Do Prayers for Healing Really Work?

Parashat BeHa’alotcha

Transforming Ourselves and the World Through the Power of Prayer

I’ve been praying for my cousin in Denmark, daily. She was diagnosed with cancer more than 10 years ago, perhaps even fifteen. I haven’t kept track, but time passes so fast these days. After asking for her mother’s name, to pray for her properly, her response was skeptical, since she, like many of my family in Denmark, isn’t yet observant. When I recently told her that I’ve been praying for her all these years, she reiterated, that prayers don’t help! “Well,” I countered, “aren't you are still alive?!” Like my cousin, all of us sometimes succumb to the rational mode, which gives birth to doubts, and we may wonder: How can a prayer – how can mere words – affect what will be? True, we cannot prove that prayers help, because sometimes people do die, despite all the sincere prayers we poured out on their behalf. Yet, we have also experienced amazing miracles for people that we prayed for, who were terminally ill, but somehow kept living productively for many years. Some are still alive today! People, who went through near-death experiences, report that they returned to life through the power of prayer. In the space between this world and the world of souls, it was the light of the tefilot of loved ones – or even of people they never met – that pulled them back down into their body. Within the yearning to turn to Hashem in prayer, we declare our love, empathy, and concern and herald the hope of healing. Just as emunah is required for believing in the existence of G-d, we must believe in the power of our prayer. The more emunah we have, the more effective our prayer. This is a fundamental principle of belief in Judaism. Hashem always answers when we call out to Him, but sometimes the answer is “no!” Although, we won’t necessarily understand “why” at this time, in the future, we will. Just as kids don’t always understand why parents can’t give them everything they ask for, Hashem’s ways are beyond human understanding. All we can do is to keep praying, and thereby imbue a cold and materialistic world with sparks of holiness. I do believe that our words make a difference and that prayer really does work. Through opening our hearts, we can arouse Hashem’s compassion to intervene and bring healing from the very source of healing – from beyond the laws of nature. Prayer can also be life-altering. Through the power of prayer, we can transform ourselves from selfie to a selfless person.
 
Why is Moshe’s Prayer on Behalf of his Sister Miriam so Short?
After Miriam and Aharon confronted their brother, Moshe, regarding his intimate relations, Miriam became stricken with tzara’at. This was even though, Miriam, his older sister, spoke from her heart to help set Moshe straight, without any intention to disparage him (Rashi, Bamidbar 12:1). At the very moment that Moshe saw what happened to his dear sister, he cried out to Hashem with five words of succinct prayer:
 

:ספר במדבר פרק יב פסוק יג וַיִּצְעַק משֶׁה אֶל הָשֵׁם לֵאמֹר אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ

“Moshe cried out to Hashem saying, ‘I beseech you, G-d, please heal her’” (Bamidbar 12:13).

 
The same person who suffered from a speech impediment most of his life, was now able to call out with clear, concise, and articulate words of prayer – “El na refa na la – Please G-d, pray heal her now.” Rashi explains that Moshe did not pray at length, so that the Israelites should not say, “His sister is in distress, yet he stands and prolongs his prayer, [instead of taking healing action].” According to another interpretation, it was so that Israel should not say, “For his sister, he prays at length, but for our sake, he does not pray at length” (Rashi, Ibid.). Therefore, Moshe kept it short. Moshe’s prayer begins with an א/alef followed by ten letters. These correspond to the ten sefirot that Moshe unified in the upper light, represented by the א/alef. This letter reflects the heavenly unity emanating from the infinite light of the Creator – the source of all goodness, blessings, life, and healing for every being. These ten letters, concentrated in the alef, rectify all the judgments and transform them into kindness. Moshe’s prayer was effective, and after seven days of sickness, Miriam returned to the camp, restored and renewed (Sha’ar HaTefilah, She’elah v’Teshuvah). I resonate with the lesson of this prayer, that you don’t need to lengthen in prayer. Hashem’s light is beyond time and can be accessed in the blink of an eye. It’s the intensity and the intention that counts (Ibid.). Short prayers can, at times, accomplish more than prolonged prayers that last for hours. Therefore, the relatively short ne’ilah prayer, at the end of Yom Kippur, has always been my favorite.  
 
Five Prayer Principles Gleaned from the Five Words of Moshe’s Prayer
1. Moshe’s prayer for Miriam teaches us the importance of mentioning the name of the mother of the person, for which we pray. We learn this from the words רְפָא נָא/refa na – “heal now,” which has the exact same numerical value (332), as that of מִרְיָם/Miriam together with the name of her mother, יוֹכֶבֶד/Yocheved (Degel Machane Efraim, Parashat Beha’alotcha). Rebbe Nachman adds that sometimes when there are judgments on someone, mentioning the person’s name directly can arouse the accusing forces even more against that person. Therefore, Moshe only alluded to the names of his sister and her mother through the numerical value of his prayer (Likutei Mohoran Kama 174).
 
