Synagogue long after his retirement. In 1982, Brotherhood was the first Manhattan synagogue to heed the call of Mayor Koch, asking that religious indtitutions establish sheltrs for the homeless. The synagogue has an award-winning afternoon Hebrew School, providing religious instruction and Bar/Bat-Mitzvah prepsration for students attending secular schools.The synagogue has social services for the mentally challenged and provides space fot the AA and Alzheimer’s support groups. Since 10 years prior to Rabbi Block’s retirement the synagogue has provided a field service program for students of the General Theological Seminary (Episcopal). In 1992 Rabbi Block was awarded an honorary doctorate by the GTS..
In may 1994 Rabbi Block invited a leader of the the local Muslim community, the late Seif Ashmawy, publisher of the Voice of Peace and a voice of the Sunni Moslems on WABC’s Religion on the Line, along with the Consul-General of Egypt and some of their adherents and family members.The congregation opened its heart to their hopeful message and offered hope of their own. An ordinarily sceptical Holocaust survivor showered kisses and tears on Seif.. Peace was given a chance, but not for long, and not for want of trying.
Subsequent to retirement, Rabbi Block authored a memoir, A Rabbi and His Dream (Ktav, 1999), with much dramatic detail of Israel’s war of independence, his ecumaenical communion and subsequent clash with the Presbyterians, and the many conflicts that make Judaism a source of vitality and ideas. Post-retirement, he continued with his activities on behalf of Ethiopian Jews and Russian emigrees, as health permitted..
The survivors include his widow, Dr. Phyllis Rabinove, a French scholar and long-time synagogue volunteer, son Herbert, LLB, a link with the Jewish community during the David Dinkins administration and currently with the xxxx, daughter in law Judith (nee Greenberg), and grandson Joseph Alexander, and a brother, Rabbi Emeritus A. Allen Block of Canarsie’s Temple Emanu-el.
It is recommended that any donations in Rabbi Blocks memory be made to the Brotherhood Synagogue. Memorial services will be announced .
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 3:42 PM 
