Shortly after Carrie Underwood sang “America The Beautiful” at the second inauguration of President Donald Trump on Monday, Rabbi Ari Berman of Teaneck approached the lectern at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and offered a prayer that the president find “the strength and courage to choose the right and the good.”
Berman took center stage as the first of three clergymen to offer a benediction at the ceremony. In his three-minute prayer, Berman spoke broadly of biblical and American values of liberty, service, sacrifice, faith and morality.
He also touched on recent events including campus protests over the Israel-Palestinian conflict and the release of Israeli hostages this week following a cease-fire deal.
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“Guide our schools and college campuses, which have been experiencing such unrest, to inspire the next generation to pair progress with purpose,” said Berman, who serves as the president of Yeshiva University.
“Hear the cry of the hostages both American and Israeli whose pain our president so acutely feels,” he said. “We are so thankful for the three young women who yesterday returned home, and pray that the next four years brings peace to Israel and throughout the Middle East.”
Berman is the second Orthodox rabbi to deliver a benediction at an inauguration following Rabbi Marvin Hier, of Los Angeles, who spoke at Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.
Berman’s presence at the inauguration received some criticism by those who see it as support for a divisive political leader. But Berman said Yeshiva has honored political leaders on both sides of the aisle during his tenure. In an interview last week, he said his appearance was not an endorsement of Trump’s policies but “an opportunity to give blessings to this country.”
“God’s trust is in us, the American people,” he said in his prayer with his voice rising. “America is called to greatness, to be a beacon of light and a mover of history.”
