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Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Milton Balkany, Dean, Bais Yaakov of Brooklyn, New York
Sponsor: Rep. Sue W. Kelly (R-NY)
Date of Prayer: 06/26/2003
Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Milton Balkany, Dean of Bais Yaakov in Brooklyn, New York, is an acquaintance of mine. He has been an active participant and leader in the Jewish community in New York City for many, many years. Rabbi Balkany has worked hard to bring the community together in order to continue traditional religious and cultural values. Not only does he help younger generations understand the intrinsic and extraordinary Jewish culture to which they belong, but he also welcomes others of all religions to engage in prayer, meditation and community.
I applaud you, Rabbi, on this special occasion and welcome you as the guest chaplain of the House of Representatives.
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The majestic sequoias
tower over the Alpine expanses,
and yet they continue to stretch upward
toward the sun.
The mighty Colorado River
carved the awesome grandeur of the Grand Canyon eons ago,
yet it continues to surge
ever onward.
The thrashing tide of the Atlantic
has brought innumerable ships to port,
and yet the waves ebb and flow
without cease.
I stand here today
among the jewels of our nation,
among men and women
who are so precious,
who radiate such brilliance,
that they have been selected
as leaders of our land.
And I pray to You, Oh Lord,
that they too remain unsatisfied
with yesterday.
Let them grow with insight
and turn the tide for our land,
for we need them,
their wisdom,
devotion,
and energy,
now,
more than ever.
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Printing Office and issued when Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks. At the end of a session of Congress, the daily editions are compiled in bound volumes constituting the permanent edition. Statutory authorization for the Congressional Record is found in Chapter 9 of Title 44 of the United States Code. (wikipedia)
Milton Yehoshua Balkany (born 1946) is an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, past director of the Jewish girls′ school Bais Yaakov of Midwood, conservative political activist and fundraiser from Brooklyn, New York, dubbed "the Brooklyn Bundler." In September 1960, Balkany founded Bais Yaakov of Brooklyn, now Bais Yaakov of Midwood, a strictly orthodox girls′ school in Borough Park, and served as its dean. A conservative Republican, he has been active in political fundraising since the early 1980s, mainly for Republican politicians, and has also often acted as a lobbyist for various Jewish causes. Dubbed "the Brooklyn Bundler," he had a reputation as someone who had access not only to elected officials but to several government agencies as well. For several years, he gave the invocation at an annual dinner honoring President Ronald Reagan, and was offered to become the rabbi chaplain of the Senate, an offer he declined. In 1994, Balkany tried to have David Luchins, an Orthodox Jew, official of the Orthodox Union, self-described liberal, and then aide to Senator Daniel Moynihan excommunicated by a Jewish religious court, blaming him for having "caused yeshivas in the land of Israel to lose money." He became widely known for giving public religious benedictions (brakhot) to senior politicians at city council, state legislature, and Congress, where he served as guest chaplain in June 2003, opening the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives with the prayer "I stand here today among the jewels of our nation, men and women who are precious, who radiate dedication, and they have been selected as the leaders of our land." He is the son-in-law of Aaron Rubashkin.
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