Prayer of the Week / tefilla

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by Rabbi Shawn Fields-Meyer

Blessed are You, HaShem,
Our God, Ruler of the world,
Who formed each person with wisdom
and created within him
    many openings and many closings (lit., cavities).
It is obvious and known before Your Throne of Glory
    that if one of them were to be ruptured
    or one of them were to be blocked
it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You.
Blessed are You, God, Who heals all flesh and acts wondrously

Transliteration
Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai, Elo-hei-nu, me-lech l'o-lam,
A-sher ya-tsar et ha-a-dam b'choch-mah,
u-va-ra vo n'ka-vim n'ka-vim, cha-lu-lim cha-lu-lim,
ga-lu v'ya-du-a lif-nei chi-sei ch'vo-de-cha
she-im yi-pa-tei-ach e-chad mei-hem o yi-sa-teim e-chad mei-hem,
i ef-shar l'hit-ka-yeim v'la-a-mod l'fa-ne-cha.
Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai, ro-fei chawl ba-sar u-maf-li la-a-sot.

This is a blessing expressing gratitude for the workings of the human body. It is found in the earliest pages of the prayer book – an early-morning blessing – and by some Jews, it is recited many times a day.

The words express awe and appreciation – and acknowledgment that God has a role in both the creation and the maintenance of human physiology. Our bodies, we declare, were created wisely – with great precision and detail, with organs that open and close. And every day – every hour, every minute, really – we are grateful for the proper functioning of each organ. If one of them were to become blocked, or one were to become filled up – I would cease to exist.

God, thank You for the functioning not only of my guf – my body, but also for the workings of my neshama – my soul. Dear God, you have created my heart with wisdom. Within my heart and soul, there are openings and there are closed parts. Please God, help me keep the open parts open; help me to be open to my children, my spouse, my family and friends. Give me the strength to be open to those who reach out to help me, and to new therapies and supports and interventions that I might not otherwise attempt. God, Thank You for keeping me open, because there are so many times I just want to close up.

And thank you for keeping the closed parts closed. There are so many parts of me that, without divine intervention, would be floodgates. God, You created me with wisdom, but there are parts of me that feel so vulnerable – to the diagnosis; to others in the community; to immense hurt.. I am vulnerable even to the pain and disappointment only I feel.

Blessed are You, God, who has created me wisely: with open parts and closed parts. God, You help me keep just open enough and just closed enough. Blessed are You, God. Every day, you heal me. It is miraculous.