[HANASHIR:16408] Re: Shabbat services

[Adrian Durlester <adrian...>]

Sue:

Thank you for bringing this up. I have on several occasions, including one
fairly recent message on this list, made the point that what has sloppily
come to be called "the" Mi Shebeirach commonly in (predominantly) Reform
settings in the U.S. is really just the Mi Shebeirach for refuah shleima.
Because Debbie Friedman wrote such a lovely song for it and simply titled it
Mi Shebeirach, and because, as you suggest, the custom of a mi shebeirach
being offered for all who have an aliyah during the Torah service has
largely been lost or forgotten at many (but not all) Reform synagogues, the
words Mi Shebeirach have largely come to denote only the refuah shleima
form.

I will note that many Reform leaders and websites do try and make it a point
to use the phrase "Mi Shebeirach for healing" or "for the sick" or something
of that nature. Sadly, a search of the web will find just as many sites that
simply call "the Mi Shebeirach" the "Jewish prayer for healing." And I'll
wager that a random survey of American Reform Jews would indicate that most
simply think "the" Mi Shebeirach" is "the" Jewish prayer for healing. In
fact, I wonder how many even realize it's a prayer at all, rather than
simply a pretty song. [I wish to cast no slur or aspersion on Debbie's
setting of the Mi Shebeirach for healing. It is a remarkable musical and
spiritual phenomenon that I know comes from a place deep inside its
composer, and has taken its well-deserved place in contemporary worship
minhag. I suspect she herself might be among the first to remind us that the
Mi Shebeirach prayer has more than one form and more than one usage.]

Mi Shebeirach is a utility prayer, and can be celebratory as well as for
healing. Even in celebratory settings, it is generally invoked for the
purpose of praying for well-being--as, for example, after one has given
birth, or prior to a circumcision, and for those who read the Torah or have
a Torah aliyah. There are even some forms of the Mi Shebeirach that do not
begin with the words "Mi Shebeirach."

Torah teaches us to be careful with our words. I reiterate my call on this
list to educate ourselves and our congregations that the Mi Shebeirach is
one of Judaism's utility prayers, with a number of differing versions for
differing situations/occasions, with the "refuah shleima" version being just
one of them. If we could all just start saying and writing things like "A Mi
shebeirach for healing"  rather than "The Mi Shebeirach" or "Debbie
Friedman's (or Lisa Levine's) setting of the Mi Shebeirach prayer for
healing" perhaps we can stem the tide.

B'vracha,

Adrian

Adrian A. Durlester, MTS
E-mail: adrian (at) durlester(dot)com  www.durlester.com
Director of Education & Congregational Life, Bethesda Jewish Congregation,
Bethesda, MD
www.bethesdajewish.com
Co-Director, Hazamir/JTAI Choir of Greater DC
Past Conf Chair, CAJE 27, August 4-8, 2002, Trinity University, San Antonio,
TX
List Owner, hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org; Jewish Songleaders/Performers List
www.ehavanashira.org
Co-Owner, l-torah (at) shamash(dot)org; Liberal Torah Discussion List


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
shamash(dot)org] On
Behalf Of Sue Esterman
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 10:02 PM
To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Subject: [HANASHIR:16406] Re: Shabbat services


This discussion started me thinking about the differences! in NZ, it is the
custom to give a (not The) mishabeirach for every aliyah to the Torah. I
gather from this discussion that the term is often applied in the US to the
blessing for a refuah shlemah.  That being sorted, [snip]


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