While there are many traditional Jewish prayers for healing, the feminist movement empowered first women, and then men and women, to create many more prayers and ceremonies which spoke to the specific situations in which they found themselves. The complexity of modern medicine has added to this need for prayers for tests, prayers before surgery, prayers after chemotherapy and for each chemo session, etc. In addition, several writers on ritualwell have created ceremonies to celebrate an important anniversary in relationship to their disease.
Sometimes the situation calls for a few words, like a mantra, which can be said on facing a difficult decision or a treatment. Sometimes, we need a full-blown ceremony among friends and loved ones. And sometimes we need a healing service, where we join with others who are in need of healing. You can find all of these on ritualwell.
This section of the site is far from complete; rituals or prayers you create would be welcome additions.
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When the Body Hurts, the Soul Still Longs to Sing | Prayer
By Rabbi Nancy Flam
Faced with the challenge of blessing God for the gift of one's body when the body doesn't always work as it used to, the author invited a group of women to develop alternative blessings to be said to help people suffering from illness connect to God and seek God's presence.
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Faith Zap Love. Today. | Prayer
By Gari Julius Weilbacher
A meditation the author created to use during radiation treatments for breast cancer
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Beginning a Religious Response to Mastectomy | Prayer
By Sylvia Rothschild
A meditation to be said before a mastectomy
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A Celebration of Life | Complete Ceremony
By Nancy H. Wiener with Judith Tax
Because 18 ("chai," or life, in Hebrew) years represents a lifetime, this woman decided to celebrate the 18th anniversary of her mastectomy with a pre-havdalah ritual.
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On Having a Breast Cyst Removed | Complete Ceremony
By Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow
A ritual, which can also be used for other kinds of physical and psychological healing, marking the transition from mourning to reclaiming health
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Excerpt from Mid-Life Covenant: Healing Ritual after Hysterectomy | Complete Ceremony
By Nancy Shneiderman
An excerpt from a longer ceremony describing the author's ritual planting of her womb, celebration with friends, and rejoining her husband and the community.
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Kavanah for Mikveh | Prayer
By Carol Rose
A meditation for the mikveh invoking God's healing presence
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Prelude to Mikveh | Poem
By Cynthia Wallace
A kavanah for ritual immersion that focuses on the experience of mikveh as an experience of the Divine
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Healing Well | Prayer
By Ariel Lee
A healing prayer to be said when immersing in the mikveh
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Mikveh Following Cancer | Article
By Diane Bernbaum
A piece describing a woman's experiences with breast cancer and the healing power of a mikveh ritual
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Mikveh for Recurrence or Exacerbation of Cancer | Complete Ceremony
Created by Mayyim Hayyim Ritual Creation Team, 2004
This ritual is designed for someone wanting to immerse in the healing waters of the mikveh upon learning of a recurrence or exacerbation of cancer
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A Time to Heal | Complete Ceremony
By Lori Marx-Rubiner
A mikveh ceremony performed with friends marking the end of chemotheraphy before surgery
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Mi Shebeirach | Song
Lyrics by Debbie Friedman and Drorah Setel
A moving song that has become the hallmark of the Jewish healing movement
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Communal Misheberach for Healing | Prayer
By James I. Greene
An original prayer in both feminine and masculine forms
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A Mishebeirach for those dealing with HIV/AIDS | Prayer
By Mark Israel and Dan Polish
A special mishebeirach (prayer for healing) offered on World AIDS Day for those suffering with HIV/AIDS
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Ahavat Olam (Eternal Love) | Prayer
By Bracha Yael
A prayer, based on the traditional Ahavat Olam (eternal love) adapted for someone who died of AIDS
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Healing Meditation | Prayer
By Ariel Neshama Lee
A guided meditation for illness, pain, stress, or grief which calls upon imaginings of the foremothers
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