“L’derosh et Adonai, To seek out G-d. To inquire of G-d.“ 

What does this mean and how do we do it. How do we seek G-d? What questions do we ask? 

Maybe what we are asking is, “What is our purpose here on earth, and what brings us meaning?” 

Our member Peretz, of blessed memory used to say that our entire purpose in life is to fulfill the last line of Psalm 30 which we read every week: “O LORD my God, I will praise You forever.” There are other parts of that Psalm that I mind especially meaningful, ““What is to be gained from my death, from my descent into the Pit? Can the dust praise You? Can it declare Your faithfulness?” I see this as one way to find meaning in life, we are challenged to speak up, to speak out and to praise G-d, continually. 

So therefore, prayer and praise is one way to seek G-d. Jewish prayer is divided into three main categories Petition, those prayers of request, but not on Shabbat, Praise. And thanksgiving.  

Prayer builds the relationship between God and human beings. It forms a connection. 

When people pray, they spend time with God. To pray is to serve God with all of your heart, soul with all your might, with all your being, your everything. It is the embodiment of the V’ahavta. It is part of how we show our love for G-d and how we draw close to G-d. …to l 

Jews, like other people of faith, pray for many different reasons in many different ways.  

• They pray so that their hearts can reach out to God 
• They pray to express and exercise their beliefs 
• They pray to share in the life of a worshipping community 
• They pray to obey God’s commandments 

Some say that prayer is speaking to G-d, while Torah is G-d speaking to us. Last night we looked at 2 methods of Torah study, that can be summarized with acronym PARDES, from which paradise comes in English. Torah Study is akin to being in the orchard, in the Garden of Eden, in paradise. The pey, the p sound is the simple, basic, plain meaning of the text.. Resh is the remez, the hint of what might be going on by looking at metaphor. The dalet, the derash, same root as l’derosh and midrash, is the text that emerges, the dialogue that answers the questions, and the samach, the sod, the hidden, mystical meaning of the text.  

But PARDES comes with a warning, Four rabbis went into the garden, but only Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and left in peace. This teaches us that before we dabble in searching for G-d we need to be grounded. Historically that meant male, 40 and married. Nowadays that is less true. 

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel took this searching for meaning and connection with G-d on with his book Quest for G-d. “Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ….get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”
 

oThe rabbis of the Talmud understood this at some deep level. The first prayer of three, after the Barchu and surrounding the Sh’ma, is always a prayer about the wonder of creation. That sense of awe that we experience seeing a sunrise or a sunset, a mountain top, the stars, that awe feeling is part of how we l’derosh l’adonai, we seek out G-d. So, one way to find G-d is to be out in nature, and just say, Wow! Part of my own spirituality is my running and walking. Some just walk. Weight watchers has even developed an Awe Walk. It is a walk with intention. We might say kavanah. Some people walk a labyrinth. I find it always fascinating what emerges when I do. If you are looking for labyrinths in our area there is one at St. Joe’s, St. Alexius, Bethany Lutheran in Batavia and the Unitarian Church way out Highland Ave. I am fond of the one at the Botanic Garden at the University of Michigan and had a very powerful experience there this Labor Day Weekend.  

Sometimes it is hard to distinguish G-d’s voice from all the noise that is out there. We need to quiet all those other voices—in our heads and around us. Some call that mindfulness. In order to hear G-d’s voice, some meditate. The Institute for Jewish Spirituality has many webinars and seminars to teach us how to mediate. Rabbi Josh Feigelson is their executive director and has much to teach all of us. Their vision and their mission according to their website is:

“Vision: The Institute for Jewish Spirituality envisions a world in which spiritual practice is a vital part of Jewish life, leading to compassion, justice, and peace.

Mission: The Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s mission is to develop and teach Jewish spiritual practices so that individuals and communities may experience greater awareness, purpose, and interconnection.” https://www.jewishspirituality.org/

That interconnection is part of what I think we are searching for in a Jewish community and as we l’derosh et Adonai, seek out G-d.

