Rabbi Baruch Frydman Kohl, Beth Tzedec Congregation,Toronto, Canada, Nov. 29, 2012

"When Rabbis Bless Congress: The Great American Story of Jewish Prayers on Capitol Hill" .. buy the new book here:

Full video of Sen. Herb Kohl sponsoring remarks here

Rabbi Baruch Frydman Kohl, Beth Tzedec Congregation,Toronto, Canada, Nov. 29, 2012

Rabbi transcript: God of us all, we assemble before You in humility, recalling both triumph and defeat, summer drought, autumn hurricane, and the cooperative resilience of our Nation. In this season after elections and before the new Congress, we ask that You give these Senators and our government the wisdom to avoid the exclusion of either/or and to embrace the blessings of both/and. Rather than fear falling off a cliff, help our leaders to learn to chimney. In climbing, chimneying requires pushing off one side of a mountain cleft and then the other to advance higher. The resistance of each face of the rock contributes to the ascent. Help these leaders to appreciate individual initiative and care for the distressed, to value competition and find a path for cooperation, to be mindful of human liberty and be grateful for mutual help, to recognize the occasional need for force and to forcefully pursue peace. Enable them to chimney up the cleft of our differences, to reclaim fiscal integrity and maintain social concern, to be exemplars of responsibility and reasonableness, so that all Americans may respect and rejoice in their leadership of this great country.

Sen. Kohl transcript:

[Reid]: I would now yield to my friend, the senior Senator from the State of Wisconsin. I will have more of an opportunity at a later time to say things about Senator Kohl, but I have had a wonderful experience in getting to know this quiet, very productive man. I have enjoyed his innate skills. He is one of the best businesspeople we have in America today, one of the best Senators we have in America today.

Kohl: Mr. President, I rise today to thank Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl for his invocation this morning and welcome him and his beloved wife Josette to the Senate. Rabbi Baruch's father Jack and my father Max were brothers and Europeans during the First World War. Both were exiled to Siberia. Later, after my father immigrated to America, he helped Jack and his family come to Milwaukee. Baruch is the Anne and Max Tanenbaum senior rabbi of Best Tzedec Congregation, the largest synagogue community in Canada. The focus of his rabbinate has been family education, lifelong learning, and care for the housebound, hospitalized, and homeless. Beyond the synagogue, the rabbi is the president of the Toronto Board of Rabbis and recently organized the Path of Abraham mission to bring Jews, Christians, and Muslims to the Holy Land to explore the challenges of three religions, two nations, and one land. Baruch's list of accomplishments and credentials is as impressive as it is long. I ask unanimous consent to have a copy of his biography printed in the Record following my remarks. I will just add to this list his place in my heart as a beloved cousin, valued friend, and welcomed reflection of all about our fathers that was strong, smart, and good. I thank the rabbi for his time and attention to the Senate today. [Reid: Mr. President, it is a remarkable short history, very amazing how wonderful our country is. I note just in passing that my wife's father, my father-in-law, was born in Russia, immigrated to the United States like the rabbi and Senator Kohl's father. ]