List Books » The Mitzvah of Healing: An Anthology of Jewish Texts, Meditations, Essays, Personal Stories, and Rituals
Authors: Hara E. Person (Editor), Debbie Friedman
ISBN-13: 9780807408568, ISBN-10: 0807408565
Format: Paperback
Publisher: URJ Press
Date Published: June 2003
Edition: (Non-applicable)
In The Mitzvah of Healing, readers are able to explore every facet of Jewish healing, from historical perspectives to personal stories, traditional texts to modern meditations and rituals. In this valuable collection, which originated with the women's affiliate of the Reform Movement, numerous difficult questions are addressed concerning the healing of body, mind and soul. The thoughts, prayers and experiences of Debbie Friedman, Rabbi Nancy Flum, Rabbi Simkha Weintraub, Debbie Perlman and more contribute to this important collection of essays. Individuals, families and communities will be enriched, inspired and assisted on their paths of healing with this indispensable resource and guidebook.
Foreword | ix | |
Acknowledgments | xi | |
Introduction | xvii | |
I. | On Jewish Healing | 1 |
The Jewish Healing Tradition in Historical Perspective | 3 | |
The Jewish Way of Healing | 16 | |
Reflections on "Healing" in Contemporary Liberal Judaism | 23 | |
A Perspective on Jewish Healing | 37 | |
Can Prayer Heal? A View From Tradition | 42 | |
Overcoming Our Pain: The Life Lessons of Dr. Bernie S. Siegel | 48 | |
Healing of Body; Healing of Spirit | 53 | |
Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 5b from The Outstretched Arm | 57 | |
II. | Personal Stories of Healing | 65 |
Illness is My Teacher | 67 | |
Our Power to Touch and Heal | 76 | |
How I Spent My Summer Vacation | 80 | |
Passage to Wholeness | 87 | |
The Fabric of Life | 92 | |
III. | Traditional Healing Texts | 95 |
Praying for Ourselves-Genesis 21; B'reishit Rabbah 53:14 | 97 | |
Choose Life-Deuteronomy 30:12-15, 19 | 98 | |
Offering Thanks for Recovery-Isaiah 38:9-20 | 99 | |
Hope in God-Isaiah 40:31 | 101 | |
Healing through Music-I Samuel 16 | 102 | |
God and Prayer Are Always with Us in Our Healing-Midrash, Psalm 4:9 | 103 | |
Trust in God-Psalm 20 | 104 | |
Adonai is My Light-Psalm 27 | 105 | |
Do Not Forsake Me-Psalm 38 | 107 | |
In My Distress-Psalm 86 | 109 | |
Do Not Hide Your Face-Psalm 102 | 111 | |
My Help Comes from God-Psalm 121 | 115 | |
Suffering and Joy-Mishnah Avot 1:7 | 116 | |
How Can We Tell When Prayer Works? - Babylonian Talmud, B'rachot 34b | 117 | |
IV. | Healing Prayers, Poems, and Meditations | 119 |
As the darkness lifts ... | 121 | |
Hope | 122 | |
Courage | 124 | |
God, I need to know ... | 125 | |
Five: A Lullaby for Courage | 126 | |
A Prayer for Prayer | 127 | |
Be Strong and of Good Courage! | 129 | |
Bless the Healer | 130 | |
A Prayer for Strength | 131 | |
As we make our way ... | 132 | |
Open Us to Healing | 133 | |
Healing | 134 | |
I am hurting, God ... | 135 | |
I ask God for health ... | 136 | |
Nine: For Complete Healing | 137 | |
Psalm 28: For the Caregivers | 138 | |
On Recovery | 139 | |
Meditation | 140 | |
The world is new to us ... | 141 | |
Why does it take a traumatic event ...? | 142 | |
God, often I think ... | 143 | |
Hineini | 144 | |
Ten: For Healing | 146 | |
Mi Sheberach for Shalom Bayit | 147 | |
On the Loss of a Child | 148 | |
Upon Terminating a Pregnancy | 149 | |
Prayer after a Miscarriage | 150 | |
Healing after a Miscarriage | 151 | |
Divorce is a true passage ... | 152 | |
A Song for Comfort before Surgery | 153 | |
HIV Positive and AIDS | 154 | |
A Special Prayer in Time of Illness | 155 | |
My Prayer | 156 | |
A Patient's Prayer | 157 | |
The Dew of Life | 158 | |
A Yizkor Meditation in Memory of a Parent Who Was Hurtful | 160 | |
Soften my hardened heart ... | 161 | |
Blessings and Prayers from When the Body Hurts, the Soul Still Longs to Sing | 162 | |
Portal to Light | 165 | |
V. | Rituals of Healing | 167 |
Mastectomy: Twelve Months after Surgery--A Bathing Ritual for the End of Mourning | 169 | |
Mikvah Ceremony for Laura | 174 | |
A Ritual of Loss | 182 | |
Healing Ritual for Abused Women | 193 | |
Laying T'fillin: A Ritual of Emotional Healing for Men | 196 | |
Mikveh and Embodiment: Healing the Spirit after a Medical Scare | 203 | |
Ready for Redemption: A Mikveh Experience of Personal Healing | 205 | |
VI. | Holidays and Healing | 209 |
A Healing Resource for the Jewish High Holiday Season: Psalm 27 | 211 | |
One Hundred Sixty-Five: In the Sukkah | 214 | |
Blessing and Extending the Light: A Ritual of Healing for the Eight Nights of Hanukkah | 215 | |
The Masks of Purim | 220 | |
Haggadah for Healing | 222 | |
VII. | Resources | 229 |