This is an archive of prayers composed for, or relevant to, the health and well-being of others by or for caregivers. If you have composed a prayer for overcoming illness, for well-being, or for the success of caregivers, healers, and physicians, please share it here. Filter resources by Name Filter resources by Tag Filter resources by Category Rosh Ḥodesh Adar (אַדָר) Alef & Bet | Addenda | After the Aliyot | During the Aliyot | Weekday Amidah | Bedtime Shema | Birkhot haShaḥar | Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers | Tehilim Book 1 (Psalms 1–41) | Child care | Congregation & Community | Dreaming | the Dry Season (Spring & Summer) | Epidemics & Pandemics | Homes & Community Centers | Incantations, Adjurations, & Amulets | 🌐 International Workers' Day (May 1st) | Mixed Dancing | Old Age | Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth | Repenting, Resetting, and Reconciliation | Social Justice, Peace, and Liberty | Theurgy | 🌐 Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31st) | Travel | Labor, Fulfillment, and Parnasah | Yotser Ohr
If one has had a terribly disturbing and potentially auspicious dream, this ritual recorded in the Talmud Bavli (Berakhot 55b) provides a remedy in the form of a means by which the dream itself is judged positively by a small court of one’s peers. . . .
Healing prayers written on a pair of amulets for the recovery of a woman named Arsinoë . . .
A ritual for changing a name of a sick person. This text is recorded in abridged form in Rabbeinu Yeruḥam’s 14th-century work “Sefer Toldot Adam v-Ḥava,” but is almost certainly substantially older than that considering he credits it to the Geonim. Rabbeinu Yeruḥam doesn’t include the text in its entirety, assuming familiarity with the “מְצָלְאִין אֲנַֽחְנָא” opening to prayers. This text is not, to my knowledge, commonly used in any modern rites, but I found a 15th-century Italian siddur here with a prayer that begins with the same formula in full. . . .
The physician’s prayer of Rabbi Dr. Yehudah ben Shmuel haLevi in the 12th century CE. . . .
A prayer of a physician from Markus Herz in German with its Hebrew and English translations. . . .
The “Tkhine of the Gate of Tears” by an unknown author presented here derives from the Vilna, 1848 edition. I have transcribed it without any changes from The Merit of Our Mothers בזכות אמהות A Bilingual Anthology of Jewish Women’s Prayers, compiled by Rabbi Tracy Guren Klirs, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1992. shgiyot mi yavin, ministarot nakeni. If you can scan an image of the page from the edition this was copied from, please share it with us. . . .
“Prayer in times of bodily suffering” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Essays and Miscellanies (1853), in the section “Sacred Communings,” pp. 204-207. . . .
“Morning hymn (Father all)” [in Illness] by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in the UK edition of Sacred Communings, pp. 116-117. It is not found in the US edition. . . .
“Morning prayer (Almighty and merciful Father)” [in Illness] by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in the UK edition of Sacred Communings, pp. 117-119. It is not found in the US edition. . . .
“Evening Prayer” by Grace Aguilar was posthumously published by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Sabbath Thoughts and Sacred Communings (1853) and included in the section “Prayers in Illness,” pp. 119-121. The prayer appears between one dated 31 December 1836 and another dated 14 January 1837, along with several other undated prayers. . . .
“Prayer for strength under bodily affliction” by Grace Aguilar was published posthumously by her mother Sarah Aguilar in Sabbath Thoughts and Sacred Communings (1853), and included in the section “Prayers in Illness,” pp. 121-123. The prayer appears between one dated 31 December 1836 and another dated 14 January 1837, along with several other undated prayers. . . .
A child’s prayer for someone suffering from an illness. . . .
A prayer in severe distress. . . .
A supplication of a mother for her sick infant child. . . .
A supplication of a wife for the recovery of her ill husband. . . .
A supplication made during a period of debilitating illness. . . .
A thanksgiving prayer on recovering from a serious illness. . . .
