Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Leo Heim on 1 June 1967

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Date: 2024-06-22

Last Updated: 2025-02-18

Categories: 🇺🇸 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 1 June 1967. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Leo Heim, Congregation B’nai Zion, El Paso, Texas
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 1 June 1967

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Heavenly Father: We, citizens of this free haven, rise to acknowledge our cherished privileges and to affirm our faith in Thee as we beseech Thy benign guidance in the deliberations of this distinguished assemblage.
	Charged with the affairs of our Nation, these our Representatives seek Thy beneficence. Imbue them with wisdom and loving kindness that their efforts emerge into a beacon of light and hope to a bewildered humanity.
	In these perilous times cause Thy spirit to enter the hearts of the brazen and the bigoted. Cleanse their hands of aggressive designs; their spirits of iniquitous schemes.
	Look down with favor upon this our blessed land. Unite our pursuit for peace; empower our minds that we may not falter. Make our lives a contribution to the symphony of a freedom-loving humanity. Amen.

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the sixth month of the first session of the 90th US House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 113 part 11 (1 June 1967), page 14482.

Source(s)

Congregational Record, vol. 113, part 11 (1 June 1967), p. 14482

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

Name: Leo Heim
Bio: Rabbi Leo Heim (1913-2003), born in Carpathian Czechoslovakia, was a Conservative movement rabbi in the United States. He survived the Holocaust and worked for the Jewish Federation for several years in Czechoslovakia, helping other survivors locate family members and get assistance. He emigrated to Miami, Florida and after attending the University of Miami, moved to Chicago, where he attended rabbinical school and was ordained. Rabbi Heim served Conservative congregations in El Paso, Texas; Macon, Georgia; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Corpus Christi, Texas.
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/leo-heim

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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