Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Norman Gerstenfeld on 18 April 1955
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=55394
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2024-04-14
Last Updated: 2025-02-02
Categories: 🇺🇸 United States of America, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies
Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., 84th Congress, English vernacular prayer, Joint warfare in South Vietnam, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. Senate, תחינות teḥinot
Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 18 April 1955. . . .
Content:
Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Norman Gerstenfeld, Washington Hebrew Congregation
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 18 April 1955
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Source (English) |
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O Thou who hast led us across the Red Seas
and the wilderness of the yesteryears
in a vision of a divine covenant,
quicken that vision in our minds
so that with renewed faith
we shall be its living witness
and inspire freemen
toward a rebirth of freedom
to face the promise and dangers
of a new age.
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O Thou who hast led us out of bondage
with a vision of man’s righteousness,
Thou who hast taught us
that we are faithful to Thee
only when we labor for Thy children,
guide us in our deliberations
so that we shall find the path that leads upward,
the way that builds new strength and new hope
for the children of men.
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Bless Thou
the men who raise Thy standards in our time,
the men who guard the rights of their fellow men,
the men who are not neutral in time of evil,
the men who do not turn away their face
when the wicked would barter the birthright of freedom
for the mess of pottage of petty gain,
the men who have the self-discipline
of the disciples of Thy sacred Law
as children of a just God.
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Guide us
and guard us
and lead us forward
so that through our labors
in this great moment of history
we shall in truth be the living witness
of Thy covenant,
and the time will soon come
when the world shall be filled
with the knowledge of a righteous God
even as the waters cover the seas.
Amen.
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This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the fourth month of the first session of the 84th US Congress in the Senate, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 101, part 4 (18 April 1955), page 4522.
Source(s)
Congressional Record, vol. 101, part 4 (18 April 1955), p. 4522
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Norman Gerstenfeld
Bio: Norman Gerstenfeld (1904-1968), born in London, was a prominent Reform rabbi in the United States. He was ordained by the Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Cincinnati and also held a degree from American University in Washington, D.C. From 1935, he was a Fellow in Jewish Philosophy at the HUC. He became an assistant rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation in 1935, a synagogue that had been in disarray and decline for several decades. Three years later he became senior rabbi of the congregation.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Gerstenfeld
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/norman-gerstenfeld
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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
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Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
Website: https://aharon.varady.net
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription
Featured Image:
Title: Flag_of_the_United_States_Senate.svg
Caption: Flag of the United States Senate