We have different images of G-d’s voice. In Psalm 29 it is the booming, powerful voice of G-d that shatters cedars but also gives us peace and strength. Yet Elijah heard the still small voice of G-d.

Ultimately, the hearing of G-d’s voice, should propel us to be our best selves. That vision of our better self is often helped by working on what is called Mussar. This is the study of 13 character traits that bring us closer to the Divine. They mirror the 13 Attributes of the Divine. One way to draw closer to G-d is to be like G-d, a form of imitatio deo. The Mussar Institute (https://mussarinstitute.org/ ) offers rotating, ongoing classes to help us with this kind of character development.

The 13 traits are:
Patience: סבלנות – Savlanut 

Gratitude: הכרת הטוב – Hakarat Ha’Tov 

Compassion: רחמים – Rachamim 

Order: סדר – Seder 

Equinimity: מנוחת הנפש – Menuchat Ha’Nefesh 

Honor: כבוד– Kovod 

Simplicity: הסתפקות – Histapkut 

Enthusiasm: זריזות – Zerizut 

Silence: שתיקה – Sh’tikah 

Generosity: נדיבות – Nedivut 

Truth:  אמת – Emet 

Moderation: שביל הזהב – Shevil Ha’zahov 

Loving Kindness: חסד – Chesed 

Responsibility:  אחריות – Achrayut 

Trust: בטחון – Bitchon 

Faith: אמונה – Emunah 

Awe: יראה  Yirah – *No English translation is accurate. A close association is fear/awe. A term that my husband and I debate routinely, for decades. Do we revere G-d or do we fear G-d. Our rabbi argues back, almost settling the debate, it can be both. 

There is a debate in historical Judaism about whether Torah study or mitzvot are spiritually superior. In the New Testament this gets couched as faith versus works. The commandments get divided into ethical ones, between people and ritual between people and G-d. Study was one way to draw close to G-d, to seek out G-d to l’derosh et Adonai. But it became the preview of scholars leaving many out. With the rise of Hasidic thought, the Baal Shem Tov gave more weight to prayer and sincere (that with kavanah) to the common people. The Baal Shem Tov said “G-d desires the heart.” And stories of children repeating the alef bet or playing a flute as a form of prayer that are dearer to G-d abound. 

Our join then is to draw close to G-d is to be like G-d. Perhaps one of my favorite readings in our liturgy tells us that as G-d clothed the naked, Adam and Eve, we should clothe the naked. As G-d visited the sick, Abraham, afte4r the circumcision, we should visit the sick, as G-d fed tne hungry, mana in the wilderness, we should feed the hungry and as G-d buried the dead, Moses, we should bury the dead. 

When we take on these actions, we draw closer to G-d. For me, that is what gives meaning and purpose to life.  

Happy Thanksgiving, 

Today I did an important, but small thing. I took brand new hats and gloves to Elgin Community College to distribute to our newest immigrants. These are people who arrived on these shores seeking a better life. The event was sponsored by Elgin’s Centro de Informcion, one of the premier organizations that works with the Latino community in Elgin. On very short notice, they were able to line up many of the agencies in Elgin that help new neighbors. The Visting Nurse Association was there. So was the Community Crisis Center, Administer Justice, Gail Borden Public Library, Greater Family Heath, a literacy group, and so many more. (I was trying to be really quick since I am not fully better so I am not providing a full list). And an entire ball room with clothing, including the hats and gloves. 

The message was clear. In Elgin we welcome immigrants. It seemed like a perfect event the day before Thanksgiving. 

This past Sunday, Congregation Kneseth Israel hosted the Coalition of Elgin Religious Leaders;’ Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. The theme this year was “Thankful for the Journey.” Elgin is a community of immigrants. Yes, there are some Native Americans here, and we stand on indigenous land, but most of the early settlers were from someplace else.  

