Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Harold P. Smith on 27 June 1963

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=56990

Date: 2024-06-20

Last Updated: 2025-02-02

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

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., 88th Congress, English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. Senate, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 27 June 1963. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Harold P. Smith, of the Congregation Agudath Achim, of South Shore, Chicago, Illinois
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 27 June 1963

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty Father, we thank Thee, O God, for the gift of another day of life.
	As the Members of this august body prepare to use this day for deliberations and actions which will affect the lives and destinies, not only of their own countrymen, but of all humans everywhere, we invoke Thy gracious blessings upon them.
	Bless Thou, we pray Thee, our Chief Executive, the President of the United States, and our distinguished legislators, with the good health, the courage, and the wisdom so to act this day that the crises of our world will be lessened, the tensions alleviated, the frictions mitigated, and the hatreds dissolved into love and friendship and understanding.
	May the qualities of mind and soul which we, their fellow citizens, saw in them in measure great enough to entrust them with our very destinies, be reflected in their sensitivities and responsiveness to the sufferings, the struggles, and the pains of many who, as we do, seek the fundamental blessings of life, liberty, and unhampered pursuit of happiness,[1] Cf. the US Declaration of Independence, stylized by Benjamin Franklin and penned by Thomas Jefferson, famously signed 4 July 1776. Scholars differ as to whether the historical origin of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are rooted in Lockean Rights (following after the “Virginia Declaration of Rights” written by George Mason and adopted 12 June 1776) or possibly in Jefferson’s self-proclaimed Epicureanism. –Aharon Varady.  wherever they may be.
	May they honor the deep trust we have placed in them by finding, this day, new vistas of insight which Thou alone canst supply, that they may shed a new and alleviating light upon the crucial issues which oft divide us one from another in these critical days when unity and love are so vitally needed for survival.
	Help us, O Lord, help us, that we, in these glorious and blessed United States of America, shall indeed be united States, and that all of us shall approach and solve our problems, with love and understanding, in a united state. Amen.

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This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the sixth month of the first session of the 88th US Senate, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 109 part 9 (27 June 1963), page 11851.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 109, part 9 (27 June 1963), p. 11851

 

Notes

Notes

1

Cf. the US Declaration of Independence, stylized by Benjamin Franklin and penned by Thomas Jefferson, famously signed 4 July 1776. Scholars differ as to whether the historical origin of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are rooted in Lockean Rights (following after the “Virginia Declaration of Rights” written by George Mason and adopted 12 June 1776) or possibly in Jefferson’s self-proclaimed Epicureanism. –Aharon Varady.

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Harold P. Smith
  Bio: Rabbi Harold P. Smith (1913-2011) of Chicago, was a former vice president of Hebrew Theological College. Ordained as a rabbi in 1940, he went on to serve as the Midwest Regional Director of Religious Zionists of America. At Hebrew Theological College for three decades, he created the Practical Rabbinical Program. Rabbi Smith served as president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and as national vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America. He was active in Jewish Federation and served on its Public Affairs Committee; was involved with the Rabbinical Advisory Committee of Combined Jewish Appeal; and was awarded "Clergyman of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune, for which he often wrote columns about Judaism and Israel. Rabbi Smith authored A Treasure Hunt in Jerusalem, a children's book about Judaism.
  Website: https://www.juf.org/news/local.aspx?id=413349
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/harold-p-smith
• 
  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: 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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Title: Flag_of_the_United_States_Senate.svg
Caption: Flag of the United States Senate