A prayer for a sick friend
Av Harachaman, Merciful Father,
Please heal your creation.
Please grant wholeness and strength of spirit
To Reuven Fievel, son of Hanna and Moshe,
So that he might resume his service
And join the congregation, once more.
Let this poor man grow in vision and strength.
May I look upon this man, who suffers,
And see Adam, the first man, within him.
You make no distinction between the rich and poor.
A man who has fallen on hard times
Is despised by those who lack spiritual vision.
But the Rock of Ages sees only Adam within him.
Lord, with the healing wisdom of your Torah
Strengthen and heal this faithful spirit,
So that he may stand before You like a youth on his feet,
Like Adam, the first man, in Eden.
You Who are the source of all healing,
Repair the broken vessel,
And heal the creation of Your hands.
Please Lord, strengthen him and encourage him,
And may his spirit be whole and complete
Like Adam, the original person, within him.
Amen.
I wrote this several years ago, for my friend Richard Pelter, who was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.
At first the doctors told him that his problem walking was psychosomatic. But then it progressed. He maintained a good sense of humor about it.
He said that on his tombstone he wanted the epitaph to read 'I told you I was sick!'
Eventually he could only communicate by pointing to letters on a board, and after that, only with his eyes.
As Rabbi Hurwitz said at his funeral service, when he looked at you, you could understand what the Bible means when it says 'Deep speaks unto deep.'