My own history includes immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and Austria-Hungary and maybe Russia. (It depends on where you draw the borders in any given year). German Jews set up settlement houses much like Jane Addams did to help Jews from Eastern Europe assimilate, to become “real Americans” whatever that means. It didn’t always go smoothly. Immigration reform goes back to 1924 when quotas were first imposed by the Johnson-Reed Act, on different immigrant groups. These quotas were still in place throughout World War II, and sadly many more Jews went to their deaths because of them. The most egregious was the turning back of the SS. Saint Louis. (although I learned only last week that some people did survive the SS Saint Louis.) 

There were other organizations too, HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aide Society has long helped refugees. Some of my own members have been helped by them. Some of my family members have worked for them. I have worked for Refugee Immigration Ministry with asylum seekers as one of my rabbinic interns. Motivating us, haunting us, is the memory that our borders were closed during the Holocaust. 

I don’t have the answers to the current immigration situation. I do know that in Judaism we are taught to take care of the widow, the orphan the stranger, (the resident alien, the newcomer, the neighbor, the fellow traveller, no word quite captures ger v’toshav) the most vulnerable among us. 36 times we are told to do this in the Bible. More than welcome, we are told to love the stranger. That’s what I saw happening this morning. 

One of my favorite books of all time is Molly’s Pilgrim. Molly, a Russian Jewish immigrant is trying to find her way in her new American school system. She is teased, bullied really, because of her accented English and her Russian styled clothes. The teacher wants each student to make a doll out of a clothespin. Molly is assigned a Pilgrim girl. Molly’s mother doesn’t understand why this is homework but agrees to make the doll. Molly brings the doll to school. More teasing…Molly’s mother made a beautiful doll, looking just like her. Not a pilgrim, right? But no, the teacher explained that a Pilgrim is someone who comes to this country looking for religious freedom, just like the original Puritans, Pilgrims, just like Molly’s mother. There is no more important book to read, reread and love this Thanksgiving season. Thankful for Barbara Cohen’s timeless message. 

Thankful to spend time welcoming immigrants, our newcomers and now our neighbors, this morning in Elgin. Where else would I have been on this, the day before Thanksgiving. 

Rabbi Ben Bag Bag said “Turn it and turn it again, everything is in it”. Today I knew I wanted to address a hard topic–rising anti-semitism—but wasn’t sure how to apply it to the portion.  

Like much of Genesis, this portion Is jam packed. Called Hayyei Sarah, the Life of Sarah, it begins with the death of Sarah. Abraham arrives from Beer Sheva to bury his wife. How she wound up in Kiriyat Araba, now Hebron, is an open question and the subject of much midrash. This portion contains perhaps the original Hollywood script. Once Eliezar finds a possible wife for Isaac, they return to Abraham’s camp on camels. Rebecca looks up. She sees Isaac. She falls off her camel…Isaac looks up…it is love at first sight. Go read it.  

But before that Abraham goes to Kiryat Arba to mourn his wife, to eulogize her and to bury her. Those steps have become the halacha, the Jewish law on how we mourn. Traditionally, we bury our dead. In land that we own. 

This dialogue could be seen as a blueprint for interfaith relations. Abraham is a ger v’toshvah, a resident alien, a stranger in their midst and he reminds them of his status. Abraham asks nicely to purchase a place for a grave. The head of the Hittites first says that they will give him the land. Abraham insists on buying the land. The Hittites agree to a price and the rest is history. If you listen carefully, seven times the text uses the root “sh’ma” to listen. This dialogue has a lot to say about active listening, a skill necessary in interfaith relations. 

What does it mean when people own something as opposed to be given something. There is pride of ownership. There is less to contest. It is mine. When I traveled to Guatemala with American Jewish World Service we were told not to bring gifts for our hosts. It shifts the balance of power and it could make our hosts feel obligated to reciprocate, even if they were not in a financial position to do so.  

