Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 29 November 2019

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Date: 2019-11-29

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

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

Tags: 116th Congress, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. House of Representatives, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 29 November 2019. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, U.S. Navy Chaplain (Ret)., Washington DC
Sponsor:
Date of Prayer: 2019-11-29

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty God, we pray, reflect, meditate in different ways, but come together to give thanks. This Thanksgiving week we acknowledge times are hard: hostility and tension fill our airwaves and our lives. But Thanksgiving is a choice: Give thanks, build on, moments that give hope; or give up, succumbing to despair.
	On this House floor last week Congressman John Lewis walked across the aisle, honoring, embracing, Senator Johnny Isakson with simple but inspiring words: “I will come over to meet you, brother.” When we see another not as other, but instead as brother, sister, neighbor, that is cause for thanks.
	During holidays some feast and some go hungry — not for bread alone, but for kindness and for hope. When words and actions bridge a gap; when character and decency touch our hearts; that is cause for thanks. God, help us give thanks. Celebrate good. And hold on to faith that better times will come.
	May we say, Amen.

Source(s)

116th Congress, 1st Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 165, No. 190 — Daily Edition (November 29, 2019)

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: Arnold E. Resnicoff
Bio: Arnold E. Resnicoff (born 1946) is a Conservative rabbi who began his career serving as a military officer and then as a military chaplain. He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school after which he was a U.S. Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years. After the Vietnam War, he promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. Rabbi Resnicoff was present at the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and the following year, President Ronald Reagan shared Rabbi Resnicoff's eyewitness account. After retiring from the military he became the National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General. Resnicoff holds several degrees, including an honorary doctorate. His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Chapel of Four Chaplains Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Resnicoff
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/arnold-resnicoff

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Caption: Flag of the United States House of Representatives