Agunah Day • the Open Siddur Project ✍ פְּרוֺיֶקְט הַסִּדּוּר הַפָּתוּחַ

This is an archive of prayers written for יום העגונה (Yom ha-Agunah), Agunah Day, advocating for Agunot, Jewish women trapped and often extorted by husbands refusing to grant them a get, a bill of divorce in accord with halakhah, rabbinic Jewish law.
International Agunah Day was established by the International Coalition for Agunah Rights in 1990. It coincides with Taanit Esther (the Fast of Queen Esther).
Click here to contribute a prayer you have written for Agunah Day.
Looking for something else?
For prayers composed for Taanit Esther, go here.
For public readings selected for Taanit Esther, visit here.
For prayers and special readings on Ḥag haBanot (Eid el Benat) during Ḥanukkah, go here.
For prayers on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, go here.

תפילה לעגונות ומסורבות הגט | Prayer for Agunot refused a Get, by Rabbi Alona Lisitsa

Contributor(s):

Alona Lisitsa

A prayer for women caught up in the torment of ‘get’ refusal from a husband who refuses to grant them the document required for a religious divorce. . . .

מי שברך לעגונות | Mi sheBerakh to Support Agunot and Call Get Refusers to Account, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Contributor(s):

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

This prayer, following the structure of the Mi Sheberakh supplications during the Torah service, is meant to call get refusers to account, by name, and make a statement that their behavior is evil and will not be tolerated. . . .

מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ לְהַתָּרַת עֲגוּנוֹת וּמְסֹרְבוֹת גֵּט | Mi she’Berakh for the Release of Agunot and Women Denied a Writ of Divorce, by Dr. Yael Levine (2006)

Contributor(s):

Yael Levine

“Mi she-Berakh Prayer for Agunot and Women who are Denied a Writ of Divorce (mesorvot get)” was written by Dr. Yael Levine in the summer of 2006 and first published in the journal De’ot in advance of Purim 2007. The Hebrew version of the prayer was subsequently reprinted in the monumental Sefer ha-Shabbat, edited by Yonadav Kaploun and issued by Yediot Aharonot in 2011 (p. 260). The English translation was first published in The Jerusalem Post 16 March 2016 (Comment & Features), p. 13. The Hebrew annotation of the sources appeared already in the initial article in De’ot, and was subsequently published, inter alia, in an article published on kipa.co.il on 13 March 2019. . . .

תפילה לעגונות | Prayer for the Liberation of Agunot, by Shelley Frier List (2005)

Contributor(s):

Shelley Frier List

Shelley Frier List’s prayer for agunot was originally printed in JOFA JOURNAL, Summer 2005 (5:4), p.5, wherein was added a Hebrew adaptation made by the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA). . . .

Isles Of The Forsaken, an illustration of the plight of Agunot by Ilene Winn-Lederer (2002)

Contributor(s):

Ilene Winn-Lederer

Isles Of The Forsaken (ink drawing, 2002) is intended to address the tragic situation of many Jewish women, who, abused, abandoned and wishing a divorce, are refused a get (bill of divorcement) by their husbands who may use their wives’ need for this document as a threat for ransom in obtaining custody of their children. . . .

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The Unicorn in Captivity. Adorning the walls of the Queen's Inner Hall, Stirling Castle. (image: dun_deagh, license: CC BY-SA)

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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