AJ Liebling said, “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” That by itself is interesting. I learned the quote as the “power of the press,” not “freedom of the press.” And when I have used the quote people complained that AJ Liebling was a known anti-semite. I can’t say whether he was or he wasn’t based on my limited research to prepare for this morning. People often ask me the same thing about Walt Disney. I can’t say one way of the other about him although it seems clear he hung out with some anti-semetic types. These kinds of charges are not new. 

Meanwhile, others in the Jewish community have used this text of Abraham buying the cave to explain or maybe to justify why modern day Israel needs to include Hebron, currently part of the West Bank and fought over consistently. Abraham bought that burial cave. So “we” own it in perpetuity. Right?  

Others counter with Abraham was a rich man. Four hundred shekels was a lot of money. Is this the beginning of that trope? Is that why people don’t like “the Jews.”? Are we proud of Abraham because he could buy the cave or did he just throw his money around? 

Language is important. Just think about the difference between explain or justify in my previous paragraph.  

Encounters with people not like us are important. That is part of why I have worked so hard on interfaith relations. That is part of why the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service is here tomorrow. To help us celebrate our 130th Anniversary and to allow people to have access to our building so it is not some mystifying place. It is a chance to learning about the other. For us and for them. Welcoming the other is part of our core mission. 36 times it says in the Torah we are to welcome the stranger. Although frankly I am not happy with that language either—the stranger, the other, the resident alien. Perhaps better would be my rabbi’s preferred term—fellow traveler.  

Recently, however, we have seen once again, rising anti-semitism and the use of old tropes. We’ve heard these before: Jews control the media. They own the banks. They run Hollywood. They are all rich. Some of these in very recent weeks have begun to strain black Jewish relations. Kanye West, Kyrie Irving and now Dave Chappelle. Others have tried to address their comments directly—Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Piers Morgan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Stewart, others . The response to Jon Stewart is fascinating. Some Jews find him anti-semtitic because he has often challenged modern Israel’s policies on the West Bank. There is plenty being written and said on all of these topics.. You can find much of it on YouTube and other social media. I encourage you to read, watch and stay aware. Many of you will find yourselves on the frontlines, responding to a casual comment made by a friend.  

These topics were the single largest topic after the retreat amongst our rabbis and cantors and rabbis and cantors to be. And as you might suspect there was no unanimity. It is painful. And for some including me, scary. Seeing graves desecrated in Waukegan, or signs over freeways in LA saying Kanye was right, or graffiti in Jacksonville or Atlanta are hate crimes. Let me say that again. These are hate crimes. So if you see something, say something. We have procedures here that include me contacting the ADL and the surrounding synagogues as well as the EPD. We can’t let this go unchecked. We are a signature synagogue of the ADL and we will be hosting them again to address these very troubling trends. At the end of this d’var Torah, I will list the best books on this topic that I have read in the past few years. 

One of the things that concerns me the most are the people who we long thought were friends and partners in irradicating racism and anti-semitism may not be as friendly as we thought. But here is what I think I also know. I will never fully know the experience of living in a black skin. I can take off my kippah or my necklace and no one will have to know that I am Jewish. You men have a different issue—and it was a real issue in Germany. Black people cannot take off their skin. Systemic racism is real. And I can’t fully understand the pain that it has caused. Nevertheless. I don’t want to be naïve, but I refuse to believe that we are going back to a time where Jews, or frankly others, are loaded onto cattle cars and slaughtered in death camps. There have been hints of it—and worried Jews—when children were separated at the border or states like Florida and Texas shipped immigrants to other states including Illinois.  

When we lived in Lowell, we learned the history of the American Industrial Revolution. One thing that happened was the owners of the mills pitted one ethnic group against another in order to find cheaper and cheaper labor costs. First the mill girls, who helped reate an ideal utopian town, but then the mill owners brough in the Irish, the Friench Canadians, the Greeks. Each group brought their own traditions enriching Lowell with their diversity.  But often they fought bitterly. In fact, one of the Irish Catholic churches is built across the canal from the Greek Orthodox church. There were battles nearly every day. The bridge over the canal is now known as the Peace Bridge.  

