Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Moshe E. Bomzer on 18 April 1978

Contributor(s):

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

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14 April 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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חבּ״ד ḤaBaD Lubavitch, 95th Congress, Education & Sharing Day USA, 20th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Moshe E. Bomzer, Young Israel of Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Sponsor: Rep. J. Herbert Burke (R-FL)
Date of Prayer: 18 April 1978

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	I offer this prayer on the day which has been proclaimed by the President of the United States and both Houses of Congress as Education Day, U.S.A.,^[1] Education & Sharing Day, established by the United States Congress in honor of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Since 1978, Education & Sharing Day, USA, has been proclaimed by the president each year on the Rebbe’s birthday on the Jewish calendar, 11 Nissan, which is four days before Passover and thus generally can fall between March 21 and April 21 on the Gregorian calendar. in celebration of the 76th birthday of the illustrious and revered leader of world Jewry— the Lubavitcher Rebbe, shlita, whose selflessness and devotion have been a model for the education of all mankind.^[2] In 1978, the U.S. Congress asked President Jimmy Carter to designate the Rebbe’s birthday as the national Education and Sharing Day to recognize and pay tribute to his efforts for a better education for all American citizens. This prayer honoring Rabbi Schneerson was offered by Rabbi Moshe Bomzer, the son of Rabbi Herbert W. Bomzer (1927-2013), a modern Orthodox rabbi who also identified as a Lubavitch Ḥassid.
	In these trying times we beseech You, our God, to grant us the wisdom, kindness, patience, and understanding to educate ourselves and our children in Your divine ways.
	Bestow upon us the knowledge to differentiate between right and wrong, good and evil, sanctity and impurity.
	Cast the rays of Your divine guidance upon the President, the Vice President, the Members of the House of Representatives, and all the leaders of our beloved country. Enable them to find solutions for the problems which plague our country and the world.
	As Jews throughout the world prepare for the holiday of freedom, dedicated to the concepts of human rights and devotion through education as stated in Exodus 13:14 “And you shall teach your children,” let this message of peace and freedom resound through the Halls of this great Capitol of ours. Make Your divine prophecy come to pass when “nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks;” when “nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)
	Let us learn to teach the world and educate our youth so that we may merit to live in a world permeated with love, honesty, ethics, and morals and to the realization of our potential to establish a world built on peace and knowledge. 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 8 (18 April 1985), page 10394.

Source(s)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Education & Sharing Day, established by the United States Congress in honor of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Since 1978, Education & Sharing Day, USA, has been proclaimed by the president each year on the Rebbe’s birthday on the Jewish calendar, 11 Nissan, which is four days before Passover and thus generally can fall between March 21 and April 21 on the Gregorian calendar.
2	In 1978, the U.S. Congress asked President Jimmy Carter to designate the Rebbe’s birthday as the national Education and Sharing Day to recognize and pay tribute to his efforts for a better education for all American citizens. This prayer honoring Rabbi Schneerson was offered by Rabbi Moshe Bomzer, the son of Rabbi Herbert W. Bomzer (1927-2013), a modern Orthodox rabbi who also identified as a Lubavitch Ḥassid.

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“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Moshe E. Bomzer on 18 April 1978” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

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.)

Moshe E. Bomzer

Rabbi Moshe E. Bomzer is an Orthodox rabbi in the United States. He has served congregations in Hollywood, Florida, Toronto, Ontario and in Albany, New York. He received his rabbinical ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University after pursuing Talmudic studies at Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Forest Hills, NY and Jerusalem, as well as at Yeshiva Ner Yisroel in Baltimore. Besides his congregational work, he serves as a hospital chaplain, and as mashgiaḥ, heading the Vaad HaKashruth of Albany, New York, and representing in the Capital District, OU Kosher, Star-K, Kof-K, and CRC.

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)

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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

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Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Harry H. Epstein on 16 March 1978

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Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Walter Jacob on 15 June 1978

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Herbert W. Bomzer on 23 May 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