Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur Schneier on 3 June 1959

Contributor(s):

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

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

Categories:

Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, United States of America

Tags:

U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 86th Congress, 20th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Arthur Schneier, Congregation B’nai Jacob, Brooklyn, New York
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 3 June 1959

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty God, you have endowed us with the power to speak, to utter syllables and to frame them into intelligible means of communication.
	The medium of our daily deliberations is the spoken word. All of us know its power; words heal grief and open wounds, they lift us up and crush us, they bolster our confidence and they rob us of our dignity, used thoughtfully they enhance our regard for one another, used maliciously they splinter reputations.
	And yet the chaos of the Tower of Babel has reappeared in our time, the value of the spoken word has depreciated, its sanctity and clarity has vanished. For too often our words do not reflect the sincere sentiments of our heart and have become meaningless, subject to misunderstanding and misinterpretation.
	Make us realize, O Lord, that words uttered in this Chamber are carefully watched by the entire world; once spoken they are no longer controlled by the speaker.
	Let us restore to words the value which they have lost. Let us resolve to weigh and not to count our words and to adorn them with the sacred garb of appropriate deeds.
	May the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart be acceptable unto Thee, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the sixth month of the first session of the 86th US Senate, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 105 part 7 (3 June 1959), page 9696.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 105, part 7 (3 June 1959), p. 9696

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“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur Schneier on 3 June 1959” 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.)

Arthur Schneier

Rabbi Arthur Schneier (born March 20, 1930) is an Austrian-American rabbi and human rights activist. Rabbi Schneier has served for over 50 years as the Senior Rabbi of New York City’s Park East Synagogue. While being honored with the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton in 2001, Rabbi Schneier was described as “a Holocaust survivor who has devoted a lifetime to overcoming forces of hatred and intolerance and set an inspiring example of spiritual leadership by encouraging interfaith dialog and intercultural understanding, as well as promoting the cause of religious freedom around the world.”

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:

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Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur Schneier on 16 June 1958

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur Schneier on 8 May 1990

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur Schneier on 10 May 1956

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Norman Gerstenfeld on 2 June 1959

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Morris Silverman on 19 February 1959

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur T. Buch on 1 April 1968

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arthur T. Buch on 25 April 1951

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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