Beth Emet Health Service

HEALING SERVICE

A J OURNEY TOWAR D WH OLENESS

If you have ever loved, then you have prayed.

I have prayed for everyone I care about at one time or another.

For my brother who had a recent significant surgery. For a close friend who found out about a cancer diagnosis. You have prayed, too.

You have prayed for a plane to depart on time. Or for the Cubs to win the World Series. You have prayed to survive punishment or hardship, illness or fear. You have prayed for people you know and love, and for nameless children and their parents as their stories of tragedy unfold in the news each day. Every DARN day.

You have bargained and negotiated with God. The rationalist and the existentialist, the agnostic and the atheist among you have prayed at some time, somewhere, in your lives.

If not for yourself, or because you believe in God, then because you love and care and feel—you have prayed. We pray because we want to protect the people we love at every level of existence and we want to cover all our bases. Whether or not we call it prayer, we send the love of our hearts to those who need hope, healing, or wholeness.

You have prayed the words of your heart from the depths of your soul.

I know you have. And so have I.

I pray that we will continue to pray.

The beauty of prayer is that it is never too late. We pray, we call upon God for courage and strength, when we don’t have enough to get us through on our own. We call upon God because that is what we Jews have been doing all our lives, with or without the actual Mi Shebeirach prayer. We all need healing at some time.

I pray that all of our prayers to the One who blessed our ancestors, will bring us, and all those for whom we pray, courage, healing and strength.

I pray, because I love and I care.

It all begins and ends with love.

—Bekki Harris Kaplan

OPENING

Help me, O God Help me, O God, to find still moments, Quiet Spaces within to refresh my soul; Cease my questions, my inner debates, And let me meditate on Your goodness.

Help me, O God, to nurture my courage, Recalling moments of strength, Remembering days of fortitude, The certainty of Your regard.

Help me, O God, to grasp changed visions, Filmy curtains to blur my unhappiness And wrap my tears with radiance, Your Hand upon my face.

Help me, O God, to turn to the light, Warmed face and fingers outstretched, Alive, alive in Your sight.

What Illness Cannot Do Illness is so limited It cannot cripple love, It cannot shatter hope, It cannot corrode faith, It cannot destroy peace, It cannot kill friendship, It cannot suppress memories, It cannot silence courage, It cannot invade the soul, It cannot steal eternal life, It cannot conquer the spirit.

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Overcoming Loss Dear God, suddenly I’m alone; I’m in pain.

As I search for some source of comfort, the world – the world so full, so bustling – seems so empty now.

It’s cold and it’s frightening in this hollow that is me – in this hollow that once brimmed with confidence and joy.

God, pull me back – back to the world of the living, back to a life of action and human relationships.

On this day, let us be like Moses, heavy of tongue, who had to struggle over each sound. On this day when we shall say more words than on any other day in the year, we strive to find one sentence, phrase, word, or letter that will begin here on earth and reach to the heavens.

For the pain we have endured when life is simply too much for us.

For the pain we have endured through the stress of daily living.

For the pain we have endured when our loved ones are ill or despondent.

For the pain we have endured in our impatience with life-long illness.

For the pain we have endured in taking on the pain of our loved ones.

For the pain we have endured when those whom we love reject us.

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OPENING

For the pain we have endured in denying the reality of depression and mental illness.

For the pain we have endured in our families when we fail to heal our shattered relationships.

For the pain we have endured by failing to nurture and care for our bodies as sacred creations.

For the pain we have endured when we abuse our bodies with alcohol, tobacco, food and overwork.

For the pain we have endured because of our own lack of self-regard.

For the pain we have endured in allowing others to diminish our self-regard.

For all the pain we have endured this past year, we now pray that the healing Presence of God will help us turn inward for strength; turn to one another for comfort; turn to God for peace; turn to our world which is in need of healing as well.

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TURNING INWAR D

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TURNING INWARD

® Elohai N’shamah Elohai N’shamah she’natata bi t’hora hi.

My God, the soul You have given me is pure.

® Sanctuary O Lord prepare me to be a Sanctuary Pure and holy, tried and true With thanksgiving I’ll be a living Sanctuary for You.

V’asuli mikdash v’shachanti b’tocham Va’anachnu n’varech ya me’atah v’ad olam.

Prepare me to be a Sanctuary, that I may dwell within You. And we shall praise the Eternal now and forever.

Open Me To Silence Open me to silence, Sound Creator; Clear my ears from the background of my life, Quiet the highway of my emotions As they growl with grid-locked traffic.

