With the conclusion of the holiday season, we've launched most fully into 5782. I hope you have had the opportunity to offer the special greeting for someone you have not seen in 12 months, bringing a sense of aliveness to that person and to you. If you took time to use this blessing over the past month in a creative way or want to share your experience of saying this blessing, be in touch with me at rabbigelber@habonim.net . May we all be blessed in the new year with the chance to say
Baruch atah Adonai, m'chayeihameytim/Blessings to you, Holy One, who brings the dead back to life.
As we begin a new month, I want to introduce a blessing found early in our prayer book/siddur, intended for home use. It is the hatimah/signature for a blessing that praises Gd for the intricacies of our body, and part of the blessing offered after going to the bathroom. Barukh atah Adonai rofeh chol basar u'maflee la'asot/Blessings to you Holy One who heals all flesh and does wonders. The Tosafists, medieval rabbis of France and Germany who wrote questions, interpretations and notes included in the margins of the Talmud, comment on our blessing by bringing a verse from psalms mentioned in Breishit Rabbah, For you are great and do wonders, You are Gd alone (Psalms 86:10) and applying this to a practical example, someone who makes a flask to hold wine. If there is even a tiny, tiny puncture in the flask, the air departs and it will not hold the wine. But things are different for Gd. The Holy One created our bodies with such complexity and many openings, yet the human body maintains the air within itself (Brachot 60b). Meaning, our bodies have incredible potential for healing by virtue of the way in which we are made. Of course, this does not happen on its own. We must take care of our bodies, treat them with respect and wisdom, and seek out proper medical care to keep us on track. Vaccines are a wonderful example of the ways in which our bodies are unique and wondrous, blessed by the sacred nature of our being and our actions.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For some, every month is breast cancer awareness month. One in 40 Ashkenazi Jews carries the BRCA gene mutation, raising the risk for breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. In my own experience, this testing led to the discovery that I had breast cancer. Fortunately, I am now healthy. If you have not yet been tested for the BRCA 1 or 2 gene mutation, I encourage you to consult your doctor and consider taking the blood test that provides important knowledge about the wonders of your body that could be lifesaving for you and members of your family. If you'd like to talk about Jewish perspectives on this type of testing, reach me at rabbigelber@habonim.net. I'm happy to be in conversation with you.
All of us can find time during the day, week or month to recite the blessing that acknowledges the sacred and divine power in our bodies to restore themselves. For those with younger children - or any of us, really - you might offer this blessing when you remove a band-aid from your skin and notice the incredible healing that has taken place. For those less concretely inclined, you could recite this bracha as a moment of recognition of the sacred healing of the fibers of your being. Let me know how you decide to use this blessing in the month ahead. Barukh atah Adonai rofeh chol basar u'maflee la'asot/Blessings to you Holy One who heals all flesh and does wonders (Siddur Lev Shalem, p.99). May October and MarHeshvan 5782 be a true chapter of blessing and wondrous healing.
Shabbat Shalom rg
Congregation Habonim 103 West End Ave New York, NY 10023
