The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Opening Prayer

09/21/2004
Rabbi Gary P. Zola

As we begin legislative deliberations in this great shrine of democracy, we call to mind the words of an American original – Sam Levensen (1912 – 1980) – the Spanish teacher turned entertainer whose homespun stories about his immigrant parents delighted our nation. Upon his death, Levenson's children discovered their father's ethical will containing these heartfelt sentiments:

To America, I owe a debt for the opportunity it gave me to be free and to be me. To my parents I owe America. They gave it to me, and I leave it to you. Take good care of it. To the Bible, I owe the belief that the human does not live by bread alone, nor do we live alone at all. This is also the democratic tradition. Preserve it.

In this year marking the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in this great land, may we all acknowledge our debt to America, to the courageous immigrants who gave us this national inheritance, and to the Source of All for endowing us with the benefit of our patriot's dream – a nation pledged to uphold the conviction that liberty and justice are for all.

Thankful are we for the manifold blessings that are our daily possession in this great and blessed nation.

Amen.