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Sponsor: Rep. Bill Lehman (D-FL)
Date of Prayer: 22 October 1985
Mr. LEHMAN. Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Simcha Freedman was born in Philadelphia, Pa. He graduated Yeshiva University. He was ordained by the Rabbi Isaac Hanen Theological Seminary in 1962 and received a master’s degree in Hebrew literature from the Bernard Revei graduate school that same year.
Rabbi Simcha Freedman has served congregations in Shenandoah, Pa., and Philadelphia. He is currently spiritual Jeader of Temple Adath Yeshurun in North Miami Beach, Fla. Rabbi Freedman is a past president of the Philadelphia branch of the Rabbinical Council of America, and is a past secretary of the board of rabbis of Greater Philadelphia.
He now serves as secretary of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami and serves on the City Advisory Council of the Planning Commission of North Miami Beach. He has contributed articles to various local and national publications.
Rabbi Freedman is married to the former Anna Becher Wasser and they have two children, Sammy and Benjy. During the years that I have known Rabbi Freedman personally and been acquainted with the extent of his community involvement, I have been impressed by not only his active commitments to Jewish causes but also his concern for the well-being of our entire religious and secular community. Rabbi Freedman is a great humanitarian as well as a true spiritual leader.
| Contribute a translation | Source (English) |
|---|---|
לחיים |
to Life |
Dear God, Scripture enjoins us “choose life.” (Deuteronomy 30:19) | |
This shall be a life of Independence, not an existence subject to isolation and coercion; | |
A life of Security, not an existence in fear of terrorism; | |
A life of Righteousness, not an existence at the mercy of international injustice; | |
A life of Amity, not an existence menaced by war; | |
A life of Earnestness, not an existence dependent upon questionable safeguards and promises; | |
A life of Love, not an existence threatened by plots of extinction. | |
Dear God, we pray You vouchsafe Your blessings upon the Members of this great House. May their continued support be granted the State of Israel and all democracies which cling to those self-same ideals upon which this Nation was founded and lives. | |
לחיים |
to Life! |
Amen. |
This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the tenth month of the first session of the 95th US House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 123 part 26 (18 October 1977), page 34071.
Source(s)
Congressional Record, vol. 123, part 26 (18 October 1977), p. 34071
“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Simcha Freedman on 18 October 1977” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.
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