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This prayer is the sixth of seven prayers in a seder tefilah introduced with the following statement:
Gender transition is a religious experience. These are the psalms and prayers I, the Em haBanim, said at every phase of the long process of preparing for and undergoing vaginoplasty. I offer this set of prayers to the community, so that we can live in deeper awareness of the fact that Hashem our God wants our transitions.
Note: This translation uses the gender-neutral pronouns Ze/Zir in reference to the Divine.
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
איתא בנדה ל ע״ב דרשה זו של רבי שמלאי על הולד במעי אמו וז״ל וכיון שיצא לאויר העולם נפתח הסתום ונסתם הפתוח שאלמלא כן אינו יכול לחיות אפילו שעה אחת ע״כ. |
It is brought on Niddah 30b that Rabbi Simlai gave the following description about a fetus in the womb: And once it comes out to the world, what is sealed opens and what is open is sealed, for were that not so, it would be impossible to live even one moment. End quote. |
עוד שייך להתחרבות הפתח מה שאמר המאור עיניים על פרשת פקודי וז”ל, דרך משל, המלך, אם יש לו בנים משכילים שיכולים להנהיג את מלכותו, יש לו להמלך נחת יותר מאילו מנהיג בעצמו. ואנו נקראים בנים למקום. וזהו “אין טובה באה לעולם אלא בשביל ישראל” [יבמות סג.] היינו שעושים שביל להוריד השפע למטה… והיינו תוכן הכוונה של השם ברוך הוא לברוא את ישראל שיהא כל אחד מישראל משכן אל השם ברוך הוא כדכתיב ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם בתוכו לא נאמר כו׳, ושכנתי בתוך בני ישראל, היכל ה׳ היכל ה׳ המה. ע״כ. |
And what the Meor Eynayim said about Parshas Pekudei is also relevant to vaginal dilation: By way of a parable, a king who has wise children who can run the kingdom gets greater pleasure than a king who has to run the kingdom himself. And we are called children of the Place. And this Good only comes to the world through the path of Yisrael [Yevamot 63b]. Meaning that we make a path to bring down the flow to the world… And so the essence of the blessed Holy Name’s purpose in creating Yisrael is that each individual of Yisrael should be a moving temple for the blessed Holy Name, as it is written, “And make me a temple and I shall dwell within you, within it is not written…” And “I shall dwell within the children of Yisrael, the Temple of Hashem, they are the Temple of Hashem!” End quote. |
ויש שייכות לענין חיוב התמדות ההתרחבות מה שאמר על ויקרא ז”ל כמשל מי שהיה מעולם במקום חושך ולא ראה אור מימיו אם היו מוציאין אותו פתאום לאויר העולם לא היה יכול לסבול האור ולכן צריך להראות לו בהדרגה שמתחלה עושין לו סדק קטן שיכול לראות משם מעט אור ואחר כך מרחיבין לו הסדק עד שנעשה חלון ואחר כך מוציאין אותו לאויר העולם ומראין לו האור ע”כ. |
And what the Meor Eynayim said on Vayikra is also relevant to vaginal dilation: As a parable, one who has always been in a dark place and has never seen light—if they brought that person suddenly out into the world, they would not be able to tolerate the light. So it is necessary to show them gradually: at first they make a small crack to see a little bit of light, and then they expand the crack until it becomes a window, and after that they bring the person out into the world and show them the light. End quote. |
