Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Martin S. Halpern on 6 June 1967

Contributor(s):

Martin S. Halpern, the Congressional Record of the United States of America and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Shared on:

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

Categories:

🇺🇸 United States of America, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies

Tags:

90th Congress, 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, תחינות teḥinot

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Martin S. Halpern, Shaare Tefila Congregation, Washington, D.C.
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 6 June 1967

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	The Lord of Hosts is exalted through justice and God the Holy one is sanctified through righteousness. (Isaiah 5:16)
	O Thou who art the God of justice and righteousness: We stand before Thy presence to seek Thy guidance and counsel in this time of crisis and threat to the safety of the world and to the security of all mankind.
	Out of the crucible of adversity, O Lord, the Founding Fathers of our blessed America forged our Nation into a citadel of democracy dedicated to the pursuit of justice for all the peoples of the earth.
	Grant unto our representatives, here assembled to deliberate in these days of peril, continued courage and wisdom equal to our responsibilities to lead all nations great and small in the attempt to attain peace with integrity and to accord human dignity to men of good will.
	Make our country Thine instrument, O God, to teach nations who would defy Thy law of justice and love that true and lasting peace must be founded on the practice of truth, righteousness and mutual respect in the council of nations. Thus may we bring to fulfillment the ancient vision of that glorious day when man shall do no evil and work no destruction.
	For the earth shall be filled with Thy knowledge, O Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9, Habakkuk 2:14)

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the sixth month of the first session of the 90th US House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 113 part 11 (6 June 1967), page 14799.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 113, part 11 (6 June 1967), p. 14799

Martin S. Halpern

Rabbi Martin Samuel Halpern (1927-1994), born in New York, was a Conservative movement rabbi and civil rights acitivist in the United States. He served Shaare Tefila Congregation in Washington, D.C. and served as president of the Washington Board of Rabbis. (We know little more about Rabbi Halpern's career. If you know more, please contact us.

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)

Aharon N. Varady (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.)

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=57062

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "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)

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Martin S. Halpern on 6 June 1967

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