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Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Louis I. Newman, Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco, California[1] The Congressional Record credits “Louis R. Newman” (probably a typo).
Date of Prayer: 7 January 1930
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 7 January 1930
Sponsor: n/a
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| Contribute a translation | Source (English) |
|---|---|
O Lord God of the nations, in whose sight all the peoples are as grains of dust in the balance, we petition Thee that Thou turn Thy benediction upon us and be gracious unto us.[2] Adapting the verse from the Priestly Blessing, Numbers 6:25. | |
We ask Thee, O Lord, that Thou vouchsafe unto us light and life; that we have power of intuition into the common will; that there be upon our lips words of judgment and counsel whereby we can make the will of the many translated into actions of service. | |
We petition Thee, O Lord, that Thou grant unto us a knowledge of the ways of justice, for though the pendulum swing this way and that, though right may seem to fail and wrong may seem to conquer, even as the steady pull of gravitation is toward the center of the earth, so is the eternal pull of the law of justice toward the throne of God. | |
Make us to know, O Lord, that though the rock be strong and iron-cleaving, that iron be strong and fire melting, that water quench fire, that the clouds gather up the water, that the winds dispel the clouds, that man is stronger than the winds, that sleep is stronger than man, that death is stronger than sleep, loving-kindness and justice are stronger than death. | |
We ask Thee, O Lord, to make us to know that though right is more precious than peace, yet peace is precious indeed. Vouchsafe unto us the spirit of common counsel, of mutuality, and of understanding, | |
and establish Thou, O Lord, for this blessed Republic, the work of our hands, yea, the work of our hands, establish Thou it.[3] Cf. Psalms 90:17 | |
Make us conscious of our mission of service and grant us the blessed knowledge that it is good and pleasing for brethren to dwell together in peace.[4] Cf. Psalms 133:1 | |
Sanctify Thy name in the sight of all mankind. Amen. |
This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the first year of the 71st US Congress. The source images of the prayer were copied by Howard Mortman and shared via his @CongressRabbi Twitter account. All credit to Howard Mortman for his research in digging up this prayer. Unfortunately, neither the source images nor his tweets provide an exact citation reference to the volume, issue, and page number of the Congressional Record in which the prayer was published. If you know, leave a comment, or contact us.
Source(s)
Prayer of the Guest Chaplain (Louis Israel Newman, 7 January 1930)
Notes
“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Louis I. Newman on 7 January 1930” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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