Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Louis Kaplan on 3 June 1969

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Date: 2024-06-23

Last Updated: 2024-06-23

Categories: Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies, United States of America

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., 91st Congress, acrostic, 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 3 June 1969. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Louis Kaplan, Congregation Ohev Shalom, Nether Providence, Pennsylvania
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 3 June 1969

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Lord: In commencing this session of the House of Representatives, Begin we must by expressing gratitude for being alive. Even as we have risen from sleep, Rouse us, too, we pray from our shackles of yesterday— The fetters of ignorance, resistance to worthwhile change, Yielding complacency, inertia, and other shortcomings.
	Aid us to attain a healthy discontent Now concerning what we have done, as well as a Determined and renewed enthusiasm for what we can do.
	Joining high resolve with noble goals, Understanding with genuine compassion, Spur these leaders, especially to translate The Biblical challenge “to do righteousness and justice” (Proverbs 21:3) Into legislation enabling more Children and adults, in this Nation and elsewhere, to Enjoy their “unalienable rights”^[1] From the United States Declaration of Independence (1776). in the human family.

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the sixth month of the first session of the 91st US House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 115 part 11 (3 June 1969), page 14566.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 115, part 11 (3 June 1969), p. 14566

Notes[+]

Notes
1	From the United States Declaration of Independence (1776).

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Co-authors:

Name: Aharon N. Varady (editing/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

Name: Louis Kaplan
Bio: Rabbi Louis Kaplan, born in Philadelphia, is a Conservative movement rabbi in the United States. Graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1949 and Gratz College in 1950. After military service in the Korean War, he was ordained at JTS in 1956. Rabbi Kaplan occupied pulpits in Bloomfield, Connecticut and Daytona Beach, Florida before coming to Ohev Shalom (Chester, Pennsylvania) in 1961. He completed his Ph.D. at Dropsie in 1971. In addition to his work as rabbi at Ohev Shalom, and from 1983 to 1992 as school principal, Rabbi Kaplan held the positions of adjunct lecturer in English and Judaica at the Delaware County Campus of Pennsylvania State University (1973-1981) and of adjunct assistant professor of Judaica at Widener University (1989-1992, 1994). He was chaplain to Jewish students at Widener University and conducted a monthly prayer-study-song session at four area nursing homes. Rabbi Kaplan served as president of the Philadelphia Region of the Rabbinical Assembly. He held the office of president in the Ministerium of Chester and Vicinity, Interfaith Council of Nether Providence Clergy, and the Swarthmore-Wallingford Interfaith Ministerium. He originated "Quest: An Experiment in Interfaith Understanding," which involves Ohev Shalom, St. John Chrysostom Roman Catholic Church, and Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, and was co-founder of the "Covenant of Faith" binding these three institutions. In 1972, Rabbi Kaplan, Monsignor Frederick Stevenson, and Reverend J. Barrie Shepherd were co-winners of the Sylvan K. Cohen Award from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia.
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/louis-kaplan

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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