SR0353 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0353 LRB093 14747 HSS 40295 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois were saddened to learn of the death of Rabbi Oscar Z. Fasman, formerly of Chicago, on Monday, November 24, 2003; and

WHEREAS, Rabbi Fasman was born in Chicago and was the descendant of a European rabbinical ancestry; as a boy, he was hired as a guide by a blind rabbi who encouraged him to attend theological school; and

WHEREAS, Rabbi Fasman graduated from Hebrew Theological College in 1929; in 1930, he graduated from the University of Chicago and married his wife, Jeanette, whom he had met through his rabbi; they moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he became the rabbi of an Orthodox Jewish Synagogue; in 1940, he moved to Ottawa, Canada, to oversee five orthodox synagogues; and

WHEREAS, Rabbi Fasman returned to Chicago six years later to serve as president of the Hebrew Theological College, becoming the first American-born and American-trained rabbi to head a leading Orthodox Jewish theological seminary in the country; he was instrumental in building its Skokie campus when the school relocated from Chicago's West Side in 1957; the college honored him in 1964 with appointment as its president emeritus and again 17 years later when it named its preparatory high school for young men after him; and

WHEREAS, After retiring from the college, Rabbi Fasman founded Congregation Yehuda Moshe; he also served from 1977 to 1982 as president of Associated Talmud Torahs, which is the central agency for Jewish education in Chicago; in 1998, he moved to California to be closer to his family; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Rabbi Oscar Z. Fasman has been deeply felt by many, especially his sons, Chaim and Reuven; his daughters, Avis Sugarman and Millicent Drebin; his 15 grandchildren; his 52 great-grandchildren; and his three great-great grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Rabbi Oscar Z. Fasman, whose legacy of communal responsibility and leadership will endure forever; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Rabbi Oscar Z. Fasman as an expression of our sincerest condolences.