When I calm my soul I can hear You.

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Open me to silence, Sweet Singer; Switch off the electronic noise makers, The automatic switches I flip unawares, That flap their clamor into my hours.

When I turn from the din I can hear You. Open me to silence, Word Revealer; Turn off the inner dialogues, Still the divisive monologues, End the gibberish of my misgivings.

When I stop my words I can hear You. Open me to silence, Source of sound; Open me to hear Your words in my heart; Open me to hear Your teachings in my soul.

® Sow in Tears Those who sow, who sow in tears will reap in joy, will reap in joy.

Those who sow, who sow in tears will reap, will reap in joy.

It’s the song of the dreamer, from the dark place it grows.

Like a flower in the desert, the oasis of the souls.

Come back, come back where we belong, You who hear our longing sighs.

Our mouths, our lips are filled with song.

You can see our tear-filled eyes.

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TURNING TO G OD

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® Gesher Tzar Me’od Kol Ha-o-lam ku-lo gesher tzar me’od V’ha-i-kar Lo l’fached klal.

The whole world is a very narrow bridge: The important thing is not to be afraid.

Litany of Anger and Hope How long, O God? Will You forget me forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? (Psalm 13)

I say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” (Psalm 42) My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer, by night, and am not silent.

Yet You are enthroned as the Holy One; You are the praise of Israel.

In You our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and You delivered them.

They cried to You and were saved; in You they trusted and were not disappointed. (Psalm 22)

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TURNING TO GOD

I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.

When I was in distress, I sought the Compassionate One; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted.

I remembered You, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.

You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.

I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart meditated and my spirit asked: “Will You reject forever?

Will Your favor forever be hidden?

Has Your unfailing love vanished forever?

Have You forgotten to be merciful? (Psalm 77)

Look on me and answer, O Loving One. Give light to my eyes, I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your deliverance.

I will sing to the Merciful One, for God has been good to me. (Psalm 13)

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® Ya Ana Emtza’acha

Ya ana emtza’acha m’komcha na’a’lah v’ne’lam v’ana lo emtza’acha k’vod‘cha maleh olam.

Darashti kirvatcha b’chol libi k’raticha uv’tzeiti likraratcha likrati m’tzaticha Where might I go to find You, Exalted, Hidden One? Yet where would I not go to find You, Ever-present, Eternal One? My heart cries out to You: Please draw near to me, The moment I reach out for You, I find You reaching in for me.

Baruch Atah, Adonai, Ha-El hakadosh.

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TU R NING TO OTH ER S

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® May We Gain Wisdom May we gain wisdom in our lives, Overflowing like a river with understanding.

Loved, each of us, for the peace we bring to others.

May our deeds exceed our speech, And may we never lift up our hand But to conquer fear and doubt and despair.

Rise up like the sun, O God, over all humanity.

Cause light to go forth over all the lands between the seas.

And light up the universe with the joy Of wholeness, of freedom, and of peace.

We Need One Another We need one another when we mourn and would be comforted.

We need one another when we are in trouble and crave help, or when we are in deep waters of temptation and a strong hand might pull us out.

We need one another when we would accomplish some great purpose and cannot do this alone.

We need one another in our defeats, when with encouragement we might strive again and in the hour of success, when we look for someone to share our bliss.

And we need one another when we come to die, and would have gentle hands prepare us for the journey.

All our lives we are in need, and others are in need of us.

We best live when we bring to one another our understanding and our solace.

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TURNING TO OTHERS

® Priestly Benediction Meditation Yevarechecha Adonai ve’yishmereicha Ya’er Adonai panav eileicha vichuneika Yisa Adonai panav eileicha ve’yasem lecha shalom May you be Blessed and Safe May you be Luminous and Loved May you be Happy and Peaceful

For The Caregivers Show me how to offer hope.

Open Your Hand with the colors of faith That I might begin to fill the spaces To strengthen another’s life.

Show me how to offer comfort.

Point out Your nesting place, Feathered against the adversities That wound those I love.

Show me the direction When I am lost, Searching to help But finding no paths.

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Show me tolerance, When I am weary of helping, And a long dreary day Stretches toward a restless night.

You place before us life and love; Show us endurance.

You place before us healing and hope; Show us persistence.

Reach deep within me, Eternal Strength, And bring my strength to consciousness.

Pull it around us: Let it radiate with Your Power, Let it guide our way.

