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.
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