Rabbi Berg Delivers U.S. Senate Opening Prayer
The senior rabbi of The Temple twice used light and darkness in reference to antisemitism afflicting American Jews.
Dave Schechter is a veteran journalist whose career includes writing and producing reports from Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.
On Tuesday morning, seven hours before sunset and the lighting of the sixth candle of Chanukah, Rabbi Peter Berg, senior rabbi of The Temple, delivered the opening prayer before the U.S. Senate.
“Good morning. Eternal God, may your name be invoked only to inspire and unify our Country, but never to divide it,” Berg began.
“Tonight, Jews all around the world will light the sixth candle of Hanukkah. We will do so in a world teaming with xenophobia and hatred. Let us never forget that this is a time of year where we all bring light and hope to despair and to darkness,” he told the Senate chamber.
“Bless, O God, the lights of this season. May they shine their radiance in this historic chamber. They kindle within us the flame of faith and of zeal, that like the Maccabees of old, we bravely battle for Your cause. May our Senators be blessed today, to use their God-given light to chase away the darkness,” Berg said further on.
Calling the occasion “fun” and “an honor,” Berg told the AJT that while the role of guest chaplain required him to keep his remarks parve — a Yiddish word meaning “neutral” — regarding politics, he deliberately used the metaphors of light and darkness in reference to the antisemitism afflicting the Jewish people.
According to Howard Mortman, the communications director for C-SPAN and author of “When Rabbis Bless Congress: The Great American Story of Jewish Prayers on Capitol Hill,” more than 400 rabbis have delivered an opening prayer in either the U.S. Senate or House, dating back to 1860.
Mortman posted online that Berg, senior rabbi at The Temple since July 2008, was the first rabbi to serve as guest chaplain in the Senate since March 2022 and the first from Georgia since February 1966. He also was the first Georgia rabbi to serve as guest chaplain in either chamber since October 1999 and the first from Atlanta since November 1983.
Berg, who wore a pin with U.S. and Israel flags on his left lapel, told the AJT that he had private meetings with Ossoff and Warnock, during which he was able to discuss such issues as antisemitism and Israel at greater length. He also had the opportunity to speak with “a decent number” of both Democratic and Republican senators and thank them for their public support opposing antisemitism.
“When we’re from far away, you only see people bickering, but I was actually able to see a lot of camaraderie and a lot of respect and it was pleasant,” Berg said, adding that his role afforded him a full day’s access to the Senate floor and a chair for his use.
Following his prayer, as Berg stood to the side with Barry Black, the full-time Senate Chaplain, as both of Georgia’s Democratic senators — first Jon Ossoff, who was Bar Mitzvah at The Temple, and then the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who is also the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta — addressed the chamber.
Berg was invited by Ossoff to deliver the opening prayer. When he was sworn into office in January 2021, Ossoff used a book of Hebrew scripture once owned by Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, who led The Temple from 1946 to 1973.
“I thank you, Rabbi Berg, for your leadership at this moment of trial for Jewish Americans in Georgia, across the country, and for Jews around the world at this moment, that frays the bonds between faith communities. I thank you for your interfaith leadership, for your consistent calls for solidarity, compassion, mutual love, and respect between all people of all faiths,” Ossoff said.
“It’s particularly fitting, Rabbi, that you joined us during Chanukah, and Mr. President, to have Rabbi Berg here as we approach the sixth night during this moment, when so many Jews feel such anxiety and fear amidst the overt expression of antisemitism such as we’ve not seen for a generation,” he continued.
With Warnock presiding as Senate president, Ossoff noted the significance of Georgia being represented, for the first time in its history, by Black and Jewish senators, and the historic role of The Temple in the civil rights movement.
“The Temple, which in 1958, as you know, Mr. President, was bombed by white supremacists, in an attempt at vengeance for Rabbi Jacob Rothschild’s alliance with civil rights leaders and Dr. King in the American South,” Ossoff said. “It’s particularly powerful to have Rabbi Berg with us here this morning.
Ossoff was followed by Warnock.
“As I often say, every Baptist preacher needs a rabbi and Peter Berg is not only the rabbi at The Temple, he’s my rabbi and he is my friend,” said Warnock, who outlined the historic relationship between Ebenezer Baptist and The Temple, dating back more than six decades, to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rothschild.
Warnock noted that Berg is the fifth senior rabbi in The Temple’s history and that he is the fifth senior pastor in the history of Ebenezer Baptist, and how they have “carried on that tradition of ecumenical, spiritual friendship and that friendship is genuine.”
The two congregations join every January for a service to mark King’s birthday. In March, Berg spoke as guest clergy at a service marking the 138th anniversary of Ebenezer Baptist. He and Warnock have worked together on numerous issues, including education, faith in public life, gun violence, mass incarceration, and in response to various forms of bigotry. “Wherever hatred rears its ugly head, we have spoken time and time, again together, as one voice” Warnock said.
Following Warnock’s remarks, Berg left the Senate floor, accompanied by Ossoff, while Warnock presided as Senate president.
In October 2021, Berg led the prayers as theDouglas Emhoff, Jewish husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, nailed a mezuzah from The Temple to a front doorpost at the vice president’s official residence, the Naval Observatory House. This marked the first time that a mezuzah — which contains a tiny scroll with texts from the Book of Deuteronomy, denoting the house as a sacred space —has hung at an American executive residence.
Berg visited the mezuzah Sunday night, when he attended a Chanukah party at the vice president’s residence.
Berg’s prayer Tuesday to the Senate in full:
“Good morning. Eternal God, may your name be invoked only to inspire and unify our Country, but never to divide it.
“We ask your blessings upon our U.S. Senators and all who serve this body.
“That today and every day, they lead wisely and with civility, working together for our common good.
“Tonight, Jews all around the world will light the sixth candle of Hanukkah. We will do so in a world teaming with xenophobia and hatred.
“Let us never forget that this is a time of year where we all bring light and hope to despair and to darkness.
“Be with us now, God. Make us strong to do Your will. Help us to understand and proclaim the truth, that not by might and not by power, but by our spirit alone can all of us prevail.
“Let injustice and oppression cease, hatred, and cruelty, and wrong pass away.
“Bless, O God, the lights of this season. May they shine their radiance in this historic chamber.
“They kindle within us the flame of faith and of zeal, that like the Maccabees of old, we bravely battle for Your cause.
“May our Senators be blessed today, to use their God-given light to chase away the darkness.
“Let us resolve to do our share to hasten the day by taking the true measure of life, by learning to face life, to judge the challenges that are set before us, with realism, with courage, and with understanding.
“These things we ask, in Your name, O God. Until the radiance of peace and righteousness for all of God’s children shines to the ends of the earth.
“Amen.”
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