Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Saul Israel Wisemon on 2 May 1968

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=55704

Date: 2024-04-29

Last Updated: 2025-04-15

Categories: 🇮🇱 Yom ha-Atsma'ut (5 Iyyar), 🇮🇱 Medinat Yisra'el (the State of Israel), 🇺🇸 United States of America, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., 90th 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 2 May 1968 in the event of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Saul Israel Wisemon, Delaware County Jewish Community Center, Springfield, Pennsylvania
Sponsor: Rep. Lawrence Williams (R-PA)
Date of Prayer: 2 May 1968

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
מאת יהוה היתה זאת היא נפלאת בעינינו זה היום עשה יהוה נגילה ונשמחה בו׃ (תהלים קיח:כג-כד)	This is the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalms 118:23-24).
	Our Father, who art in heaven, we pray that Thou wilt bless these men, chosen by the people of this Nation.
	Bestow Thy blessings upon the President of these United States, the Vice President, the Speaker and Representatives of this great House, and all who minister unto the needs of this great Nation.
	Standing before Thee, at this historic hour and place, we call to mind that twenty years have passed in Thy sight,[1] Psalms 90:4.  since our beloved America, reared in the spiritual heritage of ancient Israel’s timeless Book, helped the young State of Israel, beacon and bastion of freedom and democracy, come into being.
	We thank Thee, for the miracle of Israel, and Thy everlasting mercies, which endure forever.
	We pray Thee, guide the State of Israel and all who minister unto her. Protect them, with the right, of the might, from above.[2] Possibly inspired by Irving Berlin’s lyrics for “God Bless America” (1918/1938), “Stand beside her and guide her / Through the night with the light from above.”
	Grant, O Lord, that the bonds which make us feel a sense of spiritual kinship with Israel, may grow ever stronger, with the passage of time.
	Guide Thou their way, that out of Zion shall come forth the law of justice, for all mankind, and Thy word of light, healing and hope for all Thy troubled children, everywhere from Jerusalem.
	As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we thank Thee for this our sweet land of liberty and democracy.
יברכך יהוה וישמרך יאר יהוה פניי אליך ויחנך ישא יהוה פניו אליך וישם לך שלום׃ (במדבר ו:כד-כו)	May the Lord bless us and keep us, The Lord make His face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us, The Lord lift up His countenance upon us, and give us peace[3] Numbers 6:24–26, a/k/a the Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing). — Now and forever more. Amen.

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This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the fourth month of the second session of the 90th US Congress in the House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 114, part 9 (2 May 1968), p. 11421.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 114, part 9 (2 May 1968), p. 11421

 

Notes

Notes

1	Psalms 90:4.
2	Possibly inspired by Irving Berlin’s lyrics for “God Bless America” (1918/1938), “Stand beside her and guide her / Through the night with the light from above.”
3	Numbers 6:24–26, a/k/a the Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing).

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Saul Israel Wisemon
  Bio: Rabbi Saul Israel Wisemon (1934-?) was a rabbi who served pulpits in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nova Scotia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Unfortunately, we know very little about his life and career besides his arrest in 1983. “Police said a warehouse rented by a rabbi contained more than 10,000 allegedly stolen religious books and microfilms that had disappeared from schools, libraries and synagogues throughout the Northeast,” the Associated Press reported from Vineland, New Jersey on May 5, 1983. “The discovery was made in an investigation of Rabbi Saul Wisemon. . . . Authorities want to question Wisemon about the disappearance of a Torah—a valuable hand-written scroll of Jewish law—from a Bridgeton temple.” (as quoted by Howard Mortman in When Rabbis Bless Congress: The Great American Story of Jewish Prayers on Capitol Hill (2021), p. 253.) If you know more about the life and career of Rabbi Wisemon and would like to add to this short bio, please contact us.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/saul-israel-wisemon
• 
  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

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