It’s not every day that a session of Congress opens with a request for charity. Or that a rabbi makes that request by putting a dollar into a tzedakah box as he delivers the opening prayer.
But two weeks ago, on July 25, that is exactly what Rabbi Levi Slonim of the Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Life at Binghamton University in Vestal, N.Y., did on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. It came one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a resounding speech to Congress about the situation of his country and the Middle East in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the ensuing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Both the Senate and House begin each legislative session with an opening prayer—a custom that originated during the Continental Congress. House and Senate chaplains usually perform this duty, though occasionally, a guest chaplain is recommended by a Congress member to give the opening prayer.
Slonim, 39, was nominated for the honor months ago by sponsor Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.).
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the speaker of the House, officially welcomed the rabbi to all those present. The prayer was said, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, and then Molinaro offered an introduction.
“It was a big week, with Netanyahu’s address and politics so crazy this past month,” he said, referring to an assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pa., and then a week later, on July 21, U.S. President Joe Biden deciding that he would not run for re-election.
“Understanding the opportunity to bring a message at such a critical time, I was trying to think, ‘What message would the Rebbe want me to convey?’” he said, referring to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. “I felt a big responsibility. It’s a special experience to represent our community—both the Jewish community and the Binghamton community,” said the rabbi, whose parents, Rabbi Aharon and Rivkah Slonim, started the campus Chabad center in 1985.
He said he “wanted to show the importance of unity,” as well as include one of the Rebbe’s teachings. That came in the form of encouraging charity and performing mitzvot, or good deeds.
“It was an exciting opportunity to bring a message of positivity, Torah and the Rebbe’s perspective to a broader audience,” said Slonim. “Every action, every mitzvah has an impact.”
He also made it a point to mention the more than 100 hostages still being held captive in Gaza since Oct. 7.
‘A classic amateur historian’
Someone who really appreciates the Jewish theme is Howard Mortman, the communications director in charge of media relations at C-SPAN.
He noted that guest chaplains are fairly rare since two individuals are charged with the task on a regular basis: Presbyterian minister Margaret Grun Kibben, who serves as chaplain of the House; and Senate chaplain Barry C. Black, the first African-American and Seventh-day Adventist to hold the office.
“It’s rarer still when there is a rabbi,” said Mortman, though he mentioned the late Chabad Rabbi Shmuel Butman recited an opening prayer to Congress several times.
Butman first opened the Senate back in 1991, asking the Rebbe’s blessing before going. The Rebbe told him that he should use the opportunity to place a dollar towards charity to inspire others—one of the early instances in Congress of the idea of tzedakah. Butman, also known for annually kindling the world’s largest menorah on Fifth Avenue in New York City near the Plaza Hotel, died on July 22, three days before Slonim issued his call for charity. Another Chabad rabbi, Mendy Deitsch, director of Chabad of the East Valley in Chandler, Ariz., opened the Senate session on Jan. 25 of this year.
Mortman, 57, who has been at his job since 2009, is so enamored of the process that he wrote a book about it, When Rabbis Bless Congress (2020). “I’m a classic amateur historian,” he says. “I love talking about the subject. I’m your typical ‘Inside-the-Beltway guy.’”
He acknowledged that the book will “never be a best-seller,” but can serve as “an educational tool, a sliver of American political history.”
“It was a passion project,” he adds, “about who they were, where they were from, who was their sponsor. The purpose was not to argue for or against prayer, but to provide information.”
Regarding guest clergy appearances, Mortman said prayers tend to be generic and universal—and come from all religious backgrounds—and that topical news is not often mentioned. But with Netanyahu having spoken the day before Slonim and with Israel embroiled in war for the past 10 months, he appreciated the rabbi’s emphasis, especially on the plight of the hostages.
He also noted an extra perk: wrapping tefillin over the years, prompted by Chabad emissaries, on their visits to Washington. “Lubavitchers are kind of on a roll right now,” he said.
Mortman has compiled a list of rabbi guest chaplains since 1985 on YouTube, all 231 of them, showing the number of views alongside them. He noted that so far, Slomin’s prayer has gotten 971 views on YouTube: “That’s actually really strong in such a short period of time.”
As for the Slonim, he recounted that he was only at the U.S. Capitol for a few hours but did get to meet Johnson and thank him for his support of Israel. The rabbi is already looking to the fall and hoping that college campuses will be quieter than the volatility of this spring when anti-Israel protesters shook up student life and captured news headlines.
Instead, he turned the topic back to performing acts of kindness: “Let’s keep trying to make the world a better place.”
“Master of the universe, in beseeching you for blessings, we act in kindness and charity. Bless these distinguished members of Congress, chosen by so many, who fulfill one of the seven Noahide commandments you gave unto humanity—namely, to govern by just laws.
“In these unprecedented and challenging times for our nation, we recall the timeless words of my revered leader—global spiritual leader and teacher the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—whose passing 30 years ago we commemorated earlier this month:
“He taught: Difference need not lead to division.
“On the contrary, true unity comes from a synthesis of different, even opposite, thrusts.
“Differences between people are overshadowed by what is common to all of us: We are God’s creations.
“Merciful Father, today we pray for a swift and safe return of the hostages being held in Gaza, and an end to all conflict in Israel and throughout the world.
“Almighty God, please bless the Congress so that they foster an environment of love and acceptance. A deeper appreciation that within each individual lies untapped potential. In the words of Maimonides: ‘Each person must see themselves as though the entire world were held in balance and with a single deed they could tip the scales,’ ushering in the era of redemption as proclaimed by Isaiah, when ‘nation shall not lift the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’
“Amen.”
