Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. Senate: Rabbi Mordecai Levy on 25 May 1972
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=55860
open_content_license: Public Domain (17 U.S. Code §105 - Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works) date_src_start: 1972-05-25 date_src_end: 1972-05-25 languages_meta: [{"name":"English","code":"eng","standard":"ISO 639-3"}] scripts_meta: [{"name":"Latin","code":"Latn","standard":"ISO 15924"}] Date: 2024-05-12
Last Updated: 2025-04-25
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. Senate, תחינות teḥinot
Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. Senate on 25 May 1972. . . .
Content:
Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Mordecai Levy, Tri-City Jewish Center, Rock Island, Illinois
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 25 May 1972
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Source (English) |
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O Lord of the universe, ruler of mankind,
it hath been told Thee, O man, what is good
and what the Lord doth require of Thee,
but to love with strength
and to do justly with human kind.
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We seek daily
to fill our lungs with the correct words,
our minds with responsible ideas,
and our limbs with the power to act righteously.
These characteristics are divine in quality.
Let them not repose in the heavenly spheres
where Thou alone act supreme and exalted.
Let them guide our lives:
in government, and in the street
where human beings congregate.
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May our leaders, yea—
may all peoples find the means
to humanize Your ideal concepts,
to the end that in the arena of social domesticity,
in the marketplace of the human situation,
we shall transform the erring part of human frailty
into a plan, where man shall live in peace,
extending love and friendship without favor.
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Shalom, peace is not a static quality
in which people rest complacent,
but a dynamic urge to fulfill
our human destiny.
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O Lord,
bless the work of our hands
as we dream to labor,
and labor to dream
for such a world.
Amen.
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This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the fifth month of the second session of the 92nd US Congress in the Senate, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 118, part 15 (25 May 1972), page 18927.
Source(s)
Congressional Record, vol. 118, part 15 (25 May 1972), p. 18927
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Mordecai Levy
Bio: Rabbi Mordecai Levy (1928-2011), from Malden, Massachusetts, was a Conservative movement rabbi and Jewish educator in the United States. Ordained at JTS, Rabbi Levy held several post-graduate degrees, including a doctorate from Dropsie University in Philadelphia. An Air Force veteran of the Korean War, Rabbi Levy volunteered at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa and served as a chaplain at the hospital. He also had served as a prison chaplain for many years. He served at pulpits in and around Tampa, Florida: Temple Ohev Shalom, Temple Emanuel, Congregation Aliya in Clearwater.
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/mordecai-levy
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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
