מִי שֶׁעָנָה...הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ | Mi She'anah... Hu Ya'anenu — A Seliḥah for Yom Kippur (egal adaptation by Lisa Exler and Rabbi Julia Andelman, 2004)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=14412

Date: 2016-09-21

Last Updated: 2024-06-01

Categories: Rosh haShanah (l’Maaseh Bereshit), Yom Kippur

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Avot and Imahot, egalitarian, in the merit of our ancestors, North America, traditional egalitarian, זמן תשובה Zman teshuvah, מי שענה Mi She’anah, סליחות səliḥot, עננו anenu

Excerpt: This egalitarian adaptation of the Me she'Ana seliḥah for the season of Teshuvah was made by Julia Andelman and Lisa Exler in September 2004. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְאַבְרָהָם אָבִֽינוּ בְּהַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Abraham our father on Mount Moriah answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְשָׂרָה אִמֵּֽנוּ בְּפֶֽתַח הָאֹֽהֶל הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Sarah our mother at the door of the tent[1] Genesis 18.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְיִצְחָק בְּנָם כְּשֶׁנֶעֱקַד עַל גַבֵּי הַמִזְבֵּֽחַ הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Isaac their son when he was bound on the altar answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְהָגָר וְיִשְׁמָעאֵל בְּמִדְבַּר בְּאֵר שָֽׁבַע הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Hagar and Yishma’el in the desert of Be’er Sheva[2] Genesis 21. While Hagar and Yishma’el are generally not invoked in Jewish prayer, the exception to this is on the High Holidays, when they are the centerpiece of the Torah reading on the first day of Rosh HaShanah. During the medieval period, many piyutim (liturgical poems) about Hagar were composed and recited as part of the Torah service.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְרִבְקָה בְּלֶכְתָּהּ לִדְרוֹשׁ הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Rebecca when she went seeking[3] Genesis 25.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְיַעֲקֹב בְּבֵית אֵל הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Jacob in Beit El answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְרָחֵל וְלֵאָה בְּפַדַּן אֲרָם הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Rachel and Leah in Padan Aram[4] Genesis 29-30.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְתָּמָר כְּשֶׁהוֹצִיאוּהָ לִשָּׂרֵף הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Tamar when they brought her out to be burned[5] Genesis 38.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְיוֹסֵף בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Joseph in prison answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְשִׁפְרָה וּפוּעָה בְּמִצְרָֽיִם הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Shifra and Pu’ah in Egypt[6] Exodus 1.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְיוֹכֶבֶד וּמִרְיָם עַל־שְׂפַת הַיְאֹר הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Yokheved and Miriam on the bank of the Nile[7] Exodus 2.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לַאֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ עַל יַם סוּף הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered our ancestors at the Sea of Reeds answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְמֹשֶׁה בְּחוֹרֵב הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Moses at Horeiv answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְאַהֲרֹן בְּמַחְתָּה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Aharon with the censer answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְפִנְחָס בְּקוּמוֹ מִתּוֹךְ הָעֵדָה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Pinhas when he rose up from amidst the people answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לִיהוֹשֻֽׁעַ בַּגִּלְגָּל הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Joshua at Gilgal answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לִדְבוֹרָה בְּהַר־תָּבוֹר הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Deborah at Mount Tavor[8] Judges 4.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְרוּת בְּרִדְתָּהּ לַגּֽוֹרֶן הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Ruth when she went down to the threshing floor[9] Ruth 3.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְחַנָּה בְּשִׁילֹה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Hannah in Shiloh[10] I Samuel 1.   answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לִשְׁמוּאֵל בַּמִּצְפָּה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Samuel in Mitzpah answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְדָוִד וּשְׁלֹמֹה בְנוֹ בְּירוּשָלָֽיִם הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered David and Solomon his son in Jerusalem answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְאֵלִיָּֽהוּ בְּהַר הַכַּרְמֶל הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Elijah on Mount Carmel answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לֶאֱלִישָׁע בִּירִיחוֹ הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Elisha in Jericho answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְיוֹנָה בִּמְעֵי הַדָּגָה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Jonah in the belly of the fish answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְחִזְקִיָּֽהוּ בְּחָלְיוֹ הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Hezekiah in his illness answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לַחֲנַנְיָה מִישָׁאֵל וַעֲזַרְיָה בְּתוֹךְ כִּבְשַׁן הָאֵשׁ הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Hananiah, Misha’el, and Azariah in the burning furnace answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְדָנִיאֵל בְּגוֹב הָאֲרָיוֹת הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Daniel in the lions’ den answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְמָרְדְּכַי וְאֶסְתֵּר בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Mordekhai and Esther in the fortress city Shushan answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְעֶזְרָא בַּגּוֹלָה הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered Ezra in exile answer us.
מִי שֶׁעָנָה לְכָל־הַצַּדִּיקִים וְהַחֲסִידִים וְהַתְּמִימִים וְהַיְשָׁרִים הוּא יַעֲנֵֽנוּ.	May the One who answered all the righteous, the pious, the perfect, and the upright answer us.

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This egalitarian adaptation of the Me she’Ana seliḥah for the season of Teshuvah was made by Julia Andelman and Lisa Exler in September 2004. This adaptation was originally published as a PDF in pre-Unicode Hebrew. Re-transcribed for posterity in Unicode Hebrew by Aharon Varady in 2016.

Sources

Mi She’anah (Julia Andelman and Lisa Exler, 2004)

“mi she’ana” in Mahzor ke-minhag ashkenazim heleq bet, 1709

 

Notes[+]

Notes

1	Genesis 18.
2	Genesis 21. While Hagar and Yishma’el are generally not invoked in Jewish prayer, the exception to this is on the High Holidays, when they are the centerpiece of the Torah reading on the first day of Rosh HaShanah. During the medieval period, many piyutim (liturgical poems) about Hagar were composed and recited as part of the Torah service.
3	Genesis 25.
4	Genesis 29-30.
5	Genesis 38.
6	Exodus 1.
7	Exodus 2.
8	Judges 4.
9	Ruth 3.
10	I Samuel 1.

Contributor: Rabbi Julia Andelman

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Rabbi Julia Andelman
  Bio: As JTS’s director of community engagement, Rabbi Julia Andelman oversees adult learning programs across North America, digital learning, continuing rabbinic education, millennial engagement, and Prozdor. Since joining JTS in 2013, she has initiated livestreaming of JTS’s public lectures, created a video studio for digital learning programs, developed high-level curricula for congregations and other settings, and increased continuing rabbinic education tenfold. Julia previously served as the rabbi of Congregation Shaare Zedek in Manhattan, the director of adult education and programming at Park Avenue Synagogue, and the director of the iEngage Project at the Hartman Institute of North America. She was ordained by JTS in 2006.
  Website: http://www.jtsa.edu/julia-andelman
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/julia-andelman
• 
  Name: Lisa Exler
  Bio: Lisa Exler is Director of the Curriculum Project, a joint initiative of Mechon Hadar and Beit Rabban Day School where she is the Director of Jewish Studies. In this dual role, Lisa directs the effort to sharpen goals and set national standards for Jewish education in classical texts while also advancing Beit Rabban’s strong Jewish Studies program. Previously Lisa worked as an experiential educator at American Jewish World Service (AJWS) and as a classroom teacher at the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan. Lisa has a B.A. and an M.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. She is a graduate of Midreshet Lindenbaum and an alumna of the Dorot Fellowship in Israel. Lisa lives in Washington Heights, NY, with her husband, Elie, and children, Maytal, Amalya and Yaniv.
  Website: https://www.hadar.org/faculty-staff/lisa-exler
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/lisa-exler
• 
  Name: Unknown Author(s)
  Bio: Sometimes the best we can do in attributing a historical work is to indicate the period and place it was written, the first prayer book it may have been printed in, or the archival collection in which the manuscript was found. We invite the public to help to attribute all works to their original composers. If you know something not mentioned in the commentary offered, please leave a comment or contact us.
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/unknown

Featured Image:

Title: Mi She’anah (Julia Andelman and Lisa Exler, 2004)
Caption: Mi She'anah (Julia Andelman and Lisa Exler, 2004)