Sponsor: Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN)
Date of Prayer: 2005-07-12
Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of our guest chaplain and my friend, Rabbi David Greene of Rochester, Minnesota. I often tell students when they come to visit the Capitol that the first official act of the United States Congress was to appoint a chaplain. The second thing that they did was they prayed, and it was not a perfunctory prayer. They prayed for 1½ hours. We have long understood the importance of faith in our society.
Rabbi Greene was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended the first Orthodox Jewish parochial school in Minnesota, received his ordination from the Rabbinical College of Canada in 1984, and completed post-graduate Judaic studies at Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York.
Since 1988 Rabbi Greene has served as the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Emissary to Rochester, more specifically, to the Mayo Clinic. In his service, he meets the spiritual needs of Jewish people who reside in or visit Rochester, Minnesota.
I thank Rabbi Greene for his service as our guest chaplain to the United States House of Representatives today.
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Almighty God,
Master of the Universe, according to the Jewish tradition, You instructed mankind to obey seven universal laws:[1] Sanhedrin 56a; cf. Tosefta Avodah Zarah 9:4 and Genesis Rabbah 34:8. The following litany of mitsvot follows the teaching of Maimonides: “Six items were commanded to Adam: concerning idolatry, blasphemy, bloodshed, illicit sexuality, theft, and laws…God added to Noah, the law of not eating from the flesh of a live animal.” (Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 9:1). For a full list of the mitsvot bnei Noaḥ, find “The Seven Commandments for All Humanity (Bnei Noaḥ) in early Rabbinic sources.” 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 Noahide 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).
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Today,
the members of this house convene to fulfill one of these commandments, to govern by just laws. |
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May it be your will,
that those assembled here enact laws to govern this great country, be mindful of Your presence and conduct themselves in all their matters with justice, kindness and peace. |
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Grant them success
in making this country truly fit for Your presence. Bless them with good health, wisdom, compassion, good cheer and fellowship. |
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אָמֵן׃
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Amen.
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Source(s)
109th Congress, 1st Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 151, No. 93 — Daily Edition (July 12, 2005)
link: https://chaplain.house.gov/archive/index.html?id=255
Notes
| 1 | Sanhedrin 56a; cf. Tosefta Avodah Zarah 9:4 and Genesis Rabbah 34:8. The following litany of mitsvot follows the teaching of Maimonides: “Six items were commanded to Adam: concerning idolatry, blasphemy, bloodshed, illicit sexuality, theft, and laws…God added to Noah, the law of not eating from the flesh of a live animal.” (Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 9:1). For a full list of the mitsvot bnei Noaḥ, find “The Seven Commandments for All Humanity (Bnei Noaḥ) in early Rabbinic sources.” 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 Noahide 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). |
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| 2 | A broad interpretation of gezel, taking without consent, i.e., theft. |
| 3 | A broad interpretation of ever min hê-ḥai, predatory behavior (literally, not [tearing] the limb of a living creature) |
