Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Seth H. Frisch on 27 February 2018

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=19992

Date: 2018-04-29

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

Categories: Purim, 🇺🇸 United States of America, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies

Tags: 115th Congress, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, Queen Esther, U.S. Senate, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 27 February 2018. . . .

Content:

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Dearest God, we look to You today, You who remembers all that we have forgotten and You who is the eternal source of blessing.
	We stand before You on the eve of the Biblical Festival of Purim, a joyous time in which we read from the ancient and sacred scroll of the Book of Esther. It is in the scroll we read at first of a certain darkness, a darkness which would come to envelope the entire nation over which Esther would soon reign as Queen.
	It was Queen Esther who became frightened when the plan revealing a plot to erase the sacred remnants of her people, along with the fundamental teachings of her faith, came to light; and yet it was Esther, who, when confronted by the impending darkness, was able to bring the plot to an end, allowing her people to emerge from the shadow of darkness– of this horror– and live freely, without fear, celebrating life itself in the light of their newfound freedom.
	And now, standing here today, before You, on the eve of this festival, we, too, ask that You remember us for life, instilling within us a greater love of freedom, seeking both peace and prosperity for all the inhabitants of this great Nation.
	And yet, Dear Lord, we would be remiss if we were not to remember those who have sacrificed much, suffered, and paid dearly with their lives, allowing all of us– to this day– a life of freedom without fear, worshiping as we choose, and continuing to bask in that greater love which You shed and allow us to live within.
	Teach us now and forever to celebrate our differences. Unify us to preserve and admire those differences among us– all of us– with respect and dignity for all the inhabitants of this Nation.
	Lord, we ask You to bestow Your blessings today upon this assembly and upon the Nation which it serves. Bless all the inhabitants of this land with both prosperity and lasting joy, love, and freedom.
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ׃	Yevarechecha Adonai, V’Yishmerecha. [YHVH bless you and protect you!][1] Numbers 6:24, the first verse of the Priestly Blessing
	May God bless you and keep you. May God bless the United States of America, and may God bless us all. Amen.

---

Source(s)

115th Congress, 2nd Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 164, No. 35 — Daily Edition (February 27, 2018)

Link: https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2018/02/27/senate-section/article/S1223-2

 

Notes

Notes

1	Numbers 6:24, the first verse of the Priestly Blessing

Contributor: the Congressional Record of the United States of America

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: the Congressional Record of the United States of America
  Bio: 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)
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Record
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/united-states-congressional-record
• 
  Name: Seth H. Frisch
  Bio: Seth H. Frisch, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is rabbi of the New Shul of America, Rydal, Pennsylvania, and formerly, senior rabbi of the Historic Congregation Kesher Israel in Philadelphia. A Conservative Rabbi, Rabbi Frisch was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) in New York City in 1986. He served as a legislative assistant to the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Rabbi Frisch founded the Lerhaus Institute of Jewish Studies in Abington, Pennsylvania. The Lerhaus Institute quickly became known for its high level of Biblical and Narrative studies and was modeled on the Lehrhaus institute created by Franz Rosenzweig in Germany during the 1920s and then later expanded upon by Martin Buber in the 1930s. The founding of Lehrhaus (note difference in spelling) came at a time of increasing antisemitism which would eventually culminate in anti-Jewish legislation aimed at isolating the Jewish community from the overall German population.
  Website: https://www.icasinc.org/bios/frisch_s.html
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/seth-frisch

Featured Image:

Title: Flag_of_the_United_States_Senate.svg
Caption: Flag of the United States Senate