Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Seth Frisch on 5 February 2020

Contributor(s):

the Congressional Record of the United States of America and Seth H. Frisch

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10 February 2020 under the Public Domain (17 U.S. Code §105 - Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works)

Categories:

Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, United States of America

Tags:

58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 116th Congress, תחינות teḥinot, 21st century C.E.

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Seth Frisch, New Shul of America, Rydal, Pennsylvania
Sponsor: Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
Date of Prayer: 02/05/2020

Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to welcome Rabbi Seth Frisch, who delivered today’s opening prayer to the people’s House.
Since his ordination in 1986, at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, Rabbi Frisch has been a source of comfort and counsel to Jews around the world. In his current posting as rabbi and teacher of the New Shul of Philadelphia, Rabbi Frisch helps serve as a guide for those who want to learn more about what it means to be Jewish in a safe and supporting setting.
In a way, today’s opening prayer was a homecoming for Rabbi Frisch, who previously served as a legislative assistant to the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
I pray that we will all heed his words today, that out of many, we are one Nation. Let us strive to put our divisions behind us and realize our dream of a country indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty, I stand before You in prayer and in memory as I am reminded of Solomon, King of ancient Israel, who would preside over a most unusual judicial hearing, one in which two mothers would lay claim to the life of one child, a child they each would insist to be their own.^[1] 1 Kings 3:16-28.
	This parable allows us to see Solomon’s wisdom as preserving the nation, as we are sadly reminded, so soon after his death, that the kingdom is split asunder.
	I, too, am reminded of Abraham Lincoln, when he spoke with prophetic-like prescience: “A house divided cannot stand,”^[2] from Abraham Lincoln’s House Divided speech, June 16, 1858. which was soon to become a war of brother against brother. From this we would soon learn that our future lies not in enmity, but in unity.
	For, Lord, the Book of Leviticus, from Your Torah, teaches us in words inscribed upon the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia: “Proclaim liberty throughout the land, to all of the inhabitants thereof,”^[3] Leviticus 25:10. thus uniting one of our Nation’s ideals, “e pluribus unum,”^[4] A traditional motto of the United States, its inclusion on the Great Seal of the United States was approved by an Act of Congress in 1782. out of the many, one.
	Lord God, the Founders of this Nation understood our strength to be in the celebration of our differences while assiduously working to put our divisions behind us.
	And so it is, Dear God, that we pray You remain with us. Continue to guide all of us in realizing the dream of this great country, to be a Nation indivisible, a Nation seeking liberty, and above all, a Nation providing liberty and justice to all.
אָמֵן׃	Amen.

Source(s)

116th Congress, 2nd Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 166, No. 24 — Daily Edition (February 5, 2020)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	1 Kings 3:16-28.
2	from Abraham Lincoln’s House Divided speech, June 16, 1858.
3	Leviticus 25:10.
4	A traditional motto of the United States, its inclusion on the Great Seal of the United States was approved by an Act of Congress in 1782.

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“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Seth Frisch on 5 February 2020” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

the Congressional Record of the United States of America

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)

Seth H. Frisch

Seth H. Frisch, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is rabbi of the New Shul of America, Rydal, Pennsylvania, and formerly, senior rabbi of the Historic Congregation Kesher Israel in Philadelphia. A Conservative Rabbi, Rabbi Frisch was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) in New York City in 1986. He served as a legislative assistant to the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Rabbi Frisch founded the Lerhaus Institute of Jewish Studies in Abington, Pennsylvania. The Lerhaus Institute quickly became known for its high level of Biblical and Narrative studies and was modeled on the Lehrhaus institute created by Franz Rosenzweig in Germany during the 1920s and then later expanded upon by Martin Buber in the 1930s. The founding of Lehrhaus (note difference in spelling) came at a time of increasing antisemitism which would eventually culminate in anti-Jewish legislation aimed at isolating the Jewish community from the overall German population.

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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