🆕 Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the New York State Senate: Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise on 24 June 1851

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Isaac Mayer Wise

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

Categories:

Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, United States of America

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19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, New York State Senate

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Lord of hosts! Rock of salvation whose unlimited power, wisdom, and love, is revealed in the innumerable millions of creatures that populate^[1] Original, “populize” the Universe, whose providence, especial care and benignity is re-echoed on every page of the history of nations! Hear our supplications, listen graciously to our petitions that we offer up unto Thee on behalf of our beloved country and her faithful legislators, who have assembled again to give us laws and regulations to the promotion of liberty, prosperity, justice, and humanity.
	O Lord! Thou hast inspired and assisted our ancestors, when they rose lion-like against their opressors, and bought, for the warm blood of their hearts the liberty and independence of these United States.
	Inspire, Our Father! O inspire our legislators with the same spirit of truth and justice, with the same love of liberty and independence, with the same desire to promote happiness and prosperity among their fellow-citizens; remove prejudices, partiality and factional endeavors from every mind; give unto them the same spirit as the venerable fathers of this republic manifested; let them be firmly united in the discharge of their sacred duty to their country, that she may bloom and prosper before Thee; that she may bean example of liberty, equity, and humanity; that she may be imitated by those nations, that still suffer and sigh under the iron rod of despotism, that her citizens be united before Thee, to do Thy sacred will, to proclaim Thine holy name!
	Blessed be the name of the Lord from sunrise to sunset, from now to evermore, Amen!

This is the opening prayer offered by Rabbi Dr. Isaac Mayer Wise, in his role as guest chaplain before the 74th New York State Senate on 24 June 1851, and published under the header, “Albany” in The Asmonean (11 July 1851), on page 5. The prayer is one of the earliest offered by a rabbi before a state legislature in the United States. From the article’s lede:

The Rev. Dr. I. Wise, of this city, was appointed by the committee of the Ministers of the Gospel, to officate as Chaplain in the legislative bodies of the State of New York, for the last week of June, 1851. — The Rabbi performing his duties according to this appointment, was very much cheered by several members of the legislature and especially by the honorable Senator for the city of New York, who remarked that the Rabbi’s excellent prayers reflected honor upon the Jewish ministry and the Jewish community at large.

Source(s)

Albany (The Asmonean, 11 July 1851), p. 5

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Original, “populize”

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the New York State Senate: Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise on 24 June 1851” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/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.)

Isaac Mayer Wise

Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819, Steingrub (now Lomnička, Czech Republic), Austrian Empire – 26 March 1900, Cincinnati), was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. At his death he was called "the foremost rabbi in America."

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Works of related interest:

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise on 20 May 1870

Opening prayer before the Tennessee State Senate by Rabbi Isidor Kalisch on 15 January 1873

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Moshe Feller on 22 June 2004

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman on 12 June 1991

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Solomon H. Metz on 5 June 1944

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Abraham Chill on 23 June 1965

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Norman Gerstenfeld on 2 June 1959

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Seal of the New York State Senate

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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