![the Open Siddur Project [logo]](https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Open-Siddur-Project-Logo-2016.svg){kind=logo}
Hineni – the leader’s prayer that opens the High Holy Days Mussaf has always been a challenge for me. While a dramatic moment in the service, it always seemed a little *too* grand to represent a prayer of humility. This is a version of it I wrote in an attempt to make myself more comfortable at that moment. –Rabbi Oren Steinitz
TOGGLE COLUMNS (on/off):ADJUST COLUMN POSITIONS: select the column header cell and drag it where you want. show me!COPY INDIVIDUAL COLUMN(S): use CopyTables, a browser extension.
| Source (Hebrew) | Interpretive Translation (English) |
|---|---|
הִנְנִי הֶעָנִי מִמַּעַשׂ נִרְעַשׁ וְנִפְחַד מִפַּחַד יוֹשֵׁב תְּהִלּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּאתִי לַעֲמֹד וּלְהִתְחַנֵּן לְפָנֶיךָ עַל עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחוּנִי וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינִי כְדַאי וְהָגוּן לְכַךְ |
Here I am, poor in deeds, trembling in fear in front of the Holy One of Israel. I came here before You to plead on behalf of Your people, who sent me, although I am hardly worthy of the task. |
לָכֵן אֲבַקֵּשׁ מִמְּךָ אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב שָׂרָה רִבְקָה רָחֵל וְלֵאָה ה׳ ה׳ אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שַׁדַּי אָיֹם וְנוֹרָא הֱיֵה נָא מַצְלִיחַ דַּרְכִּי אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ וְעוֹמֵד לְבַקֵּשׁ רַחֲמִים עָלַי וְעַל שׁוֹלְחַי |
Therefore, I shall ask You, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, Please, make my assignment successful, as I stand here, seeking compassion for myself and for all those who sent me. |
וְנָא אַל תַּפְשִׁיעֵם בְּחַטֹּאתַי וְאַל תְּחַיְּבֵם בַּעֲווֹנוֹתַי כִּי חוֹטֵא וּפוֹשֵׁעַ אָנִי וְאַל יִכָּלְמוּ בִפְשָׁעַי וְאַל יֵבוֹשׁוּ בִי וְאַל אֵבוֹשׁ בָּם וְקַבֵּל תְּפִלָּתִי כִּתְפִלַּת זָקֵן וְרָגִיל וּפִרְקוֹ נָאֶה וּזְקָנוֹ מְגֻדָּל וְקוֹלוֹ נָעִים וּמְעוּרָב בְּדַעַת עִם הַבְּרִיּוֹת וְתִגְעַר בְּשָׂטָן לְבַל יַשְׂטִינֵנִי |
Please, do not condemn them for my faults, or me for theirs. Accept my prayer as if it came from one blessed with a pleasant voice and a pleasant temper. |
וִיהִי נָא דִגְלֵנוּ (נ״א דִּלּוּגֵנוּ) עָלֶיךָ אַהֲבָה וּפְשָׁעֵינוּ תְּכַסֶּה בְּאַהֲבָה וְכָל צָרוֹת וְרָעוֹת הֲפָךְ נָא לָנוּ וּלְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל לְשָׂשֹוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה לְחַיִּים וּלְשָׁלוֹם וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָבוּ וְאַל יְהִי שׁוּם מִכְשׁוֹל בִּתְפִלָּתִי |
Please, turn our troubles and turmoil into gladness and joy. |
וִיהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב הָאֵל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא אֵל עֶלְיוֹן אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה שֶׁכָּל הַמַּלְאָכִים שֶׁהֵם פּוֹעֲלֵי תְפִלּוֹת יָבִיאוּ תְפִלָּתִי לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶךָ וְיָפִיצוּ אוֹתָהּ לְפָנֶיךָ בַּעֲבוּר כָּל הַצַּדִּיקִים וְהַחֲסִידִים וְהַתְּמִימִים וְהַיְשָׁרִים וּבַעֲבוּר כְּבוֹד שִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא כִּי אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלַּת עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּרַחֲמִים בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ תְּפִלָּה | For it is You who mercifully listen to Your people’s prayer. We praise You, the One who hears our prayers. |
Source(s)
“תפלה לשליח ציבור | Hineni: The Prayer of the Shaliaḥ Tsibur, interpretive translation by Rabbi Oren Steinitz” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Stable Link:
https://opensiddur.org/?p=33360
Associated Image:
Full-page miniature from the Sister Haggadah, Barcelona, Spain 1350.
(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)
Terms of Use:
Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:
- Properly attribute the work to Oren Steinitz and Unknown Author(s).
- Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
- Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=33360>.
- Indicate that the original work was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license. (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)
Additional Notes:
- The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of volunteer contributors, or its institutional partners.
- We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
- If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.
Support this work:
The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.
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
Comments, Corrections, and Queries