בפסוקים אלו תכווין את לבה לפתחון שערי שמים בהרחיבה את פתחה. |
With these verses, meditate on opening the gates of Heaven as you dilate. |
פִּתְחוּ־לִי שַׁעֲרֵי־צֶדֶק אָבֹא־בָם אוֹדֶה יָ-הּ׃ זֶה־הַשַּׁעַר לַה׳ צַדִּיקִים יָבֹאוּ בוֹ׃ (תהלים קיח:יט-כ) |
Open for me the gates of justice— I will come through them and thank G-d! This is the passageway to Hashem; the righteous pass through it! (Psalms 118:19-20) |
וְאָמַר סֹלּוּ־סֹלּוּ פַּנּוּ־דָרֶךְ הָרִימוּ מִכְשׁוֹל מִדֶּרֶךְ עַמִּי׃ (ישעיה נז:יד) |
And Ze said, Rub, rub! Clear the way! Remove all obstacles from the path of my people! (Isaiah 57:14) |
הַרְחִיבִי מְקוֹם אָהֳלֵךְ וִירִיעוֹת מִשְׁכְּנוֹתַיִךְ יַטּוּ אַל־תַּחְשֹׂכִי הַאֲרִיכִי מֵיתָרַיִךְ וִיתֵדֹתַיִךְ חַזֵּקִי׃ כִּי־יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול תִּפְרֹצִי: כִּי בֹעֲלַיִךְ עֹשַׂיִךְ ה׳ צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ וְגֹאֲלֵךְ קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹקֵי כָל־הָאָרֶץ יִקָּרֵא׃ (ישעיה נד:ב-ה) |
Expand the space of your tent, stretch out the tarps of your dwellings— do not hold back, spread out your ropes and be strong with your pegs! For right and left you shall spread out… Because your lover is your maker— zir Name is Hashem of myriads, and your redeemer is the holy One of Yisrael, who is called the god of all the land! (Isaiah 54:2-5) |
אָנֹכִי ה׳ אֱלֹקַיִךְ הַמַּעַלֵךְ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם הַרְחִבִ־פִּיךְ וַאֲמַלְאֵהוּ׃ (תהלים פא:יא) |
I am Hashem your G-d who brings you out of Egypt— spread open your mouth and I will fill it! (Psalms 81:11) |
אֲ-דֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶךָ׃ (תהלים נא:יז) |
My Master, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise! (Psalms 51:17) |
ותכניס את המרחיב לתוכה. ואח”כ אם תרצה תאמר |
And then insert the dilator. Afterwards, if you want to, say: |
קַמְתִּי אֲנִי לִפְתֹּחַ לְדוֹדִי וְיָדַי נָטְפוּ־מוֹר וְאֶצְבְּעֹתַי מוֹר עֹבֵר עַל כַּפּוֹת הַמַּנְעוּל׃ (שיר השירים ה:ה) |
I have arisen to open for my lover, and my hands are dripping myrrh, my fingers spilling myrrh on the handle of the lock. (Song of Songs 5:5) |
אם תוציא דם בתהליך ההתרחבות, תקרא אלה הפסוקים מיחזקל כדי להרגיע את לבה. |
If the process of dilating releases any blood, say the following verses to calm yourself: |
וָאֶעֱבֹר עָלַיִךְ וָאֶרְאֵךְ מִתְבּוֹסֶסֶת בְּדָמָיִךְ וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי׃ רְבָבָה כְּצֶמַח הַשָּׂדֶה נְתַתִּיךְ וַתִּרְבִּי וַתִּגְדְּלִי וַתָּבֹאִי בַּעֲדִי עֲדָיִים שָׁדַיִם נָכֹנוּ וּשְׂעָרֵךְ צִמֵּחַ וְאַתְּ עֵרֹם וְעֶרְיָה׃ (יחזקאל טז:ו-ז) |
And I passed over you and saw you kicking in your blood, and I said to you, Live in your blood! I told you to live in your blood! I made you as diverse as the sprouts of the field. So you grew and matured and arrived decked out in jewelry; your breasts were formed, and your hair was growing, and you were consciously naked. (Ezekiel 16:6-7) |
“Intentions for Dilation” (כוונות להתרחבות) by the Em haBanim is the sixth of seven prayers offered in their סדר תפילות לניתוח שינוי מין (The Em haBanim’s Prayers for Vaginoplasty).
“כוונות להתרחבות | Intentions for Dilation [After Vaginoplasty Surgery], by the Em haBanim” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17
