Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff on 20 November 2018

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=22711

Date: 2018-11-23

Last Updated: 2024-06-01

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

Tags: 115th Congress, 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., anti-fascist, English vernacular prayer, Nuremberg Trials, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, Strange Fruit, U.S. House of Representatives, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 20 November 2018. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, Retired Chaplain, U.S. Navy, Washington, DC
Date of Prayer: 11/20/2018

---

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Almighty God, we pray, reflect, meditate in different ways, but unite in condemnation when hatred rears its ugly head.
	On this date in 1945 we helped convene a court in Nuremberg, proclaiming some actions so inhuman that they are crimes against humanity itself.
	We condemned the false belief that any humans are less than human: “life unworthy of life.”[1] The phrase “life unworthy of life” (in German: “Lebensunwertes Leben”) was a Nazi designation for the segments of the populace which, according to the Nazi regime of the time, had no right to live. (Wikipedia)
	Such thinking leads to slaughter, even here at home: dead children in their churches, hated for the color of their skin; beatings, killings, lynchings that stained our landscape, and our history, with what poets called the strange and bitter fruit of bodies hanging from the trees;[2] ”Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol (1937), famously sung by Billie Holiday in 1939.  and last month, in a Pittsburgh synagogue, men and women murdered because the shooter thought “all Jews should die.”[3] Sheehan, Andy; Schiller, Meghan (October 27, 2018). “11 Dead, Several Others Shot At Pittsburgh Synagogue“. KDKA. Retrieved October 27, 2018. Police sources tell KDKA’s Andy Sheehan the gunman, Robert Bowers, walked into the building and yelled, “All Jews must die.” Sheehan’s sources also confirmed that eleven people have died.
	God, we know that words and prayers still matter, when they are linked to action, grounded in our Nation’s founding vision: that all are created equal,[4] Cf. “All men are created equal” — Thomas Jefferson in the United States Declaration of Independence  with rights to liberty and life, rights and dreams we must forever honor, cherish, and protect.
אָמֵן׃	And may we say, amen.

---

Source(s)

115th Congress, 2nd Session. Congressional Record, Issue: Vol. 164, No. 183 — Daily Edition (November 20, 2018)

Link: https://chaplain.house.gov/chaplaincy/display_gc.html?id=2814

Notes[+]

Notes

1	The phrase “life unworthy of life” (in German: “Lebensunwertes Leben”) was a Nazi designation for the segments of the populace which, according to the Nazi regime of the time, had no right to live. (Wikipedia)
2	”Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol (1937), famously sung by Billie Holiday in 1939.
3	Sheehan, Andy; Schiller, Meghan (October 27, 2018). “11 Dead, Several Others Shot At Pittsburgh Synagogue“. KDKA. Retrieved October 27, 2018. Police sources tell KDKA’s Andy Sheehan the gunman, Robert Bowers, walked into the building and yelled, “All Jews must die.” Sheehan’s sources also confirmed that eleven people have died.
4	Cf. “All men are created equal” — Thomas Jefferson in the United States Declaration of Independence

Contributor: the Congressional Record of the United States of America

Co-authors:

• 
  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: Arnold E. Resnicoff
  Bio: Arnold E. Resnicoff (born 1946) is a Conservative rabbi who began his career serving as a military officer and then as a military chaplain. He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school after which he was a U.S. Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years. After the Vietnam War, he promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. Rabbi Resnicoff was present at the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and the following year, President Ronald Reagan shared Rabbi Resnicoff's eyewitness account. After retiring from the military he became the National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General. Resnicoff holds several degrees, including an honorary doctorate. His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Chapel of Four Chaplains Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Resnicoff
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/arnold-resnicoff

Featured Image:

Title: Flag_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives.svg
Caption: Flag of the United States House of Representatives