Prayer for Agunot by Shelley Frier List

Abigail Pogrebin March 3, 2015

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.

Abigail Pogrebin has become a rare voice among American Jews, as a journalist and an explorer who shares with refreshing wit and candor her path to finding a meaningful Jewish life.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email opinion@forward.com.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO