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Meaning What We Pray, Praying What We Mean: The Otherness of the Liturgy, by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Gutoff (1989)

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. . . .

💬 Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (ILAR, revised 1989)

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. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Jeffrey A. Wohlberg on 29 September 1988

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

Pledge of Allegiance to the Family of Earth, by Bella Abzug & Mim Kelber (Women’s Foreign Policy Council, 1989)

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 publication 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. . . .

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

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

The Global Pledge of Allegiance, by Edna A. Maisner-Reitz (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. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Laszlo Berkowits on 14 June 1988

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

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Richard Marcovitz on 17 May 1988

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

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt on 25 May 1988

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

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Seymour Rosenbloom on 4 May 1988

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

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arnold Mark Belzer on 20 April 1988

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 20 April 1988. . . .

שמחת בת | Simḥat Bat, by Dr. Devora Steinmetz and Rabbi David Silber (1987)

We name our daughters on their fifteenth day of life. This is based on Vayiqra 12:1-5, which describes the length of a woman’s period of impurity after childbirth. If she gives birth to a son, she is impure for seven days; if she gives birth to a daughter, she is impure for fourteen days. The passage seems to connect the baby boy’s circumcision on the eighth day to the conclusion of the mother’s seven day period of impurity. (Similarly, Vayiqra 22:27 says that a newborn animal must remain with its mother for seven days, and on the eighth day and onward it is acceptable as a sacrificial offering.) It seems, then, that for the first seven days of a little boy’s life, and the first fourteen days of a little girl’s life, the child and mother are still closely linked, and both remain separate from the larger family and community. Then, on the eighth day of her son’s life, and on the fifteenth day of her daughter’s life, the mother begins to rejoin her family and community, and the child too becomes incorporated as a member of the family and community. That is why a baby boy’s father becomes obligated to circumcise his son only on the eighth day, and why the baby boy first receives his name at his brit milah; it is then that the baby boy becomes a member of the community of Israel. On our daughter’s fifteenth day, we come together as a family and as a community to welcome this new member and to give her a name. . . .

Prayer at the National Civic Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 28 April 1987

This prayer was delivered by the U.S. Navy Chaplain, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, at the 1987 National Civic Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance, in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. It was first published in Days of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust: a Department of Defense guide for commemorative observance (Office of the Secretary of Defence, 1988). . . .

📖 סֵדֶר ט״וּ בִּשְׁבָט | A New Year For The Trees: A Tu BiShvat Seder, by Ellen Bernstein (1988, revised: 2017)

A Tu Bishvat seder haggadah by Ellen Bernstein (1988, revised: 2017) . . .

Prayers that Hurt: Public Prayer in Interfaith Settings, by Rabbi Chaplain (Captain) Arnold E. Resnicoff, USN, Ret. (1987, 2009)

Suggestions for chaplains on offering public prayers in interfaith settings. . . .

עָלֵֽינוּ לְשַׁבֵּֽחַ | An Alternative Aleinu, by Aliza Arzt (Ḥavurat Shalom 1987, revised 2019)

Aleinu, as rewritten in Hebrew and English for Ḥavurat Shalom, Somerville, Massachusetts. . . .

📰 “Database Davvenen” by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (circa mid-1980s)

The following work was published by a Havurah publication in the late 1970s or early 1980s by Rab Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. In it, Rab Zalman presciently describes a digital database of liturgy and liturgy-related work that havurah groups across the world could use to bring together custom designed and crafted works for use in communal prayer. We are grateful to Reb Zalman for bringing this work to our attention. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Stuart L. Berman on 18 June 1986

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 18 June 1986. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Morris H. Margolies on 25 February 1986

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 25 February 1986. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Haim Asa on 13 November 1985

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 13 November 1985. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Simcha Freedman on 22 October 1985

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 22 October 1985. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman on 4 June 1985

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 4 June 1985. . . .

Inauguration Day Prayer for President Ronald Reagan, by Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk (1985)

This prayer by Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk at the second inauguration of President Ronald Reagan was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record on January 21, 1985. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Max A. Shapiro on 15 April 1985

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 15 April 1985. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Maynard C. Hyman on 28 March 1985

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 28 March 1985. . . .

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

The full text of Rabbi Martin Weiner’s invocation offered on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, July 17th, 1984. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Max B. Wall on 21 June 1984

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 21 June 1984. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Richard M.E. Marcovitz on 14 June 1984

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 14 June 1984. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Theodore S. Levy on 8 March 1984

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 8 March 1984. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Stanley M. Wagner on 2 April 1984

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 2 April 1984. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Irving J. Block on 2 June 1983

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 2 June 1983. . . .

תְּפִלָה לְשָׁלוֹם | Prayer for Peace, by Samuel Avital (March 1984)

This Prayer for Peace by Samuel Avital was composed in January 1984 for a gathering of spiritual teachers from all over the world at Mt. Sinai in March 1984. A month later, the State of Israel would return the Sinai to Egyptian sovereignty. While that event was not documented in any media, the prayer was first published in Four Worlds Journal vol. 2 no. 4, (January 1985), pp. 16-17. Of the event itself, Samuel Avital adds, “I performed there some of my mime performances like Jacob & Angel, Black & White and others.” The prayer for peace is included in Samuel Avital’s Passover Haggadah (2021). . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Efry Spectre on 12 May 1983

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 12 May 1983. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Isaac Neuman on 11 April 1983

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 11 April 1983. . . .

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

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 21 April 1983. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Morris M. Hershman on 1 February 1983

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 1 February 1983. . . .

Kavvanah before eating or drinking on Yom Kippur for those who must eat for the safety of their life, as found in Torat ha-Yoledet (Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein 1983)

This is a kavvanah (intention) for anyone in a desperate circumstance of needing to eat or drink for their mortal health, to do so with the full confidence that they are fulfilling a mitsvah required for them in the Torah, to preserve their life. The kavvanah was related by Rav Yitschok Zilberstein in his Toras haYoledes (1983), chapter 52, section 10, p. 357 (pp. 331-332 in the bilingual edition 1989), “הועתק ממחזור עתיק” (as “copied from an old maḥzor”). Unfortunately, we can’t provide a more direct reference to this maḥzor. If you know, please leave a comment or contact us. . . .

פִּלְחֵי תָפּוּ״ז | Items for the Second Seder Plate: Orange segments, after the teaching of Dr. Susannah Heschel

In the early 1980s, while speaking at Oberlin College Hillel, Susannah Heschel was introduced to an early feminist haggadah that suggested adding a crust of bread on the seder plate, as a sign of solidarity with Jewish lesbians (suggesting that there’s as much room for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for a crust of bread on the seder plate). Heschel felt that to put bread on the seder plate would be to accept that Jewish lesbians and gay men violate Judaism like ḥamets violates Passover. So, at her next seder, she chose an orange as a symbol of inclusion of gays and lesbians and others who are marginalized within the Jewish community. She offered the orange as a symbol of the fruitfulness for all Jews when lesbians and gay men are contributing and active members of Jewish life. . . .

אל מלא רחמים לזכר הנרצחים | El Malé Raḥamim Prayer for the Victims of Terrorism in the Land of Israel

An El Malé Raḥamim prayer for Victims of Terror in Erets Yisrael, with an English translation by Rabbi Hillel Ḥayyim Lavery-Yisraeli from Prayers for Israel, for Protection from Terror Attacks, and In Memory of the Victims (15 October 2023), page 6. . . .

Prayer at the Dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 13 November 1982

The closing prayer at the Nov 13, 1982 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. by Rabbi (Navy Chaplain) Arnold E. Resnicoff. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Eugene H. Levy on 24 June 1982

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 24 June 1982. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Sidney S. Guthman on 22 April 1982

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 21 April 1983. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Louis M. Tuchman on 30 March 1982

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 30 March 1982. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Seymour L. Essrog on 20 April 1982

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 20 April 1982. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Rafael G. Grossman on 16 March 1982

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 16 March 1982. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik on 12 May 1981

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 12 May 1981. . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Sidney S. Guthman on 19 March 1981

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 19 March 1981. . . .

שיר של מרים הנביאה | The Song of Miriam, a petiḥah by Rabbi Ruth H. Sohn (1981)

“The Song of Miriam” by Rabbi Ruth Sohn was first published as “I Shall Sing to the Lord a New Song,” in Kol Haneshamah: Shabbat Vehagim, Reconstructionist Prayerbook, 1989, 1995 Second Edition. Reconstructionist Press, pp. 768-769. (This poem was also published in several haggadot and other books and set to music by several composers in the U.S. and Israel.) Rabbi Sohn wrote the poem in 1981 as a rabbinical student after immersing herself in the Torah verses and the traditional midrashim about Miriam, and after writing a longer modern midrash about Miriam. Part of this modern midrash was published as “Journeys,” in All the Women Followed Her, ed. Rebecca Schwartz (Rikudei Miriam Press, 2001). . . .

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Solomon Freilich on 18 March 1980

The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 18 March 1980. . . .

קִינָה עַל חֻרְבָּן הָאַחֲרוֹן | Lamentation on the Holocaust, by Shimon Zuker (1980)

A ḳinnah composed by a concentration camp survivor. . . .