Reading and Writing Mi Shebeirach Le’Holim, the Jewish Prayer for Healing

 

In another special Elul event, we will study the origins of Judaism’s central healing prayer; reading between the lines in an effort to discover its theological underpinnings, and how/when/why it has been utilized historically. What does the Mi Shebeirach teach us about how Judaism understands healing? Are there risks in saying it or not saying it? We will also and craft and share our own original versions of this healing prayer.

 

 

Rabbi Joshua Boettiger is Jewish Chaplain and Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He is the current Rosh Yeshiva for the Center for Contemporary Mussar and for the last decade, directed the Mussar program at Temple Emek Shalom in Ashland, Oregon. Joshua also teaches Jewish Meditation and co-leads silent retreats. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Pacific University and his poetry has appeared in the Missouri Review, the Southern Review, B O D Y, and elsewhere.