Benediction by Rabbi Morris Shmidman at the Democratic National Convention (1988)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Morris Shmidman

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3 January 2021 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Elections & Voting, United States of America

Tags:

תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Democratic National Conventions, United States General Election 1988, Democratic National Convention 1988, 20th century C.E., United States, Benediction

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Avinu shebaShamayim — Heavenly Father who gives strength under governments and understanding unto mortals, bestow Thy blessings, we pray Thee upon Thy beloved servant Michael S. Dukakis on this memorable moment in his life and the life of the Democratic party and in the life of our nation. Thou has showered upon him exceptional gifts of heart, spirit, and intellect, of integrity and compassion, of fairness and resolute leadership, of boundless devotion to duty, and extraordinary dedication to the families of America.
	Tonight his fellow Democrats have bestowed their greatest honor upon him because he uses these gifts not selfishly but to build a better society for all people. Grant unto him the wisdom to see things not only as they are but as they ought to be, strength to set things right, and faith in the possibility of establishing a society free of the blight of poverty, the scandal of homelessness, the shame of ignorance, the menace of drugs and crime and the sin of prejudice.
	We pray that this occasion serves as an inspiration for all of us to unite behind this great and good leader in the building of a nation where all of its citizens of many colors and creeds, and in many voices sing thy praises, O God, in amity, brotherhood, and peace.
	Grant unto the delegates gathered here a genuine spirit of harmony and removed from all hearts the animosities that destroy reason and the desires that blind the vision of Thy truth. Unite these delegates in a singleness of purpose assuring for all of our citizens the blessings of our Democratic heritage and endow them with courage and determination to fulfill their responsibilities honorably to Thee, our nation, and all mankind. Strengthen their will to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before thee. Let all mankind see how good and how pleasant^[1] Audio cuts out here, but the previous line suggests Psalms 133:1. [it is that brothers dwell together] and to trust in God in Heaven securely.
	We pray, O Lord, that Thou make our beloved land strong with justice, mighty with love, great with compassion, and that it be Thy dedicated instrument for the fashioning of a world of peace and justice for all. Amen.

This is the full text of Rabbi Morris Shmidman’s benediction offered at the Democratic National Convention, July 20th, 1988, corrected from the closed-caption feed offered by C-SPAN. (Researchers should note that C-SPAN unfortunately has Rabbi Shmidman’s name misspelled as “Schidman.”)

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Audio cuts out here, but the previous line suggests Psalms 133:1.

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Benediction by Rabbi Morris Shmidman at the Democratic National Convention (1988)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Morris Shmidman

Rabbi Morris Shmidman was executive director of the Council of Jewish Organizations of Borough Park, and later on president of the World Council of Orthodox Jewish Communities.

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Benediction at DNC 2012 by Rabbi David Wolpe (C-SPAN screen capture)

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prayer at the DNC 1992 by Rabbi Jacob Goldstein (C-SPAN screen capture)

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invocation at the 1984 DNC by Rabbi Martin Weiner (C-SPAN screen capture)

Invocation by Rabbi Martin Weiner at the Democratic National Convention (1984)

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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