Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Edward Benjamin Morris Browne on 13 December 1917

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=53954

Date: 2024-01-14

Last Updated: 2024-01-14

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

Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., 65th Congress, English vernacular prayer, Lord's Prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. House of Representatives, United States entry into World War Ⅰ, World War Ⅰ, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 13 December 1917. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Edward B. M. Browne, Mount Morris Park Synagogue “Ateress-Zvee,” New York City, New York
Date of Prayer: 13 December 1917
Sponsor: n/a

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed is Thy name. Thy kingdom came with the dawn of creation, and being established upon principles eternal and universal, its laws enforce themselves alike in all climes and in all ages.
	Therefore Thy will must be done amongst the celestials in Heaven even as it is done amongst Thy mortal children on earth.
	Thou hast endowed nature with productive energies, subservient to man’s will, whereby Thou givest us this day our daily bread.
	By imparting to us Thy divine spirit, Thou hast enabled us to enact just laws which guard human society, so that human passions may lead us not into temptation but divine grace deliver us from all evil.
	For the purpose of enacting just laws for our great Nation, there are here assembled its representative sons, and I pray that as Thou wast present with Moses on the peak of Moab, so here in this modern Sinai Thou canst send Thy shekhinah[1] Original has ‘shekinah'  upon every one of the Representatives present, so that while they represent the will of the people they will represent the will of Thee, who art our Father and our Lord.
	And we pray, oh God, our special blessing upon the President of the United States, our olive-branch President, who is waging an olive-branch war in order to bring about an olive-branch, genuine peace amongst all the nations of the earth.
	Open Thy religious magnanimity to forgive those who trespass against us even as Thou forgivest our trespasses against Thee. And thus give us the power and the will to bring mankind to Thy feet as children of God and to democratize every human being in justice and in equality.
	We thank Thee, oh Lord, that You have selected our Nation as the chosen people of these days to bring about the peace which the bewildered world now wants.
	But let us not be vainglorious at the high position assigned us, bearing in mind that whatsoever we are in greatness, in influence, in power, we are so only through Thee. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

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This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the first year of the 65th US Congress, after the United States had officially entered World War Ⅰ. The prayer, modeled after the Lord’s Prayer, is at once ecumenical, civic, and perhaps also sensational — as a Jewish prayer of a rabbi before a largely white Christian audience in the US House of Representatives. The source images of the prayer were copied by Howard Mortman and shared via his @CongressRabbi Twitter account. All credit to Howard Mortman for his research in digging up this prayer. Unfortunately, neither the source images nor his tweets provide an exact citation reference to the volume, issue, and page number of the Congressional Record in which the prayer was published. If you know, leave a comment, or contact us.

Source(s)

Prayer of the Guest Chaplain (Edward B.M. Browne, 13 December 1917)

 

Notes[+]

Notes

1	Original has ‘shekinah'

Contributor: Edward Benjamin Morris Browne

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Edward Benjamin Morris Browne
  Bio: Rabbi Dr. Edward Benjamin Morris Browne (1845-1929) was born in Hungary and received his early Hebrew and rabbinical training in Europe. He emigrated to the United States in the 1860s. He obtained a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati and taught at the Medical College of Evansville. He also held several rabbinical posts in the Midwest and South - Milwaukee, Evansville, Peoria, Montgomery (Alabama) and Atlanta. During this time, he was associated with Rabbi Isaac M. Wise until they had a disagreement and subsequent falling out in 1878. During the 1870s, Browne began to build a national reputation as an orator and lectured widely on Jewish topics, mainly to non-Jewish audiences. He began his involvement with Republican Party politics, both nationally and in New York, where he moved in the 1880s. In 1885, he was a pallbearer at the funeral of President Grant. In New York City, Browne was rabbi of Congregation Gates of Hope where in addition to his speaking engagements, he was also active in legal and civic work. Starting in the 1890s, Browne moved several times, living mainly in the Midwest and South. He served congregations in Toledo (Ohio), Chicago and Columbus (Georgia). In addition to his medical and rabbinical degrees, Browne also held a law degree from the University of Wisconsin. He became known as "Alphabet" Browne because of the preponderance of letters after his name. Browne led a controversial and visible public life and was involved in numerous activities including the unsuccessful attempt to establish a Jewish chaplaincy at the turn of the century.
  Website: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/browne-edward-bm
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/edward-benjamin-morris-browne
• 
  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

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