Being a Healing Community

R’fa’einu, HaShem, v’neirafeh

“Heal us, Eternal One, and we will be healed”

-The Siddur, Weekday Amidah-

Healing is a terribly important and relevant concept for our community, especially when we consider the various struggles, ailments, and conditions that our own members and their loved ones are currently enduring. The title of this article, “Being a Healing Community,” has multiple, equally valid, meanings that help us reflect on this phenomenon.  There are two pairs of distinctions that come to mind from the words of the title, and the passage quoted above from the siddur sheds light on these nuances.  One distinction relates to the meaning of the word “healing,” and the other to the meaning of the word “community.” 

We can speak about “healing” as both an intransitive and a transitive verb.  For those who aren’t keeping up on their grammar, the idea is that people (or parts of their bodies) “heal” when they recover from their own maladies (e.g. “After a month in a cast, David’s leg healed;” or, “Judith is healing nicely from her cold”).  They aren’t healing something or someone else—the action is intransitive.   However, people also can heal others, i.e. what doctors and other health care workers do (e.g. “She’s in a healing profession;” or, “That nurse healed my wounds”)—the action is transitive.

The other pair of distinctions that emerges from the title of this article relates to what we mean by “community.”  Sometimes, the word refers to the plurality of unique, individual experiences; however, we also might talk about the community as a singular entity with a life of its own.  For example, saying we are a “young” community could refer to the fact that most of our members are young (and in that case we would mean “young at heart!”); or, that as a distinct communal institution, we have existed for only a short time so far.

So, what does it mean to talk about being a healing community?  The siddur helps us understand the different perspectives.  Traditionally, we articulate our wishes and prayers for health and recovery by speaking in the first-person plural voice.  It is not someone else who is need of healing; rather, it is we who are requesting aid on the road to recovery, be it for ourselves or for others in our midst.  The identification with community in the basic structure of our prayers is an essential part of the process, one that opens us up towards genuine concern for others, an awareness of the brokenness that exists within each one of us and in our community as a whole as long as people are suffering (whether we know them or not, though certainly all the moreso if we do, or if we know someone else who knows someone in need, etc.).  As each one of us heals from our individual wounds, the community becomes stronger and more whole.

Then there is the issue of who is doing the healing and who is experiencing it.  Each one of us has our own healing to do—on one hand, our own recovery and improvement of our personal wellbeing, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual; on the other hand, the reaching out to others and the sharing of the healing power that resides within us and emanates outward for the benefit of other human beings.  Traditionally, we ascribe the healing power to something outside of us, beyond us—“God.”  This healing power acts upon us, and we are the recipients of this kindness.  However, the prayer, by drawing our attention to two different ways of saying the same idea, challenges us to think about the multiple ways healing occurs.  We don’t simply request, “heal us.”  Even though “we will be healed” is in the passive form, it still suggests that we are doing something for ourselves—at the very least leaving ourselves open to the transformation we desire.  We also allow for the “us” and the “we” to vary:  Perhaps when God facilitates someone else’s healing, this blessing has a healing and restorative effect on each of us. 

Finally, although we don’t say it explicitly in the prayer, our tradition emphasizes our opportunity and responsibility to emulate God and serve as God’s partners in this world.  Therefore, when we speak about God’s healing power, we can and should recognize the ways we can help bring about healing through our own actions and commitments.  I encourage us all to find the ways we can help bring about healing for others, and by so doing, aiding in our own healing as well.  Let’s start by promoting a more assertive approach towards getting information about ourselves and our fellow congregants out to the “necessary” people as soon as possible.  That should always include me, regardless of who else might need or want to know, and if the person or family wish for the news to reach a wider audience, Sue (and I) can take care of that.

Please know that you have—in your synagogue and in your rabbi—a tremendously helpful resource for providing invaluable support during your time of need.  Medical problems are never just medical—we are complex beings of mind, body, emotion, and spirit.  I can think of virtually nothing more meaningful and powerful that a Jewish community can offer—through visits, calls, prayers, rides, day-to-day assistance, etc.— in addressing that bigger picture and caring for its sick.  Of course, we also speak of a loving, eternal, Divine presence that calls us all towards healing and guides us towards that goal.  May a feeling of support from such a presence provide us the extra faith we need to overcome our woes.  And may we all be healed.