Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Director of Washington Office, American Friends of Lubavitch, DC, Sept. 17, 1998

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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.

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.

A happy and a healthy new year.