The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 5 April 1995. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 8 March 1995. . . .

These are the lyrics of the song, Miryam haNevi’ah, written by rabbis Leila Gal Berner and Arthur Waskow (with Hebrew by Leila Gal Berner) as found published in My People’s Prayer Book, vol. 7: Shabbat at Home, (ed. L. Hoffman, 1997), section 3, p. 189. The English lyrics are from an article published several years earlier — “Memories of a Jewish Lesbian Evening” by Roger McDougle appearing in Bridges (vol. 4:1, Winter/Spring 1994), on the top of page 58. No specific date is given for the havdalah program described in the article, alas. If you know the earliest reference for the publication or use of Miryam haNevi’ah, please contact us. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 20 April 1994. . . .

Tired of people who can’t tell their ḳiddish (blessings for the Sabbath) from their ḳaddish (prayer for the dead)? Well, it sets Samuel L. Jackson off too! But he found a way of making a bracha (blessing) and mourning the dead at the same time. Now I can’t vouch for the origins of his nusaḥ (custom) but it sounds very effective! Most people haven’t noticed, the only real part from the Bible is that last section, the first part is actually his own spiel: . . .

A prayer for a beloved animal first compiled in English by Aharon N. Varady for Nethaniel Puzael, his family’s cat, in 1994. . . .

A declaration in 1993 by Rabbi Arthur Waskow in response to the impending danger of global warming and other ecotastrophes brought about by the callous harm of human industry and land use decisions. Translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. . . .

We call to sukkat shalom, the shelter of peace, all of our various selves To rest from the contortion of social life and the demands of others. We liberate ourselves and each other from roles and titles labels and closets positions and pretendings internalized oppressions and oppressive projections hierarchies and competition. . . .

A prayer for the well-being of the Navy personnel assigned to the newly built Sa’ar 5 corvette, INS Eilat, in 1993. . . .

A prayer on behalf of Canada: its government, its leaders, and its people. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 13 May 1992. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 2 April 1992. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 20 February 1992. . . .

The full text of Rabbi Jacob Goldstein’s prayer offered at the Democratic National Convention, July 14th, 1992. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 7 November 1991. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 16 October 1991. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 16 October 1991. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 12 June 1991. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 14 May 1991. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 8 May 1991. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 20 March 1991. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 19 March 1991. . . .

Tu biShvat, the 15th of the month of Shevat, was designated by the Talmud as the New Year for the Trees. It was tax time for HaShem, a time of tithing for the poor. This tithing has its origin in the following Torah verse: “Every year, you shall set aside a tenth part of the yield, so that you may learn to revere your God forever.” The Kabbalists of 17th century Safed developed the model of tikkun olam that we embrace today — healing the world by gathering the scattered holy sparks. To encourage the Divine flow — shefa — and to effect Tikkun Olam, the Kabbalists of Safed (16th century) created a Tu biShvat seder loosely modeled after the Passover seder. In recent decades we have learned how the well being of trees is intimately connected to the well being of all creation. This relationship is clearly stated in the following Midrash: “If not for the trees, human life could not exist.” (Midrsh Sifre to Deut. 20:19) Today the stakes of environmental stewardship have become very high. Tu biShvat calls upon us to cry out against the enormity of destruction and degradation being inflicted upon God’s world. This degradation includes global warming, massive deforestation, the extinction of species, poisonous deposits of toxic chemicals and nuclear wastes, and exponential population growth. We are also deeply concerned that the poor suffer disproportionately from environmental degradation. Rabbi Abraham Heschel wrote: “[Human beings have] indeed become primarily tool-making animal[s], and the world is now a gigantic tool box for the satisfaction of [their] needs…” . . .

The unabridged edition of the Tu biShvat seder haggadah, The Trees are Davvening. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 13 September 1990. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 12 September 1990. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 8 May 1990. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 6 September 1990. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 24 April 1990. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 1 February 1990. . . .

“[I’m Spending] Hanukkah in Santa Monica” by Tom Lehrer was first written at the request of Garrison Keillor for his radio show The American Radio Company on which it was performed twice, in 1990 and 1992. The song was later released on the album, Bible & Beyond (Larry Milder, 1999). The first recording of Tom Lehrer singing his song can be heard on The Remains of Tom Lehrer (Disc 3) (2000). In 2022, Tom Lehrer gave an enormous Ḥanukkah present to the world, dedicating his entire oeuvre to the Public Domain including this song. . . .

The Megillah of Esther: An Original English Rendition (set to trop) by Ḥazzan Jack Kessler was first published in 1990. This second “version 2.0” edition was published in 2016. . . .

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Reb Arthur Waskow, and others helped to formulate this grammatically feminine Hebrew blessing for an oleh in their blessing over the Torah reading, in the early years of Congregation Mishkan Shalom in Philadelphia (1988-1983). . . .

It is the responsibility of leadership in every generation to remove stumbling blocks from paths provided for seekers of Hashem. The needs of the faith community have dramatically changed. In our generation, many of the paths to Heaven that used to work very well in the past, don’t work any more. Why is that? For several reasons: . . .

A ceremony for the naming of a baby daughter. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 13 September 1989. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 14 July 1989. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 13 June 1989. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 11 April 1989. . . .

A Proclamation of Fundamental Animal Rights drafted by the West German Green Party in 1989 upon the 200th anniversary of the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” (1789), in German with translations in English, French, and Portuguese. . . .

The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (UDAR) was first proclaimed in Paris on 15 October 1978 at the headquarters of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) with the ambition of it being formally adopted in the United Nations General Assembly. The French League of Animal Rights spurred the development of a revised text written during the General Assembly of the International League of Animal Rights, held June 3–4, 1989 in Luxembourg, and adopted on October 21, 1989. The declaration was submitted to the UNESCO Director General in 1990 however it has never been formally adopted. . . .

A discussion of the nature of truth and belief in Jewish liturgical prayer, suggesting that fixed liturgy is less a vehicle for conveying theological or philosophical outcomes than a practice for developing an emotionally religious personality. Shabbat musaf is used as an example. “Meaning What We Pray, Praying What We Mean: The Otherness of the Liturgy” by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Gutoff was first published in Conservative Judaism, Vol. 42(2), Winter 1989-90, pp. 12-20. . . .

The “Pledge of Allegiance to the Family of Earth” was offered by the Women’s Foreign Policy Council (co-chaired by Bella Abzug and Mim Kelber). The earliest publiclation of the pledge that we were able to located is as found in the article, “Earthlings Unite” by Nina Combs in Ms. Magazine, vol. 18:1&2 (July/August 1989), p. 19. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 29 September 1988. . . .

The full text of Rabbi Morris Shmidman’s benediction offered at the Democratic National Convention, July 20th, 1988. . . .

This “Global Pledge of Allegiance” by Edna A. Meisner-Reitz was first published in The Quest, vol. 2, issue 4, Winter 1989 (Theosophical Society of America), back cover. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 14 June 1988. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 17 May 1988. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 25 May 1988. . . .

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 4 May 1988. . . .