Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff on 5 May 2003

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Date: 2018-11-24

Last Updated: 2025-03-29

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

Tags: 108th Congress, 2003 invasion of Iraq, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. Senate, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 5 May 2003. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Retired Chaplain, U.S. Navy, Washington, DC
Date of Prayer: 05/05/2003

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	O Lord who gives to everything a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:^[1] Cf. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 a time for war; a time for peace; a time for life; a time for death; and always time for hope. We take time now, as this week starts, and as–we pray–the fighting in Iraq nears its end, to honor those who serve, who fight, who sacrifice in times of war, so that the time of peace–of real peace–might be.
	We take time now to offer thanks: for freedoms that are far from free, for they are bought and paid for at the cost of lives cut short, and family dreams that now can never be; and at the cost of lives that will be touched and haunted by memories so painful that most of us give thanks that we will never know, nor ever fully comprehend.
	Lord, who gives to every thing a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven,^[2] Cf. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 we honor those who gave their lives; and we honor those who still live and serve, within a world that knows too well the time of war. And we honor in a special way their families, those they love and who love them, for whom the battlefields seem much more close to home.
	Give us the faith, the strength, the wisdom, too, to do our part to bring about the time of peace for which they fought–and fight; the time of peace for which we pray; the time of peace, just peace, in which we must keep faith; the world of peace which we must do our part to build.
אָמֵן׃	And let us say, Amen.

Source(s)

108th Congress, 1st Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 149, No. 65 — Daily Edition (May 05, 2003)

Click to access CREC-2003-05-05-pt1-PgS5695-2.pdf

Notes

Notes
1	Cf. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
2	Cf. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Contributor: the Congressional Record of the United States of America

Co-authors:

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: Arnold E. Resnicoff
Bio: Arnold E. Resnicoff (born 1946) is a Conservative rabbi who began his career serving as a military officer and then as a military chaplain. He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school after which he was a U.S. Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years. After the Vietnam War, he promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. Rabbi Resnicoff was present at the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and the following year, President Ronald Reagan shared Rabbi Resnicoff's eyewitness account. After retiring from the military he became the National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General. Resnicoff holds several degrees, including an honorary doctorate. His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Chapel of Four Chaplains Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion.
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Resnicoff
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/arnold-resnicoff

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