Rabbis to say prayers at Obama inaugural service

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WASHINGTON (JTA) — Three rabbis are reportedly slated to say a prayer at the National Prayer Service the morning after Barack Obama’s inaugural.

Reform Rabbi David Saperstein, Conservative Rabbi Jerome Epstein and Orthodox Rabbi Haskel Lookstein are scheduled to take part in the Jan. 21 event at the National Cathedral in Washington, according to The Associated Press.

Muslim and Christian leaders are also scheduled to participate, including Ingrid Mattson, the first female president of the Islamic Society of North America.

Saperstein, the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, offered a prayer on the night Obama accepted the Democratic nomination at last summer’s convention in Denver. Epstein is the executive vice president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Lookstein, the spiritual leader of Congregation Kehilath Jeshrun, retired recently as the head of the Ramaz day schools in New York.

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