Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Abraham Hecht on 25 April 1966

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), Abraham Hecht and the Congressional Record of the United States of America

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23 April 2024 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

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Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, United States of America

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Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. Senate, חבּ״ד ḤaBaD Lubavitch, 89th Congress, 20th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Dr. Abraham Hecht, president, Rabbinical Alliance of America, Brooklyn, New York
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 25 April 1966

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
אבינו שבשמים מלך העולם	Sovereign of the universe, Almighty God in Heaven, may this hour be an hour of favor and acceptance in Your sight.
	Our hearts are lifted unto You in gratitude for Your mercies and kindness toward the people of these blessed United States.
	More especially, do we thank You, O Lord, for bestowing upon this great land, legislators and statesmen who will guide with the help of Almighty, the destiny, and stir the hearts of men and women, young and old, to serve their country in truth and loyalty.
	Bless this august assembly and their families. May they be granted peace of mind, serenity and spirit, and inner tranquillity predicated upon faith and trust in God. May those who occupy themselves with the affairs of our country always faithfully seek Your guidance in pursuing its welfare, its advancement, its growth and security.
	Pour down Your bountiful blessings upon our distinguished and beloved President, Lyndon B. Johnson, his family, and all the peoples of this great democracy, so that peace and prosperity, freedom and tolerance increase and endure throughout the length and breadth of its borders.
	May we realize in our day the prophetic vision of Isaiah— as engendered by the various programs advanced by this illustrious legislative body for the welfare of mankind.
	To loose the fetters of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry, And that you bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (Isaiah 58:6-7)
	We pray to the Ruler of the universe that His blessing continue to be bestowed on all inhabitants of our country, that fears and dangers, prejudice and malice be removed from its borders, and that all its citizens regardless of race, color, or creed will know the joys of prosperity, tranquillity, and peace. Amen.

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the fourth month of the second session of the 89th US Congress in the Senate, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 112, part 7 (25 April 1966), page 8850.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 112, part 7 (25 April 1966), p. 8850

Congressional Record, vol. 112, part 7 (25 April 1966), p. 8851

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“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Abraham Hecht on 25 April 1966” 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.)

Abraham Hecht

Rabbi Avraham Berl Hecht (April 5, 1922 – January 5, 2013) was a ḤaBaD-affiliated Orthodox rabbi in the United States, president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America – Igud HaRabanim. Hecht was a disciple of both the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and the preceding "sixth" Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. He was one of the first ten students of Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in America. Hecht served as a shaliaḥ (emissary) in Boston, Buffalo, Newark, and New Haven, establishing Yeshiva Achei T'mimim elementary schools for both boys and girls. He served as rabbi of Congregation Shaare Zion of Brooklyn, New York, the largest Syrian-Sephardic congregation in North America, comprising more than 3,500 families. Hecht served the congregation for more than fifty years. On June 19, 1995, Hecht told the gathered members of the International Rabbinical Coalition for Israel "that by handing over Israeli land and property, Israeli leaders are betraying Jews to non-Jews" and that, according to Maimonides, "such people should be killed before they can perform the deed." An October 1995 article in New York Magazine referred to Hecht as the rabbi who "sentenced" Yitzḥak Rabin to death, and quoted Hecht as praising Israeli mass murderer and American expatriate Baruch Goldstein, as "a great man, a holy man." Hecht also led protests against the film Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), claiming that it "was produced in hell."

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)

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Works of related interest:

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Abraham Hecht on 21 April 1983

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Max M. Landman on 27 April 1966

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Maynard C. Hyman on 8 February 1966

Flag of the United States House of Representatives

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Hyman B. Faskowitz on 19 April 1966

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Edward T. Sandrow on 20 April 1966

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Shea Hecht on 30 November 2016

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Avraham Soltes on 21 March 1966

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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