Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.
SAN DIEGO — This week’s parasha, Beshalach, includes an impactful pasuk, “And He said, If you hearken to the voice of the Lord, your G-d, and you do what is proper in His eyes, and you listen closely to His commandments and observe all His statutes, all the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt I will not visit upon you, for I, the Lord, heal you.” The above verse appears immediately after the Shira (Song at the Sea of Reeds). It teaches us in no uncertain terms that it is Hashem, and no other, who heals us.
Rashi says: “Simply put, I am the Lord your physician, who teaches you Torah and mitzvot so that you will be spared illness, much as a physician would instruct his patient not to eat certain things because they may lead to his getting sick…” Rashi’s perhaps more accurate translation of the end of this pasuk is not “I am the Lord that heals you…,” But rather, “I am the Lord thy physician.” We are not simply Hashem’s “people” but his “patients” as well. He is our rofeh, our healer.
Does your physician heal you from illness or prevent you from becoming ill in the first place? Maimonides informs us: “The greatest of all physicians is the Lord, of Whom it is said ‘I am the Lord thy physician.’”
There is a wonderful story about Maimonides that expands our understanding of this. While the Rambam, Maimonides, was the royal physician of the Sultan of Egypt, the anecdote goes that the Sultan never fell to illness. One day, the Sultan asked Maimonides, “How do I know that you are an expert physician, since during the period that you have been here, I have never been ill, and you have not had the opportunity to test your skills?” Maimonides replied, “In truth, the great and faithful physician is the Holy One, Blessed Be He, as it is written, ‘I am the L-rd, your healer.’ And this Great and Faithful Physician was able to promise his people that because He is their Physician, He will be able to protect them from all the illnesses that were put on Egypt.” Maimonides concluded, “Therefore, we learn that the ability of a physician to prevent illness is a greater proof of his skill, than his ability to cure someone who is already ill.” (Yalkut Lekach Tov, Shmot, B’Shalach)
As further proof of this, it is written ‘I will not place upon you the illnesses which I have placed upon ancient Egypt.’ Who is truly the good doctor? Not the person who heals the sick from their diseases, but rather the one who helps the person from becoming sick and sees to it that he maintains his health.” Further, the Malbim tells us “A physician, like a master, ‘demands obedience,’ but only for the purpose of securing the patient’s welfare.”
Hashem, we see in Beshalach, prescribes for us a lifestyle of Torah and mitzvot to help guard us from “illness,” including spiritual and physical suffering. The Ibn Ezra sees Hashem’s transformation of the bitter waters in the parasha, as an example of His healing powers and of the healing that comes to those who are in a covenantal relationship with Him.
When we face illness or injury, the Torah urges us to seek help from skilled doctors. They’re like special messengers from Hashem, here to use their knowledge and care to mend our bodies. But remember, it’s ultimately Hashem who decides who gets better and when. While we appreciate the doctors, our true Healer is always with us.
Our parasha also contains a reference to healing that is widely viewed by our Sages as the proof and permission-granting text for a physician to practice his or her arts: “If he gets up and walks about outside on his support, the assailant shall be cleared; he shall give only [payment] for his [enforced] idleness, and he shall provide for his cure (v’rapo yirapeh).” Rashi, cites Onkelos regarding the legitimacy of the physician’s role: “and he shall provide for his cure: As the Targum renders: and he shall pay the physician’s fee.” When our two verses are taken in tandem, it becomes clear that it is the doctor’s role to act as Hashem’s messenger in all acts of healing. Therefore, it is ultimately Hashem who is our rofeh ne’eman (true physician). Here’s a sign to give to your doctor to hang in the waiting room, “G-d heals, I take the fee.”
Look at the eighth bracha (blessing) of the Shemoneh Esrei for even more clarity: “Heal us, O L-rd, and we will be healed; Help us and we will be saved; For You are our praise. Grant complete cure and healing to all our wounds; For You, Almighty King, are a faithful and merciful healer. Blessed are You L-rd, who heals the sick of His people Israel.”
Another anecdote may help make this point, this regarding, Rav Mordechai, z’l, of Neshchiz, who was known for the value of his blessings. Those who were ill would travel from afar for the esteemed Rebbe’s blessings. One day, a chassid who was gravely ill came to the Rebbe and asked him for a blessing to be healed and live. He had travelled all over the world to consult with physicians, but to no avail: “Please, Rebbe, I have no one else to whom to turn. What should I do?”
The Rav advised him to travel to the city of Annipole, where there was a specialist who had the ability to heal him. The man immediately travelled to Annipole, quite a distance away, with harsh roads and difficulties along the way, but when the Rebbe says, “Go!” – his talmidim went. When he arrived in this far off city, he began asking around for where the esteemed doctor was located.
“There is no one in our community who matches that description. We have no medical specialists in our city,” they replied. “Is there a doctor in town?” the man asked. “No, we have no doctor in our town.” “What does someone do if he becomes ill?” he asked. “It does not happen. No doctors, because no one is ill,” was their reply. The man was incredulous: a city without a physician; a city that had no sick people! It was absurd. He was upset over having wasted so much precious time on what he felt was a wild-goose chase. He would return to the Rebbe of Neshchiz and inform him of his error.
He returned to the Rebbe and related what had occurred in Annipole. “So what do the people do when someone becomes ill?” the Rebbe asked “Their only option is to pray to and rely on Hashem,” the man responded. “They have to hope that He will be generous and forthcoming with His blessing and heal them.”
When the Rebbe (finally) heard the man say this, he said, “This is the medical specialist that I had intended for you. Whoever is healing (protecting) the townspeople of Annipole can effectively do the same for you!”
The man, who now understood the message, began to pray to Hashem and was ultimately healed. The message is timeless and applies to all of us today. Thankfully we don’t have to travel to Annipole to discover this.
In the Mi Shebeirach prayer for those who are ill or recovering from an illness or accident, we ask Hashem for blessing, compassion, restoration, and strength. We say, “HaKadosh Baruch Hu will send him/her, speedily, a complete healing —healing of the soul and healing of the body —along with all the ill, among the people of Israel and all humankind, soon, speedily, without delay, and let us say Amen.” When we ask, “May the Source of Strength who blessed the ones before us, help us to find the courage to make our lives a blessing,” we are drawn into a covenantal, spiritual, observant relationship with Hashem. We are reminded of Hashem’s compassion, his physician-healer role in our lives, his desire to see us made whole, and we acclaim Him as our source of health and illness…and let us say, Amen.
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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com