A prayer of gratitude after a dangerous and distressing situation is resolved for the good. . . .
A supplicatory prayer on behalf of parents by their child. . . .
A mother’s prayer for an ill infant or child. . . .
A prayer of a woman experiencing desperation under difficult circumstances. . . .
A prayer of gratitude for a woman who has survived dangerous circumstances. . . .
A prayer of a woman struggling with a life-threatening illness or injury. . . .
“Prayer for a Dear Relation or Friend Who is Ill” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 26-27. . . .
This tkhine offers a formula for providing relief to a very ill person, and as such, should only be used as a supplement to recommendations provided by an expert physician or nurse. The source of the tkhine is Tkhine of a Highly Respected Woman, Budapest, 1896; and transcribed from The Merit of Our Mothers בזכות אמהות A Bilingual Anthology of Jewish Women’s Prayers, compiled by Tracy Guren Klirs, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1992. . . .
Tags: danger, אליהו הנביא Eliyahu haNavi, entering magical territory, עין הרע predatory gaze (ill will/evil eye), Healing, historiola, incantation, Needing Attribution, Needing Source Images, predatory gaze, shamanic praxis
This prayer by Rabbi Arnold Kiss for when one is confronted by grave difficulties, “Bajban,” was first published in his anthology of prayers for Jewish women, Mirjam (1897) on p.285-286 . . .
This prayer of thanksgiving by Rabbi Arnold Kiss for deliverance from danger, “Hálaima a bajból való menekülésért,” was first published in his anthology of prayers for Jewish women, Mirjam (1897) on p.286-288. . . .
The piyyut, Refa Tsiri, in Hebrew with an English translation. . . .
The poem “Unsung Heroism” was written by Annie Josephine Levi and published in her anthology of teḥinot in English, Meditations of the Heart (1900), page 141. . . .
“In Time of Trouble” was written by Annie Josephine Levi and published in her anthology of teḥinot in English, Meditations of the Heart (1900), page 146. . . .
“In Sickness” was written by Annie Josephine Levi and published in her anthology of teḥinot in English, Meditations of the Heart (1900), page 147. . . .
A prayer for protection against noxious gases and people. . . .
The well known philosopher Bertrand Russell had little use for organized religion and in general was quite skeptical in his religious beliefs. I am not a regular reader of Russell but apparently Mordecai Kaplan read him from time to time. In the early 1940s he came across a short essay which Russell wrote many years before entitled “A Free Man’s Religious Worship” (1910). Kaplan mentions the essay a number of times in the diary and I am struck by the fact that Kaplan quotes and focuses on what he considers to be some positive statements in this essay. As a consequence I have been reading Russell and here offer some inspiring statements from this essay. I have taken the liberty of selecting my own statements from this essay. Russell is referring here to all our fellow human beings and our obligations to all others. It is obvious that in true reconstructionist fashion we could use these statements as a prayer. To pray from Russell would be an inspiration from Kaplan. . . .
Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For Hope” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, page 94. . . .
Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayers “For Peacefulness” were first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, page 88. The prayer appears to be an expansion of the prayer for peace at the conclusion of the Amidah. . . .
Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “For the sick” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, page 98. . . .
Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “In time of stress” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, pages 97-98. . . .
Basil L.Q. Henriques’s prayer “On a Bed of Sickness.” was first published in The Fratres Book of Prayer for the Oxford and St. George’s Synagogue Jewish Lads Club in 1916, and later reprinted in the Prayer Book of the St. George’s Settlement Synagogue (1929), “Special Prayers” section, pages 96-97. . . .
This untitled prayer by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy accompanied his short reflection, “I Seek Health and Healing” found in The Helpful Manual (Centre of Jewish Science, 1927), pp. 9-10. . . .
This untitled prayer by Rabbi Clifton Harby Levy accompanied his short reflection, “I Feel Nervous and Upset” found in The Helpful Manual (Centre of Jewish Science, 1927), pp. 15-16. . . .
|