Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola on 21 September 2004

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the Congressional Record of the United States of America and Gary P. Zola

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18 November 2019 under the Public Domain (17 U.S. Code §105 - Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works)

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Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, United States of America

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U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 108th Congress, תחינות teḥinot, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola, Executive Director, American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio
Sponsor: Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Date of Prayer: 2004-09-21

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome a distinguished constituent of mine, Dr. Gary Phillip Zola, who we just heard from, who was the guest chaplain of the House today. Dr. Zola is the executive director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, which is the world’s largest archival resource which documents the history of North American Jewry. Dr. Zola also serves as an associate professor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati.
Under Dr. Zola’s leadership, the American Jewish Archives has initiated an impressive array of innovative projects that have captured the attention of both the Jewish and general communities in our country. Currently, Dr. Zola is serving as Chair of the Commission for Commemorating the 350th Anniversary of American Jewish History, which has been organized to help our Nation mark the 350th anniversary of Jewish communal life in North America. This commission represents a historical collaboration of the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the American Jewish History Society, and the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. The exhibit, by the way, is currently open at the Library of Congress right across the street.
Prior to assuming leadership of the Marcus Center, Dr. Zola served for more than 15 years as the National Dean of Admissions, Student Affairs and Alumni Relations for Hebrew Union College, a true treasure in greater Cincinnati.
Dr. Zola and his wife, Stefi, live in Blue Ash, Ohio, with their four children, Mandi, Jory, Jeremy, and Samantha.
I thank him so much for taking the time to come join us this afternoon and to deliver a very thoughtful prayer and thoughtful moment for us here in the House of Representatives.

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:
	As we begin legislative deliberations in this great shrine of democracy, we call to mind the words of an American original, Sam Levensen, that Spanish-teacher-turned-entertainer whose homespun stories about his immigrant parents delighted our Nation for generations. Upon his death, Levensen’s children discovered their father’s ethical will containing these prayerful sentiments:
	To America, I owe a debt for the opportunity it gave me to be free and to be me.
	To my parents I owe America. They gave it to me, and I leave it to you. Take good care of it.
	To the Bible, I owe the belief that the human does not live by bread alone, nor do we live alone at all. This is also the democratic tradition. Preserve it.
	In this year marking the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in this great land, may we all acknowledge our debt to America, to the courageous immigrants who gave us this national inheritance, and to the Source of All for endowing us with the benefit of our patriot’s dream, a Nation pledged to uphold the conviction that liberty and justice are for all.
	Thankful are we this day for the manifold blessings that are our daily portion and possession in this great and blessed Nation.
	Amen.

Source(s)

108th Congress, 2nd Session
Issue: Vol. 150, No. 114 — Daily Edition (September 21, 2004)

link: https://chaplain.house.gov/archive/index.html?id=188

Click to access CREC-2004-09-21-pt1-PgH7254-3.pdf

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“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola on 21 September 2004” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

the Congressional Record of the United States of America

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Printing Office and issued when Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks. At the end of a session of Congress, the daily editions are compiled in bound volumes constituting the permanent edition. Statutory authorization for the Congressional Record is found in Chapter 9 of Title 44 of the United States Code. (wikipedia)

Gary P. Zola

Gary Phillip Zola is the Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA) and the Edward M. Ackerman Family Distinguished Professor of the American Jewish Experience & Reform Jewish History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati. Since 1998, he has served as the second Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA), succeeding his teacher and mentor, Jacob Rader Marcus (1896–1995). He is also editor of The Marcus Center’s award-winning semi-annual publication, The American Jewish Archives Journal. Zola served as the organizer and chair of the congressionally-recognized Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History, a consortium of leading research institutions established to promote the study of American Jewish history during the 350th anniversary Jewish life in America (2004–2005). In 2006, Zola became the first American Jewish historian to receive appointment to the Academic Advisory Council of the congressionally-recognized Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. In addition to these national activities, Zola has been actively involved in community relations in Cincinnati, Ohio. In May 2009, the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission conferred the Bishop Herbert Thompson, Jr. Outstanding Humanitarian Award on Zola in recognition of his service to the people of the greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati recognized Zola’s service to Cincinnati’s Jewish community in 2004 by awarding him its Distinguished Leadership Award. In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Zola to serve as a member of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. Although HUC-JIR presidents have received such distinctions over the years, Zola is the first regular member of the College-Institute’s faculty to serve on a standing commission of the United States Government in the history of the school.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17