Here is Elgin, we are fortunate. The following people have reached out to me, as your rabbi on behalf of CKI, to make sure we are OK. Pastor Parks at Second Baptist and his predecessor Pastor Nat Edmonds, Apostle Larry Henderson, and City Councilors Corey Dixon and Tish Powell. There will be more to come from this, I am sure. It is a delicate dance but it is important. It comes with building relationships and the trust that comes with it over time. People were surprised when I showed up at an Anti-Asian Hate rally a few years ago. My response? Where else would I be? 

Here is something we can do. I think. Late yesterday I received an email from Bob Langlois at Holy Trinity, addressed to those who championed the Crop Walk. Councilor Corey Dixon reports that one of the smaller black churches on the west side of Elgin, Philadelphia Holiness Church Baptist Church lost their furnace this week. “Baby, it’s cold outside.” We are grateful for our boilers and heating system and as a small congregation we know just how expensive not having heating can be. Therefore, I will be advancing some money to them so that they know that the Jewish people of Elgin care.  

The other thing we can do is show up. Show up tomorrow. Second Baptist will be here. Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren will be here. Holy Trinity, Zion Lutheran, Bethlehem Lutheran will be here. So will Saint Laurence Catholic Church, Junaid Afeef representing the Muslim tradition amongst others. Introduce yourself to someone new. Learn about a different tradition. Share your own journey to CKI, to the Elgin area. Bring a photo of your ancestors.  

There are whole theories about these types of encounters. The bottom line is that if people come to know us, they are less likely to hate us. There are debates about this topic as well. Of course. But this is where I have staked my rabbinate and will continue to do so.  

Anti-semitism is not a problem that will go away overnight. It is a problem that has existed for thousands of years. But we learn something from Abraham today. Listen carefully. 

Book List: 

It Could Happen Here, by Jonathan Greenblatt 

How to Fight Anti-Semitism by Bari Weiss 

First the Jews: Combatting the Longest Running Hate Campaign by Evan Moffic 

“And the Lord appeared to Abraham at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.” (Gen 18:1)
 It is the first verse of what we are reading today.  

We learn much from today’s Torah portion, right at the very beginning. This portion is jam packed. It includes the promise made to Sarah that she would have a child (even though she is so old), Abraham’s arguing with G-d about sparing Sodom and Gomorrah and the concept of a minyan, the birth of Isaac, expelling Hagar and Ishmael and the binding of Isaac. 

From this very first verse, we derive two important mitzvot. The first is about visiting the sick, bikkur holim in Hebrew. Yes, this is a mitzvah that is incumbent on all of us—not just the professional clergy—and our example is G-d who visited Abraham in order to help him heal. 

The second is the mitzvah of hospitality, hachnasat orchim. When we hear the portion, in just a little bit, listen to how Abraham rushed, raced to welcome these three men, or angels, or messengers, or strangers, even though he didn’t recognize them, even tho he was still recovering from his circumcision. The midrash teaches that Abraham and Sarah’s tent was open on all four sides precisely so they could welcome people whoever came across the dusty desert. That’s audacious hospitality. 

Today, however, we are going to examine praying for people who are in need of healing of mind, body or spirit. It can be part of visiting the sick. Every time I go visit someone in the hospital I ask them what they want me to pray for, if anything. For some that is surprising because we Jews are really good at praying from the book but less good at off-the-cuff prayers. We want to make sure we do it right! Maybe, however, we need to learn that there is no right or wrong way to pray, that this becomes part of the discussion between keva, the structure of the service and kavanah, the intention behind the words. 

Every week at CKI as part of the Torah service we say a Mi Sheberach, or even more than one.. There is a power in adding some prayers to the Torah service. The Torah itself acts as a witness. If we look in our siddur, Siddur Sim Shalom, we find Mi Sheberach prayers for someone called up to the Torah, male or female, or even together in a group aliyah, for a woman recovering for childbirth, for parents or a newborn girl so that the child can be named at the synagogue, for a wedding couple as an aufruf, for a bar or bat mitzvah, and of course a prayer for healing. 

