Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, co-director of Lubavitch Jewish Center of Alaska in Anchorage, was the first rabbi from his state to address the U.S. Senate by delivering the daily morning prayer invocation last week as an official guest chaplain. His wife, co-director of the Chabad center in “The Last Frontier,” accompanied him on his visit to Washington, D.C.
Taking to the floor at the opening of business, Greenberg prayed for the Senate members, expressing his hope that in these troubled times, the United States would help to fix a damaged and suffering world. He denounced violence in the name of religion and reminded those assembled of the seven universal laws that are incumbent on all mankind.
In the address, Greenberg said, in part: “May you grant, Almighty G‑d, that the members of this honorable body have the wisdom and courage to embody the universal values of the seven commandments which you, Almighty G‑d, issued to Noah and his family after the great flood, the foremost of which is not to commit murder.
“Grant, Almighty G‑d, that the members of the Senate, who assembled here today, to fulfill one of your seven commandments—the commandment to govern by just laws—understand that the United States has the ability to lead the entire world, and be a role model in spreading and incorporating your Seven [Noahide] Laws, and in doing so, have the power to bring healing and peace to a struggling and broken world that is facing ongoing terror and violence,” he went on to say.
In speaking about the Seven Noahide Laws—the laws of universal humanity that G‑d gave to all peoples to follow—Greenberg followed in the footsteps of Rabbi Moshe Feller of Minnesota, who was the first Chabad rabbi to give the morning prayer invocation at the Senate back in 1987 and who also spoke of the seven laws.
Back home from his trip to the East Coast, Greenberg recalled that when he was a student in yeshivah, he heard the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—talk for several hours about how the seven laws provide the answers to humanities’ ills. Indeed, the Rebbe publicly spoke about the subject many times over the years. And that’s why it seemed, stated Greenberg, the most appropriate topic to include in his prayer given the current era, with terrorism on the rise, and more and more people not valuing human life.
The Chabad-Lubavitch emissary was invited to offer the prayer, which was televised live on C-SPAN2, by his local senator and family friend, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
‘Reflect on His Words’
Addressing her colleagues, Sen. Murkowski noted that a little bit of history was being made that day; it represented the first time that a rabbi from Alaska had delivered the morning prayer before the U.S. Senate.
She said the rabbi “has led our state for two decades now, beginning in 1991, not only leading a small but vibrant Jewish community across the state, but also reminding us of the significance of the Jewish culture and Jewish history—not only to Alaska but throughout the nation. He has been instrumental in the work in building the Jewish Cultural Center and Museum that recognizes that history and that culture.”
The leadership of Rabbi Greenberg, she added, “is not only strong and recognized, again within the Jewish community, but across all faiths within our very broad and inclusive state of Alaska, and it is indeed a pleasure to be able to listen to his words, reflect on his words and thank him for his leadership in my state.”
Greenberg noted that this was his second visit in Washington at such a prestigious level, the first one having been during Chanukah 2003, when President George W. Bush was in office. That invitation came through Rabbi Levi Shemtov, director of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad).
During their day-and-a-half trip to Washington, the Greenbergs also met with their state’s other senator, Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). The couple presented books about the Rebbe and Chabad to both Sullivan and Murkowski.
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