Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Kenneth Segel on 19 April 1972

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=55472

Date: 2024-04-18

Last Updated: 2025-02-02

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

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., 92nd Congress, 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 19 April 1972. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Kenneth Segel, Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sponsor: Rep. William S. Moorhead (D-PA)
Date of Prayer: 19 April 1972

Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, it is with the greatest honor that I inform the House that today’s invocation was given by a constituent of mine, Rabbi Kenneth Segel of Rodef Shalom Temple in Pittsburgh.

He is assistant rabbi to one of the largest Jewish congregations in the United States.

I think we all were moved by his stirring prayer and we thank him for seeking for us God’s guidance and strength.

Rabbi Segel represents the new breed of clergymen. He is very active in community and civic affairs in addition to his role as religious leader to the Rodef Shalom Congregation.

A graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Rabbi Segel received his master of arts in Hebrew letters from Hebrew Union.

He serves on numerous committees and commissions including: Planned Parenthood of Allegheny County; Allegheny County Concerned Clergymen’s Committee; Recognize All Potential— RAP; Clergymen Action Committee for Neighborhood Cooperation, and others.

The rabbi was accompanied to Washington today by his wife, Sandra, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. David Segel, of Buffalo, N.Y.

I want to thank and congratulate all of them.

---

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	God of Life, Thy children seek Thy help. These, Thy sons and daughters, are charged with the awesome responsibility of directing the affairs of our Nation.
	Inspire them to rediscover that which is truest and best in the American dream.
	Help them to stand aside from the world’s conspiracy of fear and hate.
	Aid them to grasp once more the great monosyllables of life: Faith, hope, and love.
	May our country combat fear with trust; hate with love; suspicion with faith; and injustice with righteousness.
	May we so conduct ourselves that those who know us will think of our country not as the mightiest nation, but as the freest; not as the wealthiest, but as the most humane and generous; not as the leader of the world but as the servant of humanity and the steward of liberty for all men. Amen.

---

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the fourth month of the second session of the 92nd US Congress in the House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 118, part 11 (19 April 1972), page 13490.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 118, part 11 (19 April 1972), p. 13490

Congressional Record, vol. 118, part 11 (19 April 1972), p. 13491

 

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Kenneth Ian Segel
  Bio: Rabbi Kenneth I. Segel is a Reform movement rabbi in the United State. After graduating from the State University of New York at Buffalo, he studied at Hebrew Union College where he was ordained in 1970. He has served historic congregations in the United States and Canada and has built congregations in New Orleans; Fresno, California; and Scottsdale, Arizona. He’s taught at five universities, published three children’s books and two adult books, and has been invited to offer Opening Prayers before the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He currently lectures on cruise ships throughout the world.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/kenneth-ian-segel
• 
  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: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
  Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
  Website: https://aharon.varady.net
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription

Featured Image:

Title: Flag_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives.svg
Caption: Flag of the United States House of Representatives