We also took on saying a Mi Sheberach on Fridays at the request of some members who didn’t used to come on Shabbat morning.  

What is this prayer?  

Like Jews we argue about lots of things. Including how to do a Mi Sheberach. And there are lots of questions. So let me attempt to answer some of them:  

• Who is entitled to one? Anyone who is in need of healing of mind, body or spirit. You get to decide. Sometimes it is people with serious medical conditions. Sometimes it is people with chronic medical conditions. Sometimes it is people who are in the hospital or in rehab. Sometimes it is people who are struggling with a mental illness or a long-standing disability.   Sometimes, it is for people who have a cold. Can it be for all COVID sufferrs, my answer would be “You bet.” For the flu? RSV? Sure.  
• Does the person have to be Jewish? No, we can pray for people who are not Jewish. And we can pray for someone who is Jewish who doesn’t have a Hebrew name.   
• Does the person have to be in the hospital? No. If you feel you would like a mi shebeirach said for you or a loved one, then say one.  

• Can it be for a group of people? Yes, we have often prayed for the people facing a natural disaster, for the Jewish community of France after an anti-semetic attack—or for the Tree of Life synagogue, for frontline workers, for the people of the Ukraine. 

But there were two remaining questions I struggle with. Can you pray for a pet? For many of us our pets become part of our family and many like to pray for them. It is clear that a pet can feel pain. It is also clear that we have some prayers at the beginning of our service that suggest that all creatures praise G-d. I have often wondered about that. Are the lyrics referring to all people—not just Jews making Judaism part of universalism instead of particularistic. Yes, I believe so. Or is it about all creatures—humans, animals, even plants, perhaps the earth itself as some have suggested. That too! When I asked this question in my alumni association, the response was varied. Some felt it was OK when we ask for names out loud to mention a pet. Others felt it would be inappropriate or even offensive to have a pet on a printed list for Mi Sheberach. We recently did a pet blessing which many congregations now do for Shabbat Noach. So if you want to say a blessing for a pet, OK, just mention the name and we will continue. Don’t turn it into a multiple paragraph description. 

The other question that has come up—and for me this was the tough one. What about praying for things like “the world at large.” or “our democracy.” It seems to me that the world at large is in need of healing or repair. That is the basis for the concept of tikkun olam, the repair of the world. Many of our extra prayers on page 148 of our siddur address those very questions as does the Aleinu prayer that prays for a time when the world will be healed. Our democracy is covered with the prayer for our country. We Jews have been praying for our leaders and advisors since Jeremiah’s day and we still have it covered in the formulation we have as the prayer for our country. 

What this additional study came down to for me is the idea that a Mi Sheberach prayer is for a person or persons or even a pet but not necessarily a philosophy or the whole world. Those, however, can continue to be prayed for in other contexts or while we are singing Mi Sheberach. 

The Mi Shebeirach prayer is a prayer that brings me hope. I like the idea in the Friedman version that we pray to give us courage to make our lives a blessing. I pray that this prayer will give you hope as well. When I visit someone in the hospital, I ask them what they want to pray for. Often, I get answers like strength, courage, to not be in pain. Recently I got mercy as an answer. I pray for a skilled and compassionate care team.  You need both. Skill and compassion. 

Here are the traditional words in English so we can look at them: 

May the one who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, bless [name] son/daughter of [parents], since he/she has come up to the Torah in honor of God and Torah. May he/she merit from the Holy One of Blessing protection, rescue from any trouble or distress, and from any illness, minor or serious; may God send blessing and success in his/her every endeavor, together with all Israel, and let us say, Amen.   

Note that we pray through the zecut, the merits of our ancestors, both the patriarch and the matriarch’s. Some people believe that when praying for healing with someone’s Hebrew name, it is the mother’s Hebrew name that is necessary.  