® El Na R’fa Na La El na re’fa na la.

God, please heal her now

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TU RNING TO TH E WOR L D

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® Nachamu Nachamu nachamu ami, yomar eloheichem.

Dabru al-lev yerushalem, v’kir’u eleha Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her.

Keeping Quiet Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.

This one time upon the earth, let’s not speak any language, let’s stop for one second, and not move our arms so much.

It would be a delicious moment, without hurry, without locomotives, all of us would be together in a sudden uneasiness.

The fishermen in the cold sea would do no harm to the whales and the peasant gathering salt would look at his torn hands.

Those who prepare green wars, wars of gas, wars of fire, victories without survivors, would put on clean clothing and would walk alongside their brothers in the shade, without doing a thing.

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TURNING TO THE WORLD

What I want shouldn’t be confused with final inactivity: life alone is what matters, I want nothing to do with death.

If we weren’t unanimous about keeping our lives so much in motion, if we could do nothing for once, perhaps a great silence would interrupt this sadness, this never understanding ourselves and threatening ourselves with death, perhaps the earth is teaching us when everything seems to be dead and then everything is alive.

Now I will count to twelve and you keep quiet and I’ll go.

® From a Distance From a distance the world looks blue and green And the snow capped mountains white From a distance the ocean meets the stream And the eagle takes to flight From a distance there is harmony And it echoes through the land It’s the voice of hope It’s the voice of peace It’s the voice of every man From a distance we all have enough And no one is in need 17

And there are no guns, no bombs and no disease No hungry mouths to feed From a distance we are instruments Marching in a common band Playing songs of hope Playing songs of peace They are the songs of every man God is watching us God is watching us God is watching us from a distance From a distance you look like my friend Even though we are at war From a distance I just cannot comprehend What all this fighting’s for From a distance there is harmony And it echoes through the land And it’s the hope of hopes It’s the love of loves It’s the heart of every man It’s the hope of hopes It’s the love of loves This is the song for every man God is watching us God is watching us God is watching us from a distance God is watching us God is watching us God is watching us from a distance 18

® Olam Chesed Yibaneh Olam chesed yibaneh Tai dai dai, dai dai dai dai dai dai I will build this world from love . . . tai dai dai And you must build this world from love . . . tai dai dai And if we build this world from love . . . tai dai dai Then God will build this world from love . . . tai dai dai

® Mi Shebeirach Mi shebeirach avoteinu M’kor hab’rachah 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 hab’rachah la’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.

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Sources: Help Me, O God (From “Flames to Heaven: New Psalms for Healing & Praise” by Debbie Perlman) What Illness Cannot Do (author unknown) Overcoming Loss (Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav) Elohai N’shamah (Text: Morning Liturgy; Music: Shefa Gold) Open Me to Silence (Debbie Perlman) V’asuli Mikdash/Sanctuary (Text: Psalm 19:14, Exodus 25:8; Music: John W. Thompson and Randy Scruggs) Sow in Tears (Music and Text: Debbie Friedman based on Psalm 126) Gesher Tzar Meod (Text: R. Nachman of Bratslav; Music: Baruch Chait) Litany of Anger and Hope (Compiled by: Rabbi Andrea London) Ya Ana Emtza’acha (Text: Yehuda Halevi; Music: Dan Nichols, arr. by Cantor Richard Cohn) May We Gain Wisdom in Our Lives (Text: Mishkan Tefilah; Music: Barb Wertico) We Need One Another (George Odell, Adapted) For The Caregivers (Debbie Perlman) El Na R’fa Na La (Text: Numbers 12:13; Music: Sephardic chant as performed by Qadim Ensemble) Nachamu (Text: Isaiah 40:1, 2; Music: Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach) Keeping Quiet (Pablo Neruda) Olam Chesed Yibaneh (Text: Psalm 89:3; Music: Menachem Creditor) From A Distance (Text and Music by: Julie Gold) Mi Sheberach (Text: Debbie Friedman and Drorah Setel; Music: Debbie Friedman) Compiled and edited by Cantor Susan Lewis Friedman and Rabbi Andrea London with thanks to Temple Israel, Minneapolis, MN, Yom Kippur Healing Service

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Photos via Unsplash: Chris Barbalis (front), Claudia Soraya (inside front), Patrick Fore (p.4), Yoann Boyer (p.7), Matthew Henry (p.11) Jean-Pierre Brungs (p.15), Jordan McQueen (inside back) Design: Marco Siegel-Acevedo