The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was called to order by the President pro tempore (Mr. Thurmond).
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Today's prayer will be offered by the guest Chaplain, Levi Shemtov, Rabbi, Director of the Washington Office, American Friends of Lubavitch, Washington, DC. Glad to have you with us.
[Page: S10451] GPO's PDF
The guest Chaplain, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Director of the Washington Office, American Friends of Lubavitch, offered the following prayer:
Almighty God, our Father in Heaven, bless and grace this august body, the United States Senate. Fill this Chamber and through it the Nation with the strength of Your sovereignty and the power of Your comfort. May the Members of this body and its officers strive always to glorify Your name and through their devotion to You and true service to the inhabitants of the Nation.
As the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) approaches, commemorating the anniversary of Your creation of man, we stand before You while You sit in judgment. May this feeling of our ultimate need for mercy pervade our lives, and may we judge each other at least as favorably as we would like to be judged ourselves.
As our Nation faces tremendous challenges, we also possess a deep, enormous faith and capacity for healing. The Senate, reflecting the Nation, comprises men and women from various political, cultural, and religious backgrounds. We are thankful for the freedom to bring various views, but as we debate the significant issues of the day, let us remember the words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, who taught, `the only way to soothe the differences between two sides is to seek how we are ultimately all on the same side.'
Three hundred years ago, the Great Baal Shem Tov, founder of Chassidism, taught us that in every experience lies Divine Providence, giving man the ability to find and develop divinity in seemingly everyday activities. As the officers and Members of the Senate and their staffs go about their noble task of legislating the path for our Nation, with the will of the people, please let them see in their work not just mere political activity but divine endeavor, nothing less than partnership with God in perfecting the world, bringing redemption to all of mankind.
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