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

Contributor(s): Martin Weiner and Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Shared on: 4 January 2021 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories: 🇺🇸 United States of America, Elections & Voting

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., Democratic National Convention 1984, Democratic National Conventions, English vernacular prayer, Invocation, תחינות teḥinot, United States, United States General Election 1984

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Oh, Lord, Creative spirit of the universe, You are the source of life and the beauty of nature. The wonder is churning of the ocean, the fragrant warmth, the fields planted with golden grain, the solemn grandeur of mountain peaks and tall forests of pine. Yet your most precious gift is the human spirit, peoples of many traditions and cultures living in a great nation such as ours.
	We have come together in this convocation to affirm our deep faith in the future of democracy. We pray that wisdom and patience may inspire us as we seek to fashion the guidelines by which we hope to build a just society for our nation, a world of peace for all humanity.
	May our country ever be blessed with leaders of vision, integrity and courage whose lives will serve as beacons of inspiration for future generations. And may we, as citizens, reconsecrate our energies to the task of uniting our too often divided society, breaking down walls of ignorance and reaching out hands of compassion. In the words of the modern sage, “May we not despair about life and curse the darkness? Let each of us bravely light one candle of hope and love to illuminate the world.”^[1] Paraphrasing John F. Kennedy. “But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future.” –Speech accepting the Democratic nomination, Los Angeles, California, 15 July 1960. Papers of John F. Kennedy. Pre-Presidential Papers. Senate Files. Series 12.1. Speech Files, 1953-1960, Box 910, Folder: “Acceptance Speech of Senator Kennedy, Democratic National Convention, 15 July 1960,” JFKL. (References a Chinese proverb, “it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”) Amen.

This is the full text of Rabbi Martin Weiner’s invocation offered on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, July 17th, 1984, corrected from the closed-captions feed offered by C-SPAN.

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Paraphrasing John F. Kennedy. “But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future.” –Speech accepting the Democratic nomination, Los Angeles, California, 15 July 1960. Papers of John F. Kennedy. Pre-Presidential Papers. Senate Files. Series 12.1. Speech Files, 1953-1960, Box 910, Folder: “Acceptance Speech of Senator Kennedy, Democratic National Convention, 15 July 1960,” JFKL. (References a Chinese proverb, “it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”)

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“Invocation by Rabbi Martin Weiner at the Democratic National Convention (1984)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Martin Weiner

Rabbi Martin Weiner is the rabbi emeritus of Sherith Israel, San Francisco, California. He undertook his rabbinic studies at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, where he earned his ordination and a master of arts in Hebrew letters in 1964. Following his ordination, Rabbi Weiner was assistant, associate and co-rabbi at Temple Oheb Shalom of Baltimore, Maryland. While there, he served as chair of the Baltimore chapter of the American Jewish Committee, was on the state board of the ACLU and taught Jewish Religious Thought at Goucher College. Rabbi Weiner joined Congregation Sherith Israel as senior rabbi in 1972. He energized the congregation during his 31-year tenure at Sherith Israel, attracting many new members. Known throughout the community for his quest for social justice, particularly in the areas of civil rights, human rights and Soviet Jewry, Rabbi Weiner was a member of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission for many years. Rabbi Weiner served as President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), Reform Judaism's professional rabbinical association. Previously he had served as an officer and as a CCAR board member. He currently chairs the CCAR’s ethics process review committee and is a longstanding member of the Reform Pension Board. He also served on the editorial committee for the Reform movement’s new prayer book, Mishkan T’filah. In San Francisco, he has been on the boards of the Jewish Community Federation, the American Jewish Committee and Jewish Family and Children's Services. Rabbi Weiner has also served as president of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis and as chair of the San Francisco Interfaith Council. He has been honored by the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress.

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.)

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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