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Before the commencement of the legislative proceedings of this day, I again, in the manner of this honorable assembly, lift up my eyes to Thee, our Father who art in Heaven, most humbly beseeching Thee to vouchesafe to be with us during the labors of this day; that Thou mayest direct our judgment, enlighten our minds, and incline our hearts, that we may think, speak and act according to Thy will and to our good. | |
May truth be our guide, justice our rule, and the welfare of mankind our only aim; so that this State, upon which Thou hast lavished so many blessings already, whose sons, by Thy grace, have rendered signal services to our Union in particular and to the cause of Liberty in general; that this may continue to rise, to shine and flourish. | |
May tranquillity, order, safety and prosperity reign within, and no troubles, vexations or grievances break in from without. | |
May it please Thee to crown our endeavors here with success, to the contentment of our hearts; to the satisfaction of those who entrusted us with so important a charge; to the advancement of plenty and ease, of happiness and peace. | |
May the tree of Liberty, which has been planted here so early, and which has now taken root so deeply, be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringing forth fruit in its season, whose leaves do not wither; but may its branches spread forth more and more, till all mankind may find shelter under its shadow.— Amen. |
This was an opening prayer offered by the guest chaplain before the Virginia House of Delegates (1849-1850 legislative session) in the week of January 15-18, 1850, and published in The Richmond Enquirer (25 January 1850), p. 1. As the Journal of the House of Delegates of the State of Virginia records only that Rabbi Eckman offered a prayer on these four days, we can only deduce from the language of the opening prayer that it was offered at one of the proceedings, January 16-18th. The lede to the prayer in The Richmond Enquirer notes that the prayer was published there “at the request of Mr. West, of Tyler,” a representative in the Virginia House. The prayer was reprinted in The Occident and American Jewish Advocate (March 1850) under the heading “Virginia” on pages 38-40, along with the following note (likely written by Isaac Leeser):
VIRGINIA.—We love this old commonwealth; it is the home of generous feelings, and the seat of true liberty of conscience; this has been frequently proved, especially by the late act to repeal all punishments for not observing Sunday on the part of those who keep the seventh day Sabbath; for though at one time misled to enact an exceptional law, that State repealed it as soon as the injustice was made manifest; and next to not committing an error, it is to acknowledge the wrong and amend it; in truth, it is more generous to do so, especially in public bodies, who are often swayed by contrary notions to those of abstract justice, When the convention to amend the State Constitution, met in 1829 or 780, under the Presidency of Mr. Monroe, once President of the United States, the clergy of various Christian denominations were invited to open the daily sittings with prayer. This act of exclusion roused the zeal of the Rev. Abraham Hyam Cohen, then the minister of the Jewish Congregation, and he succeeded in having the rights of the Jews respected. We now see the fruits of this well-directed remonstrance. The offence is not repeated again, and we see that the Rev. Mr. Eckman, the newly arrived minister of the Portuguese Synagogue, has been invited to open the meeting of the House of Delegates.
Source(s)
Prayer by Rabbi Julius Eckman (The Richmond Enquirer, 25 January 1850), p 2.
“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the Virginia House of Delegates: Rabbi Julius Eckman (January 1850)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.
Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)
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