[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 157 (Monday, September 24, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H8741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  Rabbi Hannah Spiro, Hill Havurah, Washington, D.C., offered the 
following prayer:
  God, we thank You for the Jewish festival of Sukkot, which begins 
today, and for Your commandment to build temporary structures, to eat 
and sleep in them under the stars, and to welcome in guests--honored 
guests, guests in need. You teach us that these are one and the same.
  Your festival teaches us to come to terms with impermanence--of these 
temporary structures, our actual homes, our wealth, our social 
standing, and even our lives. When we remember, as Ecclesiastes 
teaches, that we came from dust and will return to it, we can't 
possibly feel justified in holding on to our resources with a clenched 
fist. You move us to open our hands and homes in generosity, inclusion, 
and justice.
  May the Sukkot season and the beauty of changing autumn leaves 
inspire each one of us to welcome, to serve, and, for this brief time 
we are allotted, to generously live.

                          ____________________