Roy Cooper: “The opening prayer today was given by Rabbi Mark Schiftan of Nashville, the senior rabbi of the oldest and largest…”

“The opening prayer today was given by Rabbi Mark Schiftan of Nashville, the senior rabbi of the oldest and largest Jewish congregation in middle Tennessee. The congregation dates back to 1851, when the Vine Street Temple began worship services in downtown Nashville, even before the Civil War. Rabbi Schiftan has led today's temple, Congregation Ohabai Sholom, for nearly 20 years and is well known and beloved in our community. His family escaped the Holocaust from Vienna, Austria, fleeing first to Shanghai, China, and then to San Francisco. Rabbi Schiftan was educated at San Francisco State University, the Hebrew Union of Los Angeles, and then was ordained at the Hebrew Union of Cincinnati. Under Rabbi Schiftan's leadership, the temple has been the indispensable religious and cultural institution for all of middle Tennessee. I would like to personally thank the rabbi for his strong leadership in our community, for our personal friendship, and for opening the House with prayer today. ____________________”