Sim Shalom’ at national prayer day

The U.S. Army Chorus sang “Sim Shalom,” the final prayer of the Amidah, at the National Day of Prayer at the White House. The chorus opened Thursday’s event with a rendition of the prayer that ends the Amidah, the most common set of Jewish prayers, recited three times a day. The “Sim Shalom” prayer beseeches God for peace. President Bush addressed the event, and a number of U.S. senators were in attendance. Rabbi Michael Siegel of Anshe Emet, a conservative congregation in Chicago, was among a number of clerics delivering remarks. He recited Psalm 145, saying that it offered solace to President Abraham Lincoln during the U.S. Civil War.