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Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Harold P. Smith, of the Congregation Agudath Achim, of South Shore, Chicago, Illinois
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 27 June 1963
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 27 June 1963
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| Contribute a translation | Source (English) |
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Almighty Father, we thank Thee, O God, for the gift of another day of life. | |
As the Members of this august body prepare to use this day for deliberations and actions which will affect the lives and destinies, not only of their own countrymen, but of all humans everywhere, we invoke Thy gracious blessings upon them. | |
Bless Thou, we pray Thee, our Chief Executive, the President of the United States, and our distinguished legislators, with the good health, the courage, and the wisdom so to act this day that the crises of our world will be lessened, the tensions alleviated, the frictions mitigated, and the hatreds dissolved into love and friendship and understanding. | |
May the qualities of mind and soul which we, their fellow citizens, saw in them in measure great enough to entrust them with our very destinies, be reflected in their sensitivities and responsiveness to the sufferings, the struggles, and the pains of many who, as we do, seek the fundamental blessings of life, liberty, and unhampered pursuit of happiness,[1] Cf. the US Declaration of Independence, stylized by Benjamin Franklin and penned by Thomas Jefferson, famously signed 4 July 1776. Scholars differ as to whether the historical origin of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are rooted in Lockean Rights (following after the “Virginia Declaration of Rights” written by George Mason and adopted 12 June 1776) or possibly in Jefferson’s self-proclaimed Epicureanism. –Aharon Varady. wherever they may be. | |
May they honor the deep trust we have placed in them by finding, this day, new vistas of insight which Thou alone canst supply, that they may shed a new and alleviating light upon the crucial issues which oft divide us one from another in these critical days when unity and love are so vitally needed for survival. | |
Help us, O Lord, help us, that we, in these glorious and blessed United States of America, shall indeed be united States, and that all of us shall approach and solve our problems, with love and understanding, in a united state. Amen. |
This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the sixth month of the first session of the 88th US Senate, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 109 part 9 (27 June 1963), page 11851.
Source(s)
Congressional Record, vol. 109, part 9 (27 June 1963), p. 11851
Notes
| 1 | Cf. the US Declaration of Independence, stylized by Benjamin Franklin and penned by Thomas Jefferson, famously signed 4 July 1776. Scholars differ as to whether the historical origin of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are rooted in Lockean Rights (following after the “Virginia Declaration of Rights” written by George Mason and adopted 12 June 1776) or possibly in Jefferson’s self-proclaimed Epicureanism. –Aharon Varady. |
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“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Harold P. Smith on 27 June 1963” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.
Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)
Harold P. Smith
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