It is important to teach that there is no magic in these words, and just because we say a Mi Sheberach or even years of them, it does not necessarily mean that someone will be cured. There is a difference between curing and healing.  

When does someone come off the list? When you–or they feel it is time. That is often at CKI a moment of celebration. Sometimes, however, they come off because there is no longer any hope of curing. The person hangs in the balance. Those moments are hard. And that is when we especially stand with you as a community. Again, there is a difference between curing and healing–and there maybe other parts of their life in need of healing, not just their physical bodies. I tend in that situation to leave someone on until they have actually died. It can be a source of comfort for them and for you.

How do we think prayers like that work? There is science now behind why prayer and mediation help with a range of healing? 

“More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.” (Alfred, Lord Tennyson; from Morte d’Arthur)  

“Different types of meditation have been shown to result in psychological and biological changes that are actually or potentially associated with improved health. Meditation has been found to produce a clinically significant reduction in resting as well as ambulatory blood pressure,[2,3] to reduce heart rate,[4] to result in cardiorespiratory synchronization,[5] to alter levels of melatonin and serotonin,[6] to suppress corticostriatal glutamatergic neurotransmission,[7] to boost the immune response,[8] to decrease the levels of reactive oxygen species as measured by ultraweak photon emission,[9] to reduce stress and promote positive mood states,[10] to reduce anxiety and pain and enhance self-esteem[11] and to have a favorable influence on overall and spiritual quality of life in late-stage disease.[12] Interestingly, spiritual meditation has been found to be superior to secular meditation and relaxation in terms of decrease in anxiety and improvement in positive mood, spiritual health, spiritual experiences and tolerance to pain.[”  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802370/  

So the science is becoming clearer. Prayer and meditation help in healing.   

Besides growing scientific evidence that prayer works, really really works to provide or aid in physical healing, there seems to be something else. It helps a person know that people care about them, that they are part of a community. It is part of why we do a misheberach here both on Friday night and Saturday morning. You, telling us who you are concerned about, helps support all of you—and the people you are praying for, while building our own community. Do not underestimate the power of prayer. 

Here are Debbie Friedman’s words:  

Mi Shebeirach  

Mi shebeirach avoteinu
M’kor hab’racha l’imoteinu
May the source of strength,
Who blessed the ones before us,
Help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing,
and let us say, Amen.  

Mi shebeirach imoteinu
M’kor habrachah l’avoteinu
Bless those in need of healing with r’fuah sh’leimah,
The renewal of body, the renewal of spirit,
And let us say, Amen
     Debbie Friedman, z”l  

Debbie Friedman – Mi Shebeirach (2001)  

Debbie Friedman would always teach that she would sing it through one time for all of us and then we could join in. It was a nice tradition and it was based on another prayer, that Moses said for his sister Miriam. El Na Refana La. Please G-d, heal her. A simple prayer of healing. Just 4 words when Miriam was struck with a skin disease. And she was healed. Debbie Friedman’s version of Misheberach, which we usually do at CKI is not the only setting.  

Here is Craig Taubman doing a combination of Misheberach and El Na Refana La.   

Mi Shebeirach – Craig Taubman  

Here is another version of El Na Refa Na La done at Hadassah Hospital. It won the Hadassah Song Festival.   

Hadassah Healing Prayer “El Na Refa Na La” by Yair Levi and Shai Sol – רפא נא-עם ארגון נשות הדסה 

There are other prayers for healing in Judaism.  

Asher Yatzar, The Bathroom Prayer  

At the beginning of our Saturday morning service there is a prayer for healing that is often described as the bathroom prayer. Yes, it is the prayer that people say after coming out of the bathroom when everything comes out right. But it also talks about G-d being the healer of all flesh. G-d is the ultimate doctor. I love the fact that 2000 years ago the rabbis understood that the body is a finely balanced network. I have seen that with patients today. A specialist, a cardiologist or a pulmonologist or a nephrologist could keep any one organ going almost indefinitely but keeping all of them going at the same time can become impossible.   

