WASHINGTON (JTA) — Rabbis from the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements participated in the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service.
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism director Rabbi David Saperstein read Psalm 121, beginning the recitation with a line in Hebrew, at Wednesday’s event, held at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington.
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Executive Vice President Rabbi Jerome Epstein and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York, were two of eight faith leaders who recited an original prayer with a refrain asking God to "keep this nation under your care, and guide us in the way of justice and truth."
The service also included participation from Protestant, Catholic, Muslim and Hindu leaders. It was mostly interfaith, although a Georgia pastor delivered a prayer, drawn in part from George Washington’s inaugural prayer service, which included the words "Jesus Christ our Lord" and the processional hymn at the start of the event made reference to the "blessed Trinity."
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