2. “Moshe cried out” teaches us that his prayer did not remain in his heart alone, but he articulated it out loud. This is in keeping with the Talmudic ruling learned from Chana, that ‘when one prays, s/he must move the lips and enunciate the words of prayer (Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 31a). Even in the silent prayer, we must move our lips. This use of voice, breath, and articulation is highly effective. It empowers us to propel our prayers from below towards the higher divine realms. It is through this type of prayer that Moshe ultimately connects with and implores Hashem to bring healing.
 
3. We need to connect our personal prayer with prayer for all of Israel. We learn this from the repetition of the word נָא/na – “please.” The first נָא/na was for the sake of all the sick people among the Israelites. The concluding נָא לָהּ/na la “please [heal] her” referred specifically to Miriam. The awareness of how we are all linked together and held responsible for one another must always pierce through the expressions of our prayer.
 
4. There are two ways we can bring down abundance from Above: 1. Through rectified actions. 2. Through sincere prayers. One of Hashem’s names most often addressed in prayer is אַדְנִ"י/Adoni. It has a numerical value of 65. This gematria can be divided into י"ד/yad )14) and נָ"א/na (51). The latter refers to the aspect of the Israelites, whose power is through our mouth (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 20:4). “There is no נָא/na except petition” (Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 9). יָד/yad – ‘hand’ refers to the aspect of rectified action as in “Hashem’s “great hand” (Shemot 14:31). Moshe prayed that Miriam’s healing take place through the power of נָא/na – “prayer,” rather than through the power of action, as prayer can do greater wonders than actions (Sefer Machase Avraham, Parashat Beha’alotcha).
 
5. According to Rebbe Nachman, the repetition of the word נָא/na indicates that Moshe requested that Hashem Himself pray, as it were, for Miriam’s healing. The phraseאֵל נָא /El na can mean “G-d pray!” Tiferet Shlomo adds that the word לֵאמֹר/le’emor – “saying” is extra. Thus, Moshe prayed to Hashem saying, “Hashem please pray with me to heal her” (Tiferet Shlomo, Parashat Va’etchanan). Whenever we pray, we too can ask Hashem to pray together with us.
 
Praying on Behalf of the Shechina
A well-known principle in chassidut and kabbalah is the importance of praying for the Shechina (Divine Feminine Indwelling Presence). Whenever we experience a lack in our lives, it is a reflection of a deeper lack in the revelation of the Shechina. When we pray for the lack of the Shechina, we pray for the root of all pain, including our own personal pain. By repairing the root Above, the problems below will also be affected (Yismach Moshe, Parashat Beha’alotcha 54a).
Moshe’s prayer was the prayer for the Shechina – to rectify Hashem’s honor. “Please heal her” refers not only to Miriam but also to the Shechina. Like Moshe, we need to pray for the Shechina and not only for our own pain. When everything will be aligned above, then our pain will be healed as well. Every lack below has its root above, as it states, “know what is above you” (Avot 2:1). If you know “what is above,” you will know “you” – your true self (Tiferet Shlomo, Parashat Toldot).
 
Composing our Own Prayers
Rebbe Natan of Breslev was the first person who composed and published his own prayers after the men of the great assembly had established the formal prayers in the siddur. For this initiative, he met with great opposition from all sides. If you do not have ruach hakodesh (the lowest level of prophecy), who are you to make up your own prayers? Today, it has become very common to address Hashem in our own way, employing words that emanate from our heart.
In my emunahealing circles, it has come up that women, especially, struggle with the formal prayers in the siddur, which at times seems to be dry and lifeless for some of us. Yet, we get aroused, when we express ourselves from our heart in various poetic ways. With his prayer for Miriam, Moshe, our teacher, showed us a model of spontaneous prayer from the heart. Chana, the mother of our prayer, likewise flung her own words at Hashem from the depths of her pain. Like Chana, when we go through hardships, and feel powerless, our primal call towards G-d becomes a beacon of hope and faith. My husband and I recite one tehillim a day, together, for our children (Yes just one, short is good!). We complete this ritual with a spontaneous prayer from our heart for their success. Even if we are neither a Moshe nor a Chana, when we keep calling upon Hashem to repair the darkness above by healing and strengthening our loved ones, He certainly will answer our heartfelt plea!