Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Sidney S. Guthman on 19 March 1981

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Sidney S. Guthman and the Congressional Record of the United States of America

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18 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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U.S. House of Representatives, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, 97th Congress, 20th century C.E., תחינות teḥinot, 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Sidney S. Guthman, D.D., Temple Shalom, Seal Beach, California
Sponsor: Rep. Dan Lungren (D-CA)
Date of Prayer: 19 March 1981

Mr. LUNGREN. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of the Long Beach, California, area, I would like to welcome a friend of mine to Washington and to these Chambers today. Dr. Sidney Guthman has long been one of the most active and concerned community leaders and I want to thank him for leading us in the invocation this morning.
In fact, there is probably no greater measure of his concern than the fact that he would interrupt his transit from sun-drenched Israel to balmy southern California in order to come to cold Washington, D.C., to take care of his business here.
In the course of my civic involvement in southern California, I have repeatedly crossed paths with Rabbi Guthman—he has been a veritable dynamo of personal involvement in civic and local government activities back home—so it is highly appropriate that we should be graced with a man of his caliber this morning.
It is fair to say that Dr. Guthman is himself an institution in Long Beach. During the past 6 years as rabbi at Temple Shalom in Seal Beach, his 15 years of service as chaplain of the VA hospital in Long Beach, and his 20 years as rabbi at Temple Sinai in Long Beach he has demonstrated a level of civic involvement that is rare, to say the least.
He has for many years served as a director of the Long Beach Symphony Association and has worked for a full decade on the Long Beach Commission on Community Improvement.
Seldom have I met an individual of such energy and commitment, and I am pleased and honored that Dr. Guthman could be with us here today to deliver the invocation before the House.
Welcome to Washington, Rabbi Guthman, and do not be too disheartened by these cold, Canadian winds that are blowing through the city today.

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	Lord of the Universe, Author of Liberty, to Thee we pray.
	Let there be for bigotry no sanction, for intolerance no assistance.^[1] Cf. George Washington’s “Letter to the Jews of Newport,” August 17th, 1790.
	For Thy bountiful blessings upon this land, we are indeed grateful beyond words.
	We now humbly implore Thee to continue to favor us with Thy divine guidance.
	Do Thou inspire our legislators to reaffirm the principles of the Founding Fathers and to embody them in wise laws.
	We beseech Thee, O merciful Father, to bless our country. May it ever be opulent but generous, strong but just, firm but wise, a shining example for all mankind to emulate.
	Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light.
	Great God our King, may this be Thy will. Amen.

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the third month of the first session of the 97th US Congress in the House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 127, part 4 (1981), page 4803.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 127, part 4 (19 March 1981), p. 4803

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Cf. George Washington’s “Letter to the Jews of Newport,” August 17th, 1790.

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Sidney S. Guthman on 19 March 1981” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Sidney S. Guthman

Rabbi Sidney S, Guthman (1911-2009) from Chicago, was a Conservative movement rabbi in the United States. He was a graduate of Lewis Institute of Technology and was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1938. Rabbi Guthman walked in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s march on Washington, D.C., in 1963, and accompanied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. In 1971, JTS awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree. As a rabbi he held pulpits in New England and San Antonio, Texas (Agudas Achim), Lakewood, California (Shir Chadash), Seal Beach (Temple Shalom), and as Chaplain of the VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Rabbi Guthman was the past President of the Western States Region of the Rabbinical Assembly and a former Grand Chaplain of the Masonic Grand Lodge. He was chairman of the Community Advisory Commission in Long Beach and past president of the Western States Region of the Rabbinical Assembly. With Robert Segal, he co-edited the prayerbook, Sabbath Eve Services and Hymns (1944).

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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Works of related interest:

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Sidney S. Guthman on 22 April 1982

Flag of the United States House of Representatives

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Sidney Harcsztark on 18 March 1965

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik on 12 May 1981

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Sidney S. Tedesche on 26 March 1935

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Louis M. Tuchman on 30 March 1982

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Rachel S. Mikva on 8 March 1995

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Barton G. Lee on 13 March 1980

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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