Prayer for Agunot by Shelley Frier List

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Creator of heaven and earth. / May it be your will to free the captive wives of Israel / When love and sanctity have fled the home, / But their husbands bind them in the tatters of ketubot. / Remove the bitter burden from these agunot and / Soften the hearts of their misguided captors. / Liberate your faithful daughters from their anguish. / Enable them to establish new homes and raise up children in peace. / Grant wisdom to the judges of Israel. / Teach them to recognize oppression and rule against it. / Infuse our rabbis with courage to use their power for good alone. / Blessed are you, creator of heaven and earth, who frees the captives. / Baruch matir asurim.
"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
