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Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Harvey Waxman, Congregation Beth Medrosh Elyon, Monsey, New York
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 21 June 1967
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 21 June 1967
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| Contribute a translation | Source (English) |
|---|---|
We open this session with thanks and prayer. | |
In our hearts, we citizens of America utter thanks each moment for this great Hall of laws— wherein is exercised the free will of the people to legislate the law of our land. | |
We thank the Almighty for that priceless right, the freedom to speak, to debate and to be governed through our own duly elected representatives. The gifts of freedom were not easily won nor are they easily maintained. In our generation the price of freedom has been the supreme sacrifice by so many of our bravest and noblest heroes. | |
We humbly beseech the Almighty for the justice of thought and deed, the strength of truth and understanding, soundness of mind and body so that we be enabled to enjoy our sacred liberties and preserve them for the generations to come. We pray for the guidance and power to insure the blessing—that: “A government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from this earth.”[1] From President Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” 19 November 1863. | |
May God give strength to this Nation. May God bless our Nation with the peace of Shalom. | |
O God, our Father, in this hour of sorrow we pray for our beloved companion who has gone into Thy nearer presence.[2] This is a reference to the death, the evening prior, to Jesse Arthur Younger (April 11, 1893 – June 20, 1967), a United States representative from California. A Republican, he was the first Representative from San Mateo County, California, serving seven terms from 1953 to 1967. We thank Thee for him, for the contribution he made to this body and to our country. May the comfort of Thy spirit rest upon his family and upon us all. Help us to trust Thee, to know that love and life are everlasting and that Thy mercy never fails. Amen. |
This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the sixth month of the first session of the 90th US House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 113, part 13 (21 June 1967), pages 16658-16659.
Source(s)
Congressional Record, vol. 113, part 13 (21 June 1967), p. 16658 Congressional Record, vol. 113, part 13 (21 June 1967), p. 16659
Notes
| 1 | From President Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” 19 November 1863. |
|---|---|
| 2 | This is a reference to the death, the evening prior, to Jesse Arthur Younger (April 11, 1893 – June 20, 1967), a United States representative from California. A Republican, he was the first Representative from San Mateo County, California, serving seven terms from 1953 to 1967. |
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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
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