When rabbis bless Congress : the great American story of Jewish prayers on Capitol Hill / by Howard Mortman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mortman, Howard, 1967- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Legislative bodies--Chaplains' prayers.

Legislative bodies.

United States. Congress--Chaplains.

United States.

United States. Congress.

Chaplains.

Rabbis--United States.

Rabbis.

Jews--United States--Politics and government.

Jews.

Politics and government.

Capitol Hill (Washington, D.C.)--Religious life and customs.

Capitol Hill (Washington, D.C.).

United States--Ethnic relations.

Ethnic relations.

Jews--Politics and government.

Washington (D.C.)--Capitol Hill.

Genre:

Prayers and devotions.

Physical Description:

331 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Brookline, MA : Cherry Orchard Books, an imprint of Academic Studies Press, 2020.

Summary:

"Congress opens each session with a prayer offered by a chaplain or guest chaplain. Among the guest chaplains: Rabbis. This book is about the rabbis. It's an unprecedented examination of 160 years of Jewish prayers delivered in the literal and figurative center of American democracy. With exhaustive research written in approachable prose, it uniquely tells the story of over 400 rabbis giving over 600 prayers since the Civil War days-who they are and what they say. Few written works examine the tradition of prayers in government. This new angle will appeal to students (and lovers) of American history, Congress, American Jewish history, and religion. It's a welcome, important addition to our understanding of Congress and Jewish contribution to America"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part 1 Who They Are p. 13

Section I Setting the Scene: A Congress at Pray p. 15

1 The First Rabbi in Congress p. 15

2 Why Does Congress Have Chaplains? p. 24

3 Why does Congress Have Guest Chaplains? p. 26

Section II Who Are These Rabbis? p. 34

4 Immigrants and "the New Canaan" p. 34

5 And Now, Latin America p. 44

6 Rabbis from Big States, Rabbis from Little States p. 46

7 Rabbis from Big Cities, Rabbis from Little Cities p. 52

8 Women Break the Glass Pulpit p. 55

9 Jewish Military Chaplains Are Congress Chaplains, Too p. 62

10 World War II Chaplains p. 76

11 Rabbis with Political Connections and Political Networks p. 82

12 Lubavitchers p. 96

13 Sephardic Influence p. 104

14 Clergymen as Congressmen? p. 110

Section III Media Portrayal p. 114

15 Media Report the Earliest Rabbis p. 114

16 Local Media Report Rabbis p. 118

17 Rabbi Prayer Fact-Checking p. 125

Part 2 What They Say p. 135

Section IV Religious Awareness p. 137

18 Putting the Almighty in His Place p. 137

19 Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah p. 145

20 Stop the Rabbi if You've Heard this Before p. 153

Section V Policy and Politics p. 161

21 The Bully Pulpit: Mixing Politics into Prayers p. 161

22 How Much Israel? p. 175

23 Econ 101 p. 184

24 Space, a Rabbi's Final Frontier p. 189

25 Green Prayers: The Environment p. 193

Section VI War, Evil, Terror p. 197

26 War! p. 197

27 The Holocaust p. 205

28 "Godless, Ruthless, and Unprincipled": Communism p. 221

29 War on Terror p. 226

30 Weapons and Soldiers p. 233

Section VII Congress Institutions p. 237

31 Prayers Go inside Congress p. 237

32 May Their Memories Be a Blessing/RIP: Rest in Prayer p. 243

33 The Congressional Prayer Room p. 247

Section VIII America the Exceptional p. 255

34 An Irish Rabbi Walks into the Senate Chamber p. 255

35 Praying for Iconic American Institutions p. 262

Section IX Diversity: Including the Christians p. 268

36 Rabbis Borrow from Christians p. 268

37 Christians Borrow from Jews p. 272

38 Members of Congress Go Jewish p. 285

39 "Some of our Boys Died Last Night": Notable Christian Prayers p. 293

40 Social Media Spreads the Word p. 306.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Mortman, Howard, 1967- When rabbis bless congress

ISBN:

9781644693445

9781644693438

1644693437

1644693445

OCLC:

1139666866

Publisher Number:

99985372644