A week or two ago, my Talmud teacher shared with me a little teaching about praying for health and names of God. A few people have asked me to write it down for them, so I figured I'd put it here.

When his sister Miriam is stricken with tzara'at, Moses prays a short but effective one-line healing prayer: אל נא רפא נא לה, el na, refa na la -- "please, God, heal her." This prayer has eleven letters. What can we learn from this? That it is meant to point us toward the eleven-letter name of God, the name God gives to Moses at the burning bush: אהיה אשר אהיה, ehyeh asher ehyeh, "I will be who I will be."

When we use this short prayer to pray for healing, we implicitly call upon God Who is ever-changing. We call upon the God who is continually becoming, to heal and strengthen our loved one who needs transformation and change.

If anyone in your life is in need of healing, I wish them a speedy recovery, and wish you comfort as you walk alongside them.

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