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Rabbi’s Message
Mi Shebeirach for an Aliyah
The
Mi Shebeirach
blessing has become a regular feature of our services
. Mi She-beirach means “The One who blessed.” It begins: Mi Shebeirach avoteinu, Avra-ham, Yitzhak, v’Ya’akov, v’imoteinu, Sarah, Rivka, Rahel, v’Leah... Hu y’vareichet…
“May the One who blessed our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ourmothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, bestow Your blessing upon ... and soon.”Though most often we have recited
Mi Shebeirach
for those who are ill, our liturgyactually provides different
Mi Shebeirach
texts for various occasions. There are blessings at an
aufruf
for abride and groom; blessings for new parents and blessings for their babies; and indeed, blessings for each per-son who is given the honor of being called the Torah to recite the Torah blessing - the honor that we call an
Aliyah
(going up to the Torah). The Torah blessings are completed, and then the
Mi Shebeirach
is recited bythe Rabbi or Cantor.
While earlier generations of Reform Jews preferred to excise all these “
Mi Shebeirachs
” from the service, of-ten out of a general anxiety about needlessly elongating the liturgy, our own generation has shown a markedpreference for putting them back in. There is a general sense that it is important to acknowledge and blesspeople in their lives: whether as a prayer for a restoration to health, or in the joy of a new baby, an impendingmarriage, or for the honor of being called to the Torah.
Our new
siddur
, M
ISHKAN
T’
FILAