Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Dr. Meir Felman on 28 April 1964
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=55666
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication Date: 2024-04-27
Last Updated: 2025-02-02
Categories: 🇺🇸 United States of America, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies
Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., 88th Congress, English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. Senate, תחינות teḥinot
Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 28 April 1964. . . .
Content:
Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Dr. Meir Felman, Judea Center, Brooklyn, New York
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 28 April 1964
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Source (English) |
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God of the nations, ruler of all mankind,
we thank Thee
for the blessings of citizenship
in this great Nation,
conceived in liberty
and dedicated to the sublime concept
that all men are created equal.
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As we accept these blessings,
we ask Thy help
to prove ourselves worthy of them.
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As we enjoy the rewards
earned by the labors of our Founding Fathers,
may we understand
that the tasks they so nobly advanced
are never finished;
that liberty,
justice,
brotherhood,
and peace
are not possessions
or accomplished facts,
but ever goals to be reached,
a ceaseless process
demanding our best energies,
our consecrated zeal,
and our consuming love.
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Bless our glorious land
which has become the hope and safety
of all the nations of the earth.
Our country has ever been
the land of the free
and the home of the brave.
America stretcheth forth
her hands to the poor;
yea, she reacheth forth
her hands to the needy.
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In every generation
Thou hast raised up
prophets of righteousness
and champions of liberty:
godly men who broke the shackles of the enslaved
and infused new courage into faint hearts.
Ours is the firm belief
that hatred and bigotry are but momentary aberrations
in the conscience of mankind.
May our love for justice,
which recognizes neither rich nor poor,
strong nor weak,
class nor mass,
color nor creed,
ever inspire us so to labor and toil
that we may proclaim liberty
throughout the land
and to all the inhabitants thereof.
Amen.
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This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the fourth month of the second session of the 88th US Congress in the Senate, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 110, part 7 (28 April 1964), page 9236.
Source(s)
Congressional Record, vol. 110, part 7 (28 April 1964), p. 9236
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Meir Felman
Bio: Rabbi Meir Felman (1913-2006) was an Orthodox rabbi in the United States, He served as rabbi of the Judea Center in Brooklyn, New York. A four-time alumnus of Yeshiva University, he was the recipient of an honorary degree from YU. He served as president of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbinic Alumni. We know few other details of Rabbi Meir's life and career. If you can add more, please contact us,
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/meir-felman
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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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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_Senate.svg
Caption: Flag of the United States Senate
