Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Henry E. Kraus on 4 April 1978

Contributor(s):

Henry E. Kraus, the Congressional Record of the United States of America and Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

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

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Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, United States of America

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תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 95th Congress, 20th century C.E.

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Henry E. Kraus, Ph.D., D.D., Temple Beth Ami, West Covina, California
Sponsor: Rep. James Lloyd (D-CA)
Date of Prayer: 4 April 1978

Mr. LLOYD of California, Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to welcome a close friend, Dr. Henry E. Kraus, rabbi of Temple Beth Ami, West Covina, California, as today’s visiting clergyman. Rabbi Kraus was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary at Budapest, Hungary, with the highest rabbinical degrees and received his Ph.D. at the University of Budapest.
It was on this day, April 4, 1944, that he was forced by the Nazis to wear the Yellow Star of David as a sign of degradation. Along with his congregation, he was deported to Auschwitz and later, Buchenwald. The American 3d Army liberated him in 1945.
After the war, he became chief rabbi of western Hungary. Rabbi Kraus was one of the 12-member governing body of the Hungarian Jews, as well as one of the 7 members of the board of governors of the Jewish Theological Seminary of Budapest, where he lectured on the “practical rabbinate.” He also lectured at the universities on philosophy and ancient history and was a frequent speaker on Radio Budapest. He has authored a book and many articles. It was during the Hungarian revolution that he escaped and came to this country in January 1957.
A member of the Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbi Kraus served as one of the vice presidents of the assembly’s western region and is also a former president of the Los Angeles Eastern Area Board of Rabbis.
In 1975 the State of Israel honored him with the Ben Gurion Award—he was the first recipient of this award in California—and in June 1976 the Jewish Theological Seminary of America awarded him a doctor of divinity, honoris causa.
I feel we are honored to have him with us today, and would also like to welcome his family, who are here with us today.

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	I humbly ask God to bless the work of your hands and the thoughts of your minds.
	May you establish justice to bring peace to mankind.
	I pray we will understand: “Eternity is not perpetual future, but perpetual presence.”^[1] A quote from Man Is Not Alone (1951) by Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel
	I quote the ancient prayer: “May God who established peace in the High, may He establish peace here in Earth.”^[2] An adaptation of the liturgical prayer at the end of the Ḳaddish and the conclusion of the Amidah, “Oseh shalom bimromav.” Amen.

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the fourth month of the second session of the 95th US Congress in the House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 124, part 7 (1978), page 8626.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 124, part 7 (4 April 1978), p. 8626

Notes[+]

Notes
1	A quote from Man Is Not Alone (1951) by Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel
2	An adaptation of the liturgical prayer at the end of the Ḳaddish and the conclusion of the Amidah, “Oseh shalom bimromav.”

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“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Henry E. Kraus on 4 April 1978” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Henry E. Kraus

Rabbi Dr. Henry Emery (Imre) Kraus (August 27, 1914-March 4, 2008), born in Pápa, Hungary, was a the chief rabbi of western Hungary after World War II and, after fleeing Hungary in 1957, a Conservative movement rabbi in the United States. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary at Budapest, Hungary, and received his Ph.D. at the University of Budapest. While he was still a rabbinical student, the Siklós community elected him to be their rabbi. He served there as the chief rabbi of three and a half districts in Baranya County until the deportation. Along with his congregation, he was deported to Auschwitz and later, Buchenwald, Magdeburg, and Flossenburg. The American 3d Army liberated him in 1945. He returned to Hungary where he was elected to be the chief rabbi of Kaposvár (town and district). Rabbi Kraus was one of the 5-member Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Seminary and one of the 12-member governing body of the Hungarian Jews. He was one of the 7 members of the board of governors of the Jewish Theological Seminary of Budapest, where he lectured on the “practical rabbinate.” He also lectured at the universities on philosophy and ancient history and was a frequent speaker on Radio Budapest. In the United States, he served as rabbi for the Beth Torah community of Gardena, Los Angeles and received an MA in Hebrew literature. In 1968, he began as rabbi for Temple Beth Ami, West Covina, California. A member of the Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbi Kraus served as one of the vice presidents of the assembly's western region and as president of the Los Angeles Eastern Area Board of Rabbis. In 1975 the State of Israel honored him with the Ben Gurion Award—he was the first recipient of this award in California—and in June 1976 the Jewish Theological Seminary of America awarded him a doctor of divinity, honoris causa.

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)

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.)

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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