Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff on 16 June 2003

Public Domain

Date: 2018-11-24

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

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

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

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 16 June 2003. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Retired Chaplain, U.S. Navy, Washington, DC
Date of Prayer: 06/16/2003

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty God of freedom, who gave us the promise and the dream of liberty to be proclaimed throughout the land, we pause before this session to recall words spoken by a Senate nominee– Abe Lincoln– on this day, June 16, in 1858. “A nation divided against itself cannot stand,” he said, and we “cannot endure half slave, half free.”
	O Lord our God and God of generations past, we offer thanks for all the progress we have made since that historic speech, even as we recognize we still have more to do. Slavery, the institution, is no more. But let us unite in our resolve that none should be enslaved by prejudice or hatred that threatens the humanity and dignity we have fought to recognize and guarantee; that none, victimized by ignorance or discrimination, live lives half slave, half free.
	Grant us and all our leaders the wisdom to debate and disagree, with civility and respect, the issues of the day. But give us, we pray, the wisdom and the faith we need to safeguard a nation united, not divided– indivisible, as we pledge– in our pursuit of liberty and justice for us all.
אָמֵן׃	And may we say, Amen.

Source(s)

108th Congress, 1st Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 149, No. 88 — Daily Edition (June 16, 2003)

Click to access CREC-2003-06-16-pt1-PgS7905-2.pdf

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

Featured Image:

Title: Flag_of_the_United_States_Senate.svg
Caption: Flag of the United States Senate