Baruch Atah Adonai, Ehloheinu Melech Ha’olam, asher yatzar et Ha’adam b’chochmah u’vara vo n’kavim, n’kavim, chalulim, chalulim. Galui v’yadu’ah lifnei chiseh ch’vodecha she’im yipate’ach echad m’hem o y’satem echad m’hem, ee-efshar l’hitkayem v’la’amod l’fanecha. Barcuh Ata Adonai, rofeh chol basar u’mafli la’asot.  

“Blessed is our Eternal God, Creator of the universe, who has made our bodies with wisdom, combining veins, arteries, and vital organs into a finely balanced network. Wonderous Fashioner and Sustainer of life, Source of our health and strength, we give You thanks and praise.” (Gates of Prayer translation, page 284)  

Amidah:  

In the Amidah, the second paragraph called the G’vurot that talks about G-d’s strength, has one line in it. “You sustain life through love, giving life to all (reviving the dead) through great compassion, supporting the fallen, healing the sick, (v’refuah holim) freeing the captive, keeping faith with those who sleep in the dust.”  

I often pause perosnally on that phrase just slightly to think about those I am praying for.   

On Shabbat, even G-d rests so we don’t ask for anything. During the weekday Amidah, there is one of the 18 blessings that is a request for healing. Here is the Lev Shalom translation:  

“Heal us Adonai that we may be healed. Save us Adonai that we may be saved. You are the one deserving of praise. Bring complete healing to all of our suffering. For you are G-d and Sovereign, a faithful and compassionate healer. Baruch Atah Adonai, Healer of the ill among your people Israel.”  

Adon Olam:  

Often I sing the last paragraph of Adon Olam in the hospital with something. I use a Debbie Friedman version that is like a lullaby…  

B’yado afkid ruchi 

b’et ishan v’airah. V’im ruchi g’viati 

Adonai li v’lo irah.  

I have stood with nurses in the ICU and watched in amazement as someone’s blood pressure has stabilized.  

Byado  

 It is important to know with the relatively new HIPPA laws, the hospitals cannot call us to tell us you are in the hospital so unless you or a friend or relative call, we do not know. And we do not share that information unless you give us permission. So call us. We care.  

If you, yourself are in need of healing, you may need other things. Meals, transportation to medical appointments, babysitting, shoveling. These are things your CKI community can help with. It is part of being community.  

How does all of this tie to the parsha, the portion? G-d visited Abraham after the circumcision, and G-d prayed. In the meantime, I pray with you and for you for a refuat hanefesh, refuat haguf, a full, complete healing of mind, body and spirit.   

A Special Mi Sheberach for Veteran’s Day: 

While this blessing doesn’t start with the traditional formula “Mi Sheberach, May the One who blessed,” it fits neatly into that category. Since we mark Veterans’ Day this weekend, I felt we should include it in the service as an example of a group Mi Sheberach. 

Compassionate God, Source of Mercy, we pay tribute to those who have served our country, and express our gratitude for their courage and selflessness, both those among us today and those of generations past. This nation, built by those born of this soil and those who have come here from all the corners of the earth, is on a continual journey toward its destiny.  

May we never let down those who have served in defense of this country. 

May we uphold the values of freedom, of the inherent dignity of every human being, by our own right conduct, by the kindness and tolerance we show to one another. 

May we lead the world by example, and become, in the words of Isaiah, “a light to the nations.” 

Then will the labors and sacrifices of these veterans be honored not in words alone, but by our deeds. 

From the URJ Website 

While I can tell you the difference between Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, this poem by Archibald MacLeish is a powerful reminder of what many of our veterans think about their service and the fact that so, so many of them lost friends in battle. Deriving meaning from their lives is often an important step in healing the wounds of war. Remembering their fallen comrades seems an important way to honor the survivors’ service. So I offer you one of my favorite poems just before Mourner’s Kaddish: 

The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak