Posts Tagged ‘health and healing’

 

Removing Life Support

Posted on: June 27th, 2023 by Alden

A difficult prayer for a difficult moment. In classic Jewish tradition, this prayer includes a request for forgiveness from the one who is near death by those who made the decision to remove life support. It is brief, by design, so as not to prolong the moment for anyone.

Removing Life Support
G-d of compassion,
With sorrow,
With love,
With hope defeated,
I/We say a last goodbye
To my/our _______________ (relationship)
Whom we cherished in life,
And whom we will mourn in death.

Grant him/her/them a perfect rest
Under Your canopy of peace
As medical professionals
Will soon remove life support.

O grievous moment,
O grievous hour,
Beloved _____________ (name or relationship)
Forgive me/us any wrongs
I/we may have done to you in this life,
And forgive me/us this last act of compassion,
Allowing your life and your suffering to end.

G-d of mercy,
May You grant hope in our days
And peace in our years.
As we mourn,
Accept this soul
To You
With love.

© 2023 Alden Solovy and ToBendLight

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Postscript: Thanks to my friend Rabbi Paul Kipnes for suggesting this piece.

Please check out These Words: Poetic Midrash on the Language of Torah and my other CCAR Press volumes: This Grateful Heart, This Joyous Soul, and This Precious Life, which can also be purchased as the Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. For a taste of my teaching, see my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer.”

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Pervasive Peace

Posted on: March 13th, 2020 by Alden

In these difficult times, this one line captures my simplest yet deepest prayer for us all. With so much healing needed, our prayers must rattle the gates of heaven. But sometimes, one line, recited from the heart, is enough.

Pervasive Peace

May it be Your will, G-d of our fathers and mothers,
That the year ahead brings a pervasive and complete peace
On all inhabitants of the earth,
Beyond all dreams of humanity.

,יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ, אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ וְאִמּוֹתֵֽינוּ
שֶׁהַשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה תָּבִיא שָׁלוֹם מֻחְלָט וְשָׁלֵם
,עַל כָּל־יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל
.מֵעֵֽבֶר לְכָל־חֲלֹמוֹת־הָאֱנוֹשׁוּת

Y’hi ratzon mil’fanecha, Elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu,
Shehashanah haba-ah tavi shalom muchlat v’shaleim
Al kol yosh’vei teiveil,
Mei-ever l’chol chalomot ha-enoshut.

© 2019 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com

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Postscript: I originally wrote this as a prayer for 5780, but I’m reposting it now in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and my two CCAR Press books: This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo by Alden Solovy

The Axis of Healing

Posted on: August 30th, 2019 by Alden

A new meditation on the source of healing — the light that shines from your own heart — posted as gift on this Shabbat for a world in need of healing. See also: “The Cut that Heals” and “For an Open Heart.”

The Axis of Healing
Your heart is the axis of healing,
Drawing passion and fire
From the hot core of the earth,
Drawing energy and possibility
From the pulsing edge of the universe,
Drawing light from the shadows
And the secret brilliance that surrounds us,
So that your mind is clear,
And your body radiates love.

Your heart is the axis of healing,
Drawing empathy
From the pain of others,
Drawing inspiration
When you witness sorrow
Transformed into hope,
So that your deeds are pure,
Your hands strong and tender,
And your life becomes the medicine
That heals the world.

© 2019 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com

New here? Subscribe here to get my newest prayers by email.
Share the prayer! Email this to a friend.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and my two CCAR Press books: This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Max Pixel

Living with Medical Uncertainty

Posted on: January 29th, 2017 by Alden

Last week I posted a “Cancer Anniversary” prayer. I received many responses. Several readers, each facing metastatic disease, wrote asking for a different prayer, one for living with medical uncertainty. I wrote this two years ago after speaking with a young man rocked by the discovery of a rare medical condition, shaken by the contrast between how healthy he felt and the extent of disease going on in the secret workings of his body.

Living with Medical Uncertainty
This life is a gift.
Our moments, a blessing.
The hours, a sacred trust.
Our days, a flicker in the lamp of time.

G-d of Old,
You call on me to face my fleeting presence.
By confronting my ___________ [condition, such as: cancer, stroke…],
You have brought me this challenge:
To see my mortality,
To comprehend, more deeply,
The fragility of my body and the dangers within.
Truly, my life is like a driven leaf,
A passing cloud,
Grass that withers,
A flower that fades.

Knower of All,
I wonder:
What is my body doing in secret?
Has my treatment been effective?
For how long?
Has this threat passed?
Will I face it again?
Am I cured? Am I safe?
Can I ever know?

