Sponsor: Rep. Margaret Heckler (R-MA)
Date of Prayer: 24 June 1974
Mrs. HECKLER of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for graciously acceding to my request to have Rabbi Shlomo Goren, Chief Rabbi of Israel, offer the opening prayer at today’s session of Congress.
A renowned Hebrew scholar and author, Rabbi Goren was born in Poland and settled in Israel in 1925. He was educated in various Talmudical institutions as well as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. For 20 years, he was Chief Chaplain of the Israeli Army, holding the rank of major general.
He then became Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, and later was elevated to Chief Rabbi of Israel.
We are honored to have such an outstanding scholar and religious leader open our deliberations here today.
During Israel’s wars of independence, this remarkable man served in the front lines, tending to the religious needs of the Israeli soldiers in the heat of combat.
He symbolizes for many of us the spirit of determination, of dedication and idealism that—more than tanks and jet aircraft—are the true strength of the Israeli people. He represents a people who struggle and suffer and die so that others may live free.
The struggle for freedom for the Jewish people rages not only in the Middle East but in many parts of the world. As President Nixon prepares to fly to Russia for another summit meeting with Soviet officials, Jewish leaders in that country are being rounded up to be silenced.
I have been to the Soviet Union, and I have been to Israel. My heart goes out to the Soviet Jews who are not being permitted to join their brothers and sisters in Israel.
Their struggle goes on, in many ways and in many places. And we all have a stake in the outcome of that struggle. For if one person, anywhere, is denied his precious right to live free—then are any of us truly free?
I think not: The fight to free people’s minds and spirits and souls is universal, and in one way or another, we are all involved.
For this reason, our prayers join those of Rabbi Goren for a lasting peace in the Middle East, and for freedom and prosperity for the tiny democratic State of Israel.
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Our Father in Heaven,
who keepest covenant and mercy with Thy servants that walk before Thee with all their heart, Thou hast decreed that out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,[2] Isaiah 2:3 may Thou therefore endow me as a messenger of Zion with the grace of Thy majesty that I may invoke Thy blessing upon the illustrious head of state, the President of the United States, and this august body, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. |
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With courage and vision
the President inaugurated an era of peace and with wisdom and understanding, the lawmakers sustained his foundation of peace. Bless, therefore, the peacemakers for they shall inherit the Earth. |
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Bless those who made these United States
a land of freedom and opportunity and a beacon of light for all our persecuted brethren in countries of oppression. |
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Above all, Heavenly Father,
sustain them in their conviction that all men are created equal “for in the image of God made He man” (Genesis 9:5) and by Thee endowed with the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice and happiness.[3] Rabbi Goren, in adding “the pursuit of justice” has made an innovation in the classic formulation of the inalienable right. Cf. the US Declaration of Independence, stylized by Benjamin Franklin and penned by Thomas Jefferson, famously signed 4 July 1776. Scholars differ as to whether the historical origin of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are rooted in Lockean Rights (following after the “Virginia Declaration of Rights” written by George Mason and adopted 12 June 1776) or possibly in Jefferson’s self-proclaimed Epicureanism. –Aharon Varady. |
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Vouchsafe unto them, O Lord,
wisdom equal to their strength, and courage equal to their responsibilities that the peoples of Israel in the Holy Land and her neighbors, and the people of the United States and the peoples of the world may be united in the bond of brotherhood and freedom before Thee, the Father of all. |
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The Lord will give strength unto his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3) Amen. |
This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the sixth month of the second session of the 93rd US House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 120, part 16 (24 June 1974), page 20705.
Source(s)
Congressional Record, vol. 120, part 16 (24 June 1974), p. 20705
Notes
| 1 | The Congressional Record identifies him as “Dr. Shlomo Goren” |
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| 2 | Isaiah 2:3 |
| 3 | Rabbi Goren, in adding “the pursuit of justice” has made an innovation in the classic formulation of the inalienable right. Cf. the US Declaration of Independence, stylized by Benjamin Franklin and penned by Thomas Jefferson, famously signed 4 July 1776. Scholars differ as to whether the historical origin of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are rooted in Lockean Rights (following after the “Virginia Declaration of Rights” written by George Mason and adopted 12 June 1776) or possibly in Jefferson’s self-proclaimed Epicureanism. –Aharon Varady. |
