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Prayers for healing are often considered among the more evocative in the Jewish canon. While customary to offer such prayers for centuries, often the language was in Hebrew and was rather formulaic. Thus, while used in progressive congregations, it never gained traction as a piece of text with spiritual resonance. It was the introduction of Debbie Freidman’s Mi Sheberach that spoke to the hopes of a generation of Jews who suddenly found themselves moved by the combination of worshipful and accessible text with a melody that folded beautifully into the guitar-driven liturgical experience of a Friday night service.

The piece retains its resonance these many years later. Written in 1987, it wasn’t released until 1989, and it became a fixture in Reform congregations by the mid-1990s. Many of us recall that, prior to the publication of our current prayerbook where the words are included on the page (253, to be exact!), congregations would affix the lyrics to the inside back cover of prayerbooks. I still have prayerbooks in my collection from that time period, with the cue written into the book to state, at the appropriate moment, “We turn to words of Mi Sheberach found on the inside back cover of your siddur.”

The beauty of our Jewish repertoire lies in its diversity. We have not only retained Debbie Freidman’s Mi Sheberach, but also embraced other versions that have found a similar place in our worship. The pleading lyrics of Mi Sheberach by Todd Herzog, the call-and-response of Leon Sher’s Heal Us Now, and the newest addition, Beth Styles Mi Sheberach, each in their own unique way, have given voice to our collective aspirations for healing. This variety in our repertoire is a testament to the evolving nature of our prayers and the ever-present need for healing in our lives.

It should be noted that the first healing prayer in Jewish tradition is found in the Torah portion we read this week. In Parashat Be’haalotecha, Miriam is stricken with an illness, and Moses, in his desperation, cries out El na refah na la—O God, heal her so that she may be healed. This prayer is a stunningly human lens into scripture, relaying a vulnerability that is not often shared in the words of Torah.

Regardless of the form they take, whether listed in this message or whether you have your own unique way of expressing a prayer for healing, may our prayers for physical, spiritual, and emotional healing be answered speedily and soon.