Hashem is the Healer

In our efforts to maintain our health or to attain healing of illness, we need to internalize that our health is completely in Hashem’s hands. How can we do this even as we turn to doctors and medicine for help?

Prayer should always come first

Whenever we take medicine or go to see a doctor we should say a prayer to Hashem.  The medicine can work and the doctor can be successful only by Hashem’s loving grace; only if He commands that the results are so.

Pray for healing that transcends nature

When we say the prayer for healing, the eighth blessing in the Shemona Esrei (18 benedictions prayer said three times per day), we should realize that its position is not by accident. The number eight signifies that which is above nature. When we say this blessing we should recognize that it can save us from health problems and elicit Hashem’s mercy to heal ourselves or others in a manner that’s not dependent on natural forces.  We need to believe in His power and mercy.

Rebbe Natan of Breslev wrote that our main obstacle to prayer is our lack of faith in the power of prayer. Rabbi Shalom Arush teaches that when we are patient, persevere and really believe in the power of prayers, they can override nature and the supernatural can become the natural.

A powerful practice multiple times a day

Our Sages gave us an exercise to do throughout the entire day.  When we take care of our personal needs, we say the blessing Asher Yatzar, the blessing after using the bathroom. We really need to concentrate on what we are saying and mean what we say.

At the end of the blessing we say “Blessed are You Hashem, Physician of all flesh Who heals miraculously”. If you are in good health and you can say this blessing you should realize how fortunate you are and rejoice.

I have a friend who used to be treated by a kind and wise doctor who used to say:  When you have your health you want a thousand things. When you don’t have your health you want only one thing!

One of my teachers taught me that when you recite this blessing you should be as joyful as when you are saying the prayer Az Yashir, the prayer we say that commemorates the Crossing of the Red Sea. When you think about it Hashem is creating more miracles in your body right now than He did when the Children of Israel crossed the sea and walked on dry land.

The Best Insurance That Money Can’t Buy

Rabbi Shalom Arush says in Garden of Gratitude that our most effective insurance policy is to thank Hashem for everything we have. When we really believe in the power of Hashem’s mercy and we say the blessing of Asher Yatzar thankfully and joyfully we create a beautiful vessel that can merit our receiving good health and strength.  

When you think about it this is the greatest insurance policy you can have. The policy costs you nothing and you receive Hashem as your primary care provider! Moreover, this is one case where I can assure you that if you like your doctor and like your coverage you can keep it.

We need to pause before we say the blessing Asher Yatzar. Many times we are in a rush or may be distracted. We may say the blessing mechanically like a parrot or tape recorder. Before we say this blessing we should resolve to make it a special event. At least once a day we should say it with so much passion and power that it becomes part of the Heavenly highlight films.

Thank You Hashem

In the Garden of Healing Rav Arush teaches that when one is sick, the more one thanks Hashem for his illness, the easier will be his healing. This is because gratitude is the highest expression of emuna and is an acknowledgement that everything that happens to him is completely from Hashem and is absolutely in his best interest.

Giving thanks is the greatest expression of emuna and a lack of emuna is the main cause of all serious illness. So by strengthening our emuna we get well! Therefore, we need to ask Hashem to give us the emuna to really believe that what we are receiving is for our benefit and that we should merit to thank Him with perfect gratitude for our suffering. Rav Arush says that when we pray for emuna and we give thanks for what we have been given, we can be confident that things will change for the better!

In the book Rabbi Arush recounts an array of amazing true stories where expressions of gratitude evoked Divine compassion and brought about miraculous healing in a manner that is clearly above nature.

Let’s remember to:

* Say a prayer before going to see a doctor or taking medicine to remind us that ultimately the results depend solely on Hashem.

* Be especially careful to say the eighth blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei for healing with great concentration. We should feel a sense of urgency and realize that we are imploring Hashem to preserve our health and heal all the sick of our people.

* Say the blessing Asher Yatzar with joy, devotion and intent. When we thankfully acknowledge the miracles wrought by Hashem to sustain us daily, He will be happy to act as our Primary Care Provider.

* Thank Hashem when we are ill and thereby evoke Divine compassion that can effect healing in a manner that transcends nature.

In the merit of building emuna that our health depends solely on Hashem, may He keep us healthy and heal all the sick of Israel and the entire world.