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Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Moshe Feller, Lubavitch House, St. Paul, Minnesota
Date of Prayer: 1 February 1990
Sponsor:
Date of Prayer: 1 February 1990
Sponsor:
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Almighty God, Master of the universe, the Members of this august body, the U.S. Senate convene here today in fulfillment of one of the Seven Universal Commandments which You issued to Noaḥ after the great flood[1] The direct reference here is to Genesis 9:4. For the rabbinic teaching concerning the 7 mitsvot bnei Noaḥ, find Sanhedrin 56a.24; cf. Tosefta Avodah Zarah 9:4 and Genesis Rabbah 34:8. Six items were commanded to Adam: concerning idolatry, blasphemy, bloodshed, illicit sexuality, theft, and laws…God added to Noaḥ, the law of not eating from the flesh of a live animal.” (Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 9:1). The impetus behind sharing the sheva mitsvot in the context of ḤaBaD Lubavitch originates with the following teaching of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson: “We must do everything possible to ensure that the seven Noaḥide laws are observed. If this can be accomplished through force or through other kinder and more peaceful means through explaining to non-Jews that they should accept God’s wishes [we should do so]…Anyone who is able to influence a non-Jew in any way to keep the seven commandments is obligated to do so, since that is what God commanded Moses our teacher,” (“Sheva Mitzvot Shel Benai Noach,” Hapardes 59:9 7-11, 5745 [1984/5]). — the commandment that every society govern by just laws which are based in the recognition of You O God as the Sovereign Ruler of all men and all nations. | |
The recognition of Your sovereignty is the bedrock of our society as witnessed by the words “In God We Trust”[2] Since 30 July 1956, the official motto of the United States replacing the de facto motto E pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”). The earliest mentions of the phrase “in God we trust” can be found in the mid-19th century, from the period of the Slaveholders’ Rebellion (1861-1865), where Union supporters wanted to emphasize their attachment to God and to boost morale. The capitalized form “IN GOD WE TRUST” first appeared on the two-cent piece in 1864. engraved on the wall of this great portal of government in which we offer this prayer, and by the words with which we conclude our Pledge of Allegiance: “one Nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”[3] From the Pledge of Allegiance by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931): “I pledge Allegiance to my Flag, [to] the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” (in Youth’s Companion, 8 September 1892). The Pledge of Allegiance was amended to include the phrase “under God” in 1954. | |
We thank you Almighty God for this “year of miracles,”[4] According to the explanation of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson for the Hebrew letter presentation of the year in the Jewish calendar, “that the letters ה׳תשנ״א (5751) stand for the words, הי׳ תהא שנת ”אראנו נפלאות” — “This will surely be a year when ‘[Hashem] will show you wonders’ (Micah 7:15).”” (in “The Message of the Year 5751; Appreciating the Wonders which G-d is Revealing Based on the public addresses of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, on the Second Night of Sukkos and Shabbos Parshas Noach, 5751 [1990/1] and the Public Letter, Vav Tishrei, 5750 [1989/90]” at chabad.org –accessed 28 November 2022.) in which we witness an increasing number of nations beginning to govern their people with “liberty and justice for all” and beginning to recognize that the entire universe does indeed exist “under God.” | |
Grant us, Almighty God, as You granted the ancient Israelites in the 40th year of their sojourn in the wilderness, “a heart to perceive, eyes to see and ears to hear”[5] Cf. Deuteronomy 29:4. Your divine providence in all that is so rapidly transpiring before our eyes. May the perception of Your divine providence in the affairs of man forever guide the leaders of our country and may they govern accordingly with joy and gladness of heart. Amen. |
Source(s)
101st Congress, 2nd Session. C-SPAN.
Congressional Record, Vol. 136, Part 1 — Bound Edition, p. 1023.
Congressional Record v. 136, part 1 – 1 February 1990. p. 1023
Notes
| 1 | The direct reference here is to Genesis 9:4. For the rabbinic teaching concerning the 7 mitsvot bnei Noaḥ, find Sanhedrin 56a.24; cf. Tosefta Avodah Zarah 9:4 and Genesis Rabbah 34:8. Six items were commanded to Adam: concerning idolatry, blasphemy, bloodshed, illicit sexuality, theft, and laws…God added to Noaḥ, the law of not eating from the flesh of a live animal.” (Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 9:1). The impetus behind sharing the sheva mitsvot in the context of ḤaBaD Lubavitch originates with the following teaching of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson: “We must do everything possible to ensure that the seven Noaḥide laws are observed. If this can be accomplished through force or through other kinder and more peaceful means through explaining to non-Jews that they should accept God’s wishes [we should do so]…Anyone who is able to influence a non-Jew in any way to keep the seven commandments is obligated to do so, since that is what God commanded Moses our teacher,” (“Sheva Mitzvot Shel Benai Noach,” Hapardes 59:9 7-11, 5745 [1984/5]). |
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| 2 | Since 30 July 1956, the official motto of the United States replacing the de facto motto E pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”). The earliest mentions of the phrase “in God we trust” can be found in the mid-19th century, from the period of the Slaveholders’ Rebellion (1861-1865), where Union supporters wanted to emphasize their attachment to God and to boost morale. The capitalized form “IN GOD WE TRUST” first appeared on the two-cent piece in 1864. |
| 3 | From the Pledge of Allegiance by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931): “I pledge Allegiance to my Flag, [to] the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” (in Youth’s Companion, 8 September 1892). The Pledge of Allegiance was amended to include the phrase “under God” in 1954. |
| 4 | According to the explanation of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson for the Hebrew letter presentation of the year in the Jewish calendar, “that the letters ה׳תשנ״א (5751) stand for the words, הי׳ תהא שנת ”אראנו נפלאות” — “This will surely be a year when ‘[Hashem] will show you wonders’ (Micah 7:15).”” (in “The Message of the Year 5751; Appreciating the Wonders which G-d is Revealing Based on the public addresses of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, on the Second Night of Sukkos and Shabbos Parshas Noach, 5751 [1990/1] and the Public Letter, Vav Tishrei, 5750 [1989/90]” at chabad.org –accessed 28 November 2022.) |
| 5 | Cf. Deuteronomy 29:4. |
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