Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Gershon B. Chertoff on 19 April 1967
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=55467
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2024-04-18
Last Updated: 2025-03-24
Categories: 🇺🇸 United States of America, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies
Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., 90th Congress, 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 19 April 1967. . . .
Content:
Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Gershon B. Chertoff, Temple Bnai Israel, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 19 April 1967
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Almighty God and Lawgiver:
We thank Thee
that the Founding Fathers of these United States
made our Government one of laws
and not of men;
of laws designed to set men free—
to think for themselves,
govern themselves,
pursue happiness for themselves,
and so become themselves.
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The laws of our polity
were to reflect our commitment
to the divine law of justice and equity.
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Wherefore we appeal to Thee
to kindle a legal conscience
in the heart of the Nation.
Persuade us of the supremacy of the law
as embodied in the Constitution,
its authorized interpretations,
and the enactments made under its provisions.
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May all of us,
from the greatest to the smallest,
live in the faith
that there is no hope for us
to live outside the law
if we cannot live within it.
For the law is our life
and the length of our days.
Amen.
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This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the fourth month of the first session of the 90th US Congress in the House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 113, part 8 (19 April 1967), page 10042.
Source(s)
Congressional Record, vol. 113, part 8 (19 April 1967), p. 10042
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Gershon B. Chertoff
Bio: Rabbi Gershon Baruch Chertoff (1915-1996) was a Conservative movement rabbi in the United States. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and received a doctoral degree in philosophy and anthropology from Columbia University. During World War II, he served as an Army chaplain. In 1946, he came to Temple B’nai Israel (Elizabeth, New Jersey). After urban rioting erupted across the United States in the late 1960s, Rabbi Chertoff was named by President Lyndon Johnson to chair an advisory panel studying housing discrimination in New Jersey. Coming in the aftermath of the 1967 Newark riots, hearings by the New Jersey Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission received widespread attention and Chertoff continued in the position for many years. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was named by the state Supreme Court as a non-attorney member of the Disciplinary Review Board, which hears appeals to attorney disciplinary actions.
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/gershon-chertoff
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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
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Caption: Flag of the United States House of Representatives