Bless all who have walked with me on this path.
Grant them health and long life.
Bless all who face these questions.
Grant them comfort and peace.

As for me,
Holy One,
When I am weary, give me rest.
When I am lost, give me refuge.
When I am yearning, give me words of prayer.

Rock of Life,
G-d of All Being,
Source of Mystery,
Stronghold and Shelter,
Guide me on this journey.
Grant me solace and consolation.
Give me strength.

.ברוך אתה ה’ אלהינו מלך העולם הנותן ליעף כח
Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam hanotein laya’ef ko’ach.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who gives strength to the weary.

© 2017 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: See also: “For Cancer Treatment” and “On the Recurrence of Cancer,” as well as two related Hospice Prayers. See also: “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” and “For Healing the Spirit” and “R’fuat HaNefesh.” Many of these prayers appear in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Please check out my Meet the Author video and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers For a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Emory

Cancer Anniversary

Posted on: January 26th, 2017 by Alden

imageThis prayer is for all who are marking an anniversary of being cancer free. Having fought the battle – the one you’ve won that others lost – gratitude may be matched with an overt or underlying sense of anxiety. This is written to allow you to bring your emotions into the text, with space for those emotions to be different from one year to the next. This prayer appears in “Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.”

Cancer Anniversary
G-d of health and healing,
As I approach the [first, second…]
Anniversary of successful cancer treatment,
[My anxiety and (add your other emotions: fear, anger, grief) have returned.]
[I also have a wondrous and surprising sense of optimism and hope.]

I remember clearly the shock and trauma of my diagnosis.
The concern of family and friends.
The fear.
The sleepless nights.
The sadness and tears.
The moments of hope.
The moments when hope seemed lost.
I remember those who have succumbed to this disease.
And I am aware of the fragility of life.

Thank you, G-d on high,
For the past [year/years] of health,
Years with my cancer in remission.
Thank you for the gifts and blessings in my life,
The diligence of my physicians,
The support of those around me,
And the hope of tomorrow.
May vigor and vitality accompany me always.

Blessed are You,
G-d of our fathers and mothers,
G-d of gifts and blessings,
Source of life.

© 2017 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: My other cancer prayers include: “Cancer Fear,” “For Cancer Treatment” and “Cancer Remission.”

Please check out my Meet the Author video for This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers For a New Day. Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Testimonies

Praise for Healing

Posted on: May 27th, 2015 by Alden

MedicalThis is a prayer to be said after recovery from illness. Although I’ve written several specific prayers — such as “Cancer Remission” and “Upon Recovery from Surgery” — this is my first general prayer of thanks for physical recovery. It’s an adaptation of “Inviting Healing,” which appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Praise for Healing
Radiance and awe.
Splendor and wonder.
The energy of being surrounds me
Flowing day-by-day
From the holy realms.

These gifts of holiness
Flow into my hands,
Into my body,
Into the core of my being.

The energy of life flows
Into my limbs,
Into my chest,
Into my heart.

Thank you
Source and Shelter,
For opening the well of healing to me,
Bringing renewal and hope.

G-d of Old,
Healer and Guide,
You have blessed me with life,
With days of joy and yearning.
You have blessed me with Your care,
Leading me back
To a life of wholeness and peace.

© 2015 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Thanks to my friend, Rabbi Len Zukrow for the idea for this prayer. He asked me if I had a something that could be used at a communal Shabbat gomel service for all who’ve recovered from illness. As a result, I put this together. Other healing prayers include: “For Surgery,” “For a Critically-Ill Child,” “For a Critically-Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Father,” “For Cancer Treatment” and two Hospice Prayers. See also: “Quick Prayer for Healing,” “Quick Prayer for My Healing,” “Quick Prayer for Healing (Specific)”and “On Recurrent Pain.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. Please consider purchasing my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Photo Credit: Agility Recovery

Simple Prayer for Healing

Posted on: June 24th, 2014 by Alden

582749main_sunrise_from_iss-4x3_946-710This prayer is basic, direct, to the point. Please G-d, heal and comfort those in need. It’s a prayer for moments when less is more. This will appear in my forthcoming book, Prayers for Healing the World.

Simple Prayer for Healing
G-d, grant Your healing power
To all in need,
Those whom I know,
______________ [list names],
And those unknown to me.

G-d, grant Your comfort and consolation
To all who grieve,
Those whom I know,
______________ [list names],
And those unknown to me.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Ruler of the universe,
Who lifts up the fallen.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Please check out my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: NASA

My Illness, My Children

Posted on: April 6th, 2014 by Alden

755px-Nurse_administers_chemotherapyHere’s a prayer to be said by an ill parent worried about how witnessing the disease will impact his or her children. A challenge in writing this piece: striking a tone that encompasses the experiences of both younger and older children. This is the main reason for the built-in flexibility in structure and use of this prayer, providing optional inserts for meditation on each individual child’s needs in this time of stress, uncertainty and potential trauma. This prayer appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

My Illness, My Children
My G-d,
In the days ahead,
The weeks and the months,
I will face challenges as the result of _________ [insert type of surgery or name of disease].
My heart and my hopes,
My love and my questions,
Also turn toward my children.
How will the experience of my [surgery][illness][condition]
Shape their lives?
What will they learn?
What beliefs will they take in?

Grant me the ability to care for my children,
Even as they yearn to provide support and understanding for me.
Let me be a source of love,
A light of comfort,
A lamp of hope,
A well of blessings.

[Optional insert: Repeat the following paragraph for each child]
Bless my child ___________ [insert name]
Who _____________ [insert thoughts about what he/she is feeling now]
With _____________ [insert specific concerns and prayer for that child].

G-d of health and healing,
Watch over my children
In their hour of need.
Let our love for each other
Shine brightly through the days ahead,
A testimony to your Holy Name.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: There are a wide variety on health and healing at a time of critical illness in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing, including seven prayers about surgery, among them: “For Surgery” and “Upon Recovery from Surgery,”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

This Watching, This Waiting (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or Dementia)

Posted on: February 19th, 2014 by Alden

Alzheimers-StampThis is a prayer to be said by the spouse or partner of someone whose Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or dementia has progressed to the point where physical abilities, memory and/or cognition deteriorate drastically. It recognizes the pain of watching as a disease strips away the essence of your beloved. It’s one of four related prayers that appear in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

This Watching, This Waiting (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or Dementia)
This watching,
G-d of Old,
This watching my [husband/wife/spouse/partner]
Slowly lose himself/herself to disease
Is a grief beyond my imagination.
Talents and personality,
Plans and dreams,
Moments of conversation,
Moments of pleasure,
Departing stage-by-stage.

Who is this person inhabiting his/her body?
Where are your memories of our life together?

This waiting,
G-d of Old,
This waiting for the next loss to come
Is a grief beyond my imagination.
Grant me strength and wisdom,
Fortitude and courage,
As the days pass,
As the waiting continues,
As I pray for his/her consolation and peace.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here are links to related prayers: “To a Spouse/Partner on Diagnosis with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease” and “Diagnosis with Alzheimer’s or Dementia” and “Diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease.” Here are prayers for “R’fuat HaNefesh” and “For Healing the Spirit.” All of these prayers appear in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: USPS

Diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease

Posted on: January 26th, 2014 by Alden

Parkinsons_Silver_RibbonThis is a prayer to be said upon receiving the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. This difficult disease contains a certain element of cruelty that’s addressed head on by this prayer and others in my series of prayers on Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia, including: “To a Spouse/Partner on Diagnosis with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease” and “Diagnosis with Alzheimer’s or Dementia.” This series of prayers appear in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease
In stages,
I am told,
In stages I will lose control of my body
And then my mind,
Losing my ability to care for myself
And to hold on to my memories.

G-d of compassion,
Stand with me in the days ahead.
I am [frightened/angry/sad /confused/defiant][add a description of your emotions].
Grant me time to remain
Mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally present
For my family,
For my friends,
And for myself.

Grant healing power to my treatments
To keep this disease at bay.
Give my physicians knowledge and insight
And my caregivers skill and perseverance.
Grant scientists and researchers tools and understanding
To develop new treatments,
Speedily, in our day.

Ancient One,
I need Your care,
Your consolation,
And Your loving hand.

G-d of old,
You are my Rock and Redeemer.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here are prayers for “R’fuat HaNefesh” and “For Healing the Spirit.” Please consider purchasing my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: parkinsonsresource.org

 

“Alden has become one of Reform Judaism’s master poet-liturgists…" - Religion News Service, Dec. 23, 2020

“Mesmerizing, spiritual, provocative, and thoughtful, Alden was everything you would want in a guest scholar and teacher.” – Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Congregation Kol Ami, Los Angeles, and Past President, CCAR

"Alden Solovy has become one of the most revered liturgists of the last decade…" - Jewish Post & Opinion, March 29, 2023

“Alden left everyone feeling inspired.” – Cantor Jeri Robins, Shabbat Chair, NewCAJE6