[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 124 (Thursday, September 17, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page S10451]]

Senate

  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.
                                 F_____
                                 

                                 prayer

  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.

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