Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 30 December 2019

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=28843

Date: 2019-12-30

Last Updated: 2025-03-23

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

Tags: 116th Congress, 2019 Monsey Hanukkah stabbing, 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 30 December 2019. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, U.S. Navy Chaplain (Ret)., Washington DC
Sponsor:
Date of Prayer: 2019-12-30

---

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty God, we pray, reflect, meditate in different ways, but as a year, a decade ends, and 2020 begins, may we reaffirm, united, the hope of Langston Hughes: “Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed.”[1] Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America Again” from: A New Song (1938)   Dreamers dreamed a nation founded on equality, rights; a Constitution established for a more perfect union, for liberty for us and our posterity. Our votes, oaths, acts — must reflect those dreams.
	With this decade’s last House prayer, we give thanks for progress, look ahead with hope, but with eyes wide open to prejudice, hatred, terror that remain — fueling violence like the antisemitic Ḥanukkah party attack Saturday, the Texas church attack Sunday — praying, Almighty God, for strength to dream the bravest dream our dreamers dreamed, our people dreamed: “We shall overcome, we shall overcome, We shall overcome some day. Deep in my heart, I do believe. We shall overcome some day.”[2] ”We Shall Overcome” is a gospel song which became a protest song and a key anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. The song is most commonly attributed as being lyrically descended from “I’ll Overcome Some Day”, a hymn by Charles Albert Tindley that was first published in 1900. (from the Wikipedia article)
וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן׃	And let us say, Amen.

---

Source(s)

116th Congress, 1st Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 165, No. 209 — Daily Edition (December 30, 2019)

Notes

Notes

1	Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America Again” from: A New Song (1938)
2	”We Shall Overcome” is a gospel song which became a protest song and a key anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. The song is most commonly attributed as being lyrically descended from “I’ll Overcome Some Day”, a hymn by Charles Albert Tindley that was first published in 1900. (from the Wikipedia article)

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_House_of_Representatives.svg
Caption: Flag of the United States House of Representatives