[2][4] At the EMJC, his sermons constantly educated, challenged and inspired the congregation both in terms of Jewish identity and larger social concerns such as the rights of minorities, and he "pleaded for intensive Jewish Education of the Day School-Yeshiva type long before private schools became fashionable.

[7] The Board of Rabbis resolution was especially opposed to the idea of public funding of private religious schools, calling such action a "violation of our understanding of the hallowed principle of church-state separation.

Rabbi Halpern preached social justice and human rights when those values were still associated with Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah.

[10] Halpern was an ardent Zionist, supporting the rights and needs of the Jewish community in pre-Israel Palestine, and later in the newly established State of Israel,[11] but was also a strong proponent of solving problems through peaceful means.

[12] The resolution read, "We commend the President for the restraining influence he has exercised upon those in our country who would resolve the present international impasse by a resort to arms.

It stresses the role of the law in society and its binding validity on the conduct of our individual and national life, and it cautions us against yielding to discouragement because of initial failure.

[11] Praising the dignity, the restraint, and the "truly religious spirit" of African Americans (using the term "Negro," current at that time) to fight for the constitutional rights guaranteed to them in the constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court, his words became an important force in later rabbinic support of this cause: We recognize the social and economic problems which are faced by our colleagues and their members in the heated atmosphere of bigotry.

We can understand that there can be a difference of opinion concerning the method of achieving the desired result and the pace at which it should proceed, but we feel that no one can be true to the principles of the faith he professes unless he ranges himself on the side of those who are struggling for liberation from the Pharoahs of the twentieth century.A strong Zionist, Halpern was elected president of the Brooklyn region of the Zionist Organization of America in 1944.

[18] Halpern declared that the rally would voice "the common determination of Brooklyn Zionists to fight the [British] delaying tactics now being pursued to block the granting of 100,000 certificates of immigration, recommended by the Anglo-American Committee on Palestine.

"[18] In 1948, when Dr. Chaim Yassky, the director of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Palestine, was slain in an attack by Arabs, Halpern spoke at a meeting of more than 1500 Hadassah members in Brooklyn, calling on the group to observe a moment of silence in memory of Dr. Yassky, other doctors, nurses and laboratory assistants working for the cause of medicine in Palestine.

[19] The New York Times reported that many of the participants in the meeting openly wept, and that Halpern's words added to the "emotional intensity" of the group.

As a result, today's families lack the definite spiritual and cultural links which only a responsible parent can provide.

"[23] During heated 1950s debates on the subject of religion in the public school, Halpern spoke out as President of the Rabbinical Assembly in opposition to the idea.

[25] Throughout his career, Halpern was known for his ability to identify and confront problems – but to fight the tendency to despair, preaching the need to keep faith, and keep hope, even in humanity itself.

"[26] His talks often focused on the challenge of looking ahead, not back, linking the ideas of courage and faith: I love to play with words and look at them closely.

"[30] In April 1954, the EMJC held a weekend-long celebration honoring Halpern's 25th year in the rabbinate and the Center's 30th anniversary.

[31] Among those who paid tribute to Halpern were Abraham L. Sacher, president of Brandeis University," who spoke at a dinner in Halpern's honor, and Supreme Court Justice Maximilian Moss, who delivered a greeting at the Friday evening worship services that began the weekend program.