Rabbi Alvin Berkun, Tree of Life Congregation, Pittsburgh, PA, Senate guest chaplain, May 8, 1991

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

Video of Sen. Arlen Specter sponsoring remarks here

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as we begin our day of deliberations in this, the Senate of the United States, we pause to acknowledge You and to pray for peace. According to the 2,000-year-old volume written by the ancient rabbis, the Ethics of the Fathers, the world rests on three things: on truth, on justice, and on peace. [[Pirkei Avot 1:18]]All three are connected and intertwined. The goal of the first two is to bring about the third, peace. To the Jewish sages of old, peace was God's very name. Peace--Shalom--is the ideal toward which we must all strive. In Jewish tradition, the word `Shalom,' has a much wider meaning than does its English equivalent, peace. In the Hebrew context, the word peace touches on the work that is done here. It refers to the welfare of all: It implies a sense of security, of contentment, of sound health. The prophet Isaiah taught that Shalom would then be opposed to the dissatisfaction and the unrest that evil can cause. May we be inspired by one of the greatest of the Jewish sages, a contemporary of Jesus, Rabbi Hillel, who said: `Love peace and pursue peace.' [[Pirkei Avot 1:12]] May the inspiration of our Judaeo-Christian civilization inspire all of us as we work together to make of our Nation a beacon of hope, a symbol of freedom, and a harbinger of peace for all. During these days of concern for our President, we join in prayer to the Lord our God and God of our ancestors, that our President, George Bush, be blessed with good health and well-being and that he continue to be endowed with vigor of body, mind, and spirit as we all say,