Inauguration Day Prayer for Donald Trump, by Rabbi Ari Berman (2025)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=59702

open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Date: 2025-01-20

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

Categories: 🇺🇸 Inauguration Day (January 20th), 🇺🇸 United States of America

Tags: 21st century C.E., 47th President of the United States, 58th century A.M., Donald Trump, English vernacular prayer, United States, שתדלנות shtadlanut

Excerpt: This prayer by Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University, was offered as a benediction at the Inauguration ceremony for Donald Trump on 20 January 2025. . . .

Content:
Contribute a translation Source (English)
Almighty God,
your prophet Jeremiah walked the streets of Jerusalem
and blessed its inhabitants with the Hebrew words
Barukh ha-Gever asher yiftaḥ ba-Hashem —
“Blessed is the one who trusts in God” (Jeremiah 17:7).
Thousands of years later, this great nation
which adopted these words as its motto:
“In God we trust,”[1] Since 30 July 1956, the official motto of the United States replacing the de facto motto E pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”). The earliest mentions of the phrase “in God we trust” can be found in the mid-19th century, from the period of the Slaveholders’ Rebellion (1861-1865), where Union supporters wanted to emphasize their attachment to God and to boost morale. The capitalized form “IN GOD WE TRUST” first appeared on the two-cent piece in 1864.  
stands at a moment of historic opportunity.
Americans are searching for meaning.
Our merciful father,
help us rise to meet this moment.
Bless president Donald J. Trump
and vice president J.D. Vance
with the strength and courage
to choose the right and the good.
Unite us around our foundational biblical values
of life and liberty
of service and sacrifice
and especially of faith and morality —
which George Washington called,
the indispensable supports of American prosperity.[2] ”Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” –George Washington’s “Farewell Address” (1796). 
Guide our schools and college campuses
which have been experiencing such unrest
to inspire the next generation,
to pair progress with purpose,
knowledge with wisdom,
and truth with virtue.
Hear the cry of the hostages,
both American and Israeli,
whose pain our president so acutely feels.
We are so thankful
for the three young women
who yesterday returned home,
and pray that the next four years
brings peace to Israel
and throughout the Middle East.
Almighty God,
grant all Americans the opportunity
to realize our shared dream
of a life filled with peace and plenty,
health and happiness,
compassion and contribution.
Stir within us the confidence
to rise to this moment,
for while we trust in God,
God‘s trust is in us, the American people.
America is called to greatness —
to be a beacon of light
and a mover of history.
May our nation merit the fulfillment
of Jeremiah’s blessing:
that like a tree planted by water
we shall not cease to bear fruit.[3] Cf. Jeremiah 17:8. 
May all of humanity
experience your love
and your blessing.
May it be thy will,
and let us say: Amen.

This prayer by Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University, was offered as a benediction at the Inauguration ceremony for Donald Trump on 20 January 2025.

Source(s)

 

Notes

Notes
1 Since 30 July 1956, the official motto of the United States replacing the de facto motto E pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”). The earliest mentions of the phrase “in God we trust” can be found in the mid-19th century, from the period of the Slaveholders’ Rebellion (1861-1865), where Union supporters wanted to emphasize their attachment to God and to boost morale. The capitalized form “IN GOD WE TRUST” first appeared on the two-cent piece in 1864.
2 ”Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” –George Washington’s “Farewell Address” (1796).
3 Cf. Jeremiah 17:8.

Contributor: Ari Berman

Co-authors:

Featured Image:
Inauguration ceremony for Trump’s second presidential term
Title: Inauguration ceremony for Trump’s second presidential term
Caption: Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS