Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Efrem Goldberg on 5 April 2011

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=24022

Date: 2019-02-28

Last Updated: 2025-02-02

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

Tags: 112th Congress, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. House of Representatives, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 5 April 2011. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, Boca Raton Synagogue, Boca Raton, FL
Sponsor: Rep. Theodore Deutch, (D-FL)
Date of Prayer: 04/05/2011

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to welcome Rabbi Efrem Goldberg to our Nation’s Capitol and thank him for delivering such an insightful opening invocation.

Rabbi Goldberg’s presence here today is especially significant to me, for I regularly study under his guidance. Since entering public life, I have become all the more grateful to have him as a spiritual mentor. His insights help me serve my constituents and work to better our world in a way that honors our Jewish tradition.

As Senior Rabbi of Boca Raton Synagogue, Rabbi Goldberg leads a wonderful congregation of over 700 families and 1,200 children. This February, after an extraordinary first 5 years as Senior Rabbi, it was announced that he will continue to lead the congregation for the next decade.

His energy, vision, and wisdom touch everyone he meets, just as it did for us here this morning when he provided us with his compelling and thoughtful invocation.

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Our Father in Heaven, guard the Members of our esteemed House of Representatives. Instill within them the wisdom, the courage and determination to provide for the physical, as well as the spiritual, well-being of the citizens of this great country.
	May this body which hosts rigorous and robust debate continue to embrace diversity without resulting in divisiveness. May it seek and celebrate unity without imposing uniformity. May this House of Representatives, together with Houses of Worship across the land, promote justice, moral clarity, ethical living, righteousness, and acts of kindness.
	As a grandchild of immigrants who fled the Nazis and came to this country seventy-two years ago this month to find refuge, freedom, and opportunity, I join this House in a prayer of profound gratitude and deep appreciation for the blessings we, the people of the United States of America, are privileged to enjoy.
אָמֵן׃	Master of the Universe, protect our courageous Armed Forces, watch over our elected leaders, grant peace and prosperity to these United States and the entire world, and let us respond, Amen.

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Source(s)

112th Congress, 1st Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 157, No. 48 — Daily Edition (April 5, 2011)

Link: https://chaplain.house.gov/chaplaincy/display_gc.html?id=1549

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: Efrem Goldberg
  Bio: Rabbi Efrem Goldberg is the Senior Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS), in Boca Raton, Florida. BRS is the largest Orthodox Synagogue in the Southeast United States. Rabbi Goldberg came to Boca Raton in 1999 as a member of the Boca Raton Community Kollel, where he founded the BRS Lome Explanatory Service and initiated many learning and outreach programs. In 2001, he became Assistant Rabbi of BRS, in 2003 he was named Associate Rabbi, and in 2005 he was appointed Senior Rabbi. In addition to his position at BRS, Rabbi Goldberg plays a leadership role in many vital components of the greater South Florida community, and in 2010 he was recognized as one of South Florida’s Most Influential Jewish Leaders. He serves as Co-Chair of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board’s Va’ad Ha’Kashrus, as Director of the Rabbinical Council of America’s South Florida Regional Beis Din for Conversion, and as Posek of the Boca Raton Mikvah. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Hillel Day School, Torah Academy of Boca Raton, and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. Additionally, Rabbi Goldberg is involved in a number of national organizations and projects. He serves as Vice President of the Rabbinical Council of America and as Chairman of the Orthodox Union Legacy Group, and is a member of the AIPAC National Council.
  Website: https://rabbisblog.brsonline.org/about-rabbi-efrem-goldberg/
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/efrem-goldberg

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