https://opensiddur.org/?p=22724Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff on 29 April 20032018-11-23 23:44:14The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 29 April 2003.Textthe Open Siddur ProjectUnited States Congressional RecordUnited States Congressional RecordArnold E. Resnicoffhttps://opensiddur.org/copyright-policy/United States Congressional Recordhttps://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/105Yom haShoah (27 Nisan)Opening Prayers for Legislative BodiesDays of Remembrance of the Victims of the HolocaustUnited States of Americaתחינות teḥinot21st century C.E.58th century A.M.English vernacular prayerPrayers of Guest ChaplainsU.S. Senate108th Congress
Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Retired Chaplain, U.S. Navy, Washington, DC
Date of Prayer: 04/29/2003
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Almighty God,
this week we remember nightmares,
to reaffirm our dreams.
On this Holocaust Remembrance Day–
during this week we have set aside–
our Nation recalls victims of the Holocaust:
a Holocaust brave Americans took up arms to fight
and many gave their lives to end.
And so, before this session starts,
and during a time when our brave men and women
still risk their lives for better times,
we pray the day will come when the lesson of this horror,
the lessons of all nightmares,
help make our dreams of peace come true.
From the Holocaust we learn:
when human beings deny humanity in others,
they destroy humanity within themselves.
When they reject the human in a neighbor’s soul,
then they unleash the beast,
and the barbaric,
in their own hearts.
And so, remembering, we pray:
if the time has not yet dawned
when we can proclaim our faith in God,
then let us say at least
that we admit we are not gods ourselves.
If we cannot yet see the face of God in others,
then let us see, at least,
a face as human as our own.
You taught us through the Bible–
taught that life might be a blessing or a curse:[1] Cf. Deuteronomy 11:26.
the choice is in our hands.
So many people,
so many peoples,
have felt the curse of life too filled with cruelty, violence, and hate.
As Americans we pray–
we vow–
to keep alive the dream of better times;
to keep our faith that we can be,
will be,
a force for good;
a force for hope;
a force for freedom;
a blessing, not a curse–
to all our people;
to all the world.
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Arnold E. Resnicoff
Arnold E. Resnicoff (born 1946) is a Conservative rabbi who began his career serving as a military officer and then as a military chaplain. He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school after which he was a U.S. Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years. After the Vietnam War, he promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. Rabbi Resnicoff was present at the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and the following year, President Ronald Reagan shared Rabbi Resnicoff's eyewitness account. After retiring from the military he became the National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General. Resnicoff holds several degrees, including an honorary doctorate. His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Chapel of Four Chaplains Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion.
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