Shliach Opens U.S. Senate

Veteran shliach Rabbi Moshe Feller, Director of Upper Midwest Merkos Chabad Lubavitch opened the United States Senate on Tuesday, Gimmel Tammuz mentioning the fulfillment of one of the seven Noahide laws and praying that the merit of the Rebbe on the Yom Hilulo bless the country, which the Rebbe referred to as a “Country of kindness”.

Rabbi Feller has opened the senate many times and in 5749 the Rebbe asked that he share his prayers with other shluchim and leaders who open events with prayers.

The Rebbe remarked that he liked the prayer which is the “opening” of the Senate session and especially the “opening of the opening” referring to the sheva mitzvos – the seven Noahide laws.

The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was called to order by the Honorable William M. Cowan, a Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Prayer

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Today we welcome back Rabbi Moshe Feller, director at Upper Midwest Merkos-Lubavitch House in St. Paul, MN, who will lead the Senate in prayer.

The guest Rabbi offered the following prayer:

By the grace of God, Almighty God, I invoke Your blessing today on this august body, the U.S. Senate. In their divinely inspired wisdom, the Founding Fathers of our blessed country, the United States of America, established a policy of separation of church and state. However, it was never their intention to separate our country from You, sovereign ruler of all mankind. Hence, both legislative bodies of our blessed country begin their sessions invoking Your divine presence and guidance in their legislation. Hence, in our Pledge of Allegiance we declare “one Nation under God,” on our currency is printed “In God We Trust,” and on the walls of this very Senate hall in which we invoke Your blessing is engraved in bold letters “In God We Trust.”

Grant, Almighty God, that the Senators realize that in legislating just laws they are fulfilling one of the seven commandments which You issued to Noah and his family after the great flood as related in the book of Genesis and its sacred commentaries–the command that every society govern by just laws.

Almighty God, I beseech You today to bless the Senate in the merit of one of the spiritual giants of our time and our Nation, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of saintly blessed memory, who passed away 19 years ago today. The Rebbe labored with great love, dedication, and self-sacrifice to make all mankind aware of Your sacred presence.

May his memory be for a blessing and his merit be for a shield for our government and our Nation, which he always referred to as “a nation of kindness.” Amen.