Seril Rappaport was the daughter of R' Yaakov (Yankev) Segal, known as the Maggid of Dubno (1741-1804). She married R' Mordecai Katz Rappoport, rebbe at Oleksiniec in southern Poland in the late 1700s. Often referred to as Rebbetzin Seril, she was most likely the firzogerin in her husband's synagogue, leading the women in prayer. She also wrote original prayers, highlighting specific lines from the siddur (the order of prayers used in the synagogue) as well as biblical verses, and using them as inspirations for new meditations and appeals to God. Her best-known prayers were "Tkhine of the Matriarchs for the New Moon," containing an appeal to God in Aramaic and in Yiddish, and "Tkhine of the Matriarchs for the Blowing of the Shofar." (from The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E. ed. Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry, Cheryl Tallan, Philadelphia: JPS, 2003, p.216)