[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 20, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H3263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Rabbi Rafael G. Grossman, Senior Rabbi, Baron Hirsch Synagogue, 
Memphis, Tennessee, offered the following prayer:
  O merciful God, in this august Chamber, Thy servants represent a 
nation blessed to live in freedom. Grant wisdom and courage so the path 
they pave can be traversed by all.
  You chose us, the American people, from among all people, to be the 
``light unto the nations'' and the voice for the silenced and the 
suffering. Thy children everywhere look to this hall of democracy for 
hope and strength, as old and young continue to face the evil hand of 
terror and exploitation. Give us determination to bring joy and life to 
victims of terror and might against those who perpetrate it. Your voice 
resonates in our hearts, and this is the vision of America's destiny.
  Isaiah, in the language of the Bible: (Here the cited verse was read 
in Hebrew.) He ``has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim 
liberty to the captives, and opening of the eyes of those who are 
bound.'' The old Prophet's words beckon the hearts of Americans to 
bring the freedom of our blessings to humankind's downtrodden, to those 
shackled by chains of exploitation and demagoguery. The free, dear God, 
are only free when all of God's children are free.
  Would you join me in saying, Amen.

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