Inauguration Day Prayer for President Richard M. Nixon, by Rabbi Seymour Siegel (1973)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=11289
open_content_license: Public Domain (17 U.S. Code §105 - Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works) Date: 2015-01-21
Last Updated: 2024-06-01
Categories: Inauguration Day (January 20th), Coronations & Inaugurations
Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., democratic process, English vernacular prayer, United States
Excerpt: This prayer by Rabbi Seymour Siegel at the second inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record on January 20, 1973. . . .
Content:
| Contribute a translation |
Source (English) |
|
|
O Lord, Creator of all beginnings:
We thank You for the opportunity of starting anew.
Today those whom we have chosen to lead our country —
President Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew —
pledge again their commitment to serve You
and this great and blessed Nation.
Grant them the wisdom to understand their true task;
the courage to pursue it;
and the health and vigor to persist in it.
|
|
|
O Lord, source of all peace:
We ask You with all our hearts
that we be granted peace,
for which we all yearn.
Bless us and our leaders
with harmony,
vision,
and strength of purpose
so that we may better fulfill our responsibilities
to You and to our fellow man.
Bring us nearer to You
and thus closer to each other —
for next to being Your children
our greatest privilege is that we are brothers of each other.
|
|
|
On this historic occasion
we praise You in ancient words of blessing:
|
|
בּרוך אתּה
יי אלהינו
מלך העולם
אשר חלק מכבודו
לבשר ודם.
אמן׃
|
Blessed are You,
O Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
Who shares a portion of His glory
with mortal man.
Amen.
|
This prayer by Rabbi Seymour Siegel at the second inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon was recorded in the United States’ Congressional Record on January 20, 1973.
Contributor: Seymour Siegel
Co-authors:
-
Name: Seymour Siegel
Bio: Seymour Siegel (September 12, 1927 - February 24, 1988), often referred to as "an architect of Conservative Jewish theology," was an American Conservative rabbi, a Professor of Ethics and Theology at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), the 1983-1984 Executive Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,"[1] and an advisor to three American Presidents, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. Siegel was associated with JTS for 41 years, first as a student and later as an instructor, holding the Ralph Simon Professor of Ethics and Theology chair, succeeding his friend and mentor, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, in that position. He was an outspoken champion of political conservatism, delivering a prayer at the 1973 second term inauguration of President Richard Nixon, but just as strong a champion of religious causes sometimes associated with liberalism, such as the ordination of female rabbis. In his obituary, New York Times religion writer, Ari L. Goldman, wrote that the writings of Seymour Siegel "helped open the door for the ordination of female rabbis" in the Conservative movement.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Siegel
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/seymour-siegel
-
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
Featured Image:
Title: Nixon_1973_inauguration
Caption:
