Wednesday, March 1, 2017

yom kippur - What's the best rewording of "midas harachamim aleinu hisgalgli" for those uncomfortable with it?


In the Selichot (fifth day of Aseret Yimei Teshuvah, HaPizmon shel Yud Gimel Middot HaRahamim) and in Ne'ila of Yom Kippur, there's the stanza that reads:



The concern is the few middle lines:



מדת הרחמים עלינו התגלגלי


ולפני קונך תחנתנו הפילי



ובעד עמך רחמים שאלי



Which sounds like we're addressing G-d's mercy as separate from G-d, asking her to beseech G-d on our behalf. For those uncomfortable with this concept theologically (or unwilling to give the liturgy some artistic license), what's the best rewording here? The stanza ends with the Biblical וכל ראש לחלי so anything would either have to match that (ending in "lee"); paraphrase the verse differently; or break the rhyme.



Answer



A Hebrew Publishing Company machzor of 1926 ("reprinted from the latest and best London edition") has the following (image of relevant stanza), which clearly addresses HaShem (and later one's own soul) rather than His attribute of mercy:



רַחֲמֶיךָ עָלֵינוּ גּלְגֵּל נָא גֹאֲלִי׃


לְפָנָיו נַפְשִׁי תְּחִנָּתִךְ הַפִּילִּי׃


וּבְעַד עַמִּי רַחֲמִים שַׁאֲלִי׃


כִּי כָל לֵבָב דַּוָּי וְכָל רָאשׁ לָחֳלִי׃




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