Rabbi Shmuel Butman, Lubavitch Youth Organization, Brooklyn, House prayer, May 14, 1992

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Rabbi Shmuel Butman, Lubavitch Youth Organization, Brooklyn, House prayer, May 14, 1992, prayer:

Let us pray: Dear G-d, with Your bountiful mercy, we have just celebrated the 90th birthday of the revered leader of world Jewry, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shlita. The Rebbe has, with Your divine help, enriched the educational, religious, moral, and ethical lives of millions of people--of all walks of life--throughout the world, and has made this world a better place to live in. We ask You, O G-d, to grant the Rebbe a full, complete, and speedy recovery, for the benefit of all humankind. The Rebbe has proclaimed this year--5752 in the Jewish calendar--as `the Year of Wonders in Everything.'

During the past year, we have seen hundreds of thousands of Jews from the Soviet Union arrive in Israel to start a new life. We were also witness to a crisis in the Middle East of international proportions and gravest implications. The Rebbe says that the reason we have seen so many miracles this past year, and are constantly seeing miracles in our daily lives, is due to the fact that You, almighty G-d, are preparing the world for the miracle of miracles, the final redemption. We ask You, dear G-d, to give us the strength to accelerate that process and the inspiration to do an extra good deed each day. In this spirit, dear G-d, I would like to take this opportunity to put a dollar bill, on which the words `In G-d we trust' are imprinted, into this pushke--charity box. This charity box reminds us all that we have an obligation not only to ourselves and our families, but also, indeed, to our neighbors and society in general. Help us, dear G-d, to bring this message of charity and of the final redemption to all the people in these great United States, and around the world. Almighty G-d, in Your infinite wisdom, You have established the Members of the U.S. Congress as the custodians of honesty and decency, justice and peace for all the people in the United States, and--through the United States as the moral superpower--for all the people of this planet. We pray, dear G-d, that You continue to bestow Your bounty upon all of the Members of this body, the U.S. Congress. May they merit, dear G-d, to have a `year of wonders in everything' in their communal, national, and international endeavors, as well as in their private lives. And let us all say, amen.

Rep. Chuck Schumer:

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to introduce to the House Rabbi Shmuel Butman, the director of the Lubavitch Youth Organization. Many of my colleagues are already familiar with the good work done by Chabad Lubavitch. Rabbi Butman visits us shortly after the 90th birthday of the spiritual leader of this movement, Grand Rebbe Menachem Schneerson. Rebbe Schneerson leads the Lubavitch community from my hometown, Brooklyn, NY, but his followers fill every corner of the globe. Millions have benefited from his charitable works, and have been inspired by his words and writings. Congress has recognized Rebbe Schneerson's accomplishments on many occasions, but this, his 90th year takes on special significance. As we reflect on the prayer offered by Rabbi Butman, I hope my colleagues will also reflect on the importance of religious faith and education, and how much we can learn from the Lubavitch movement, its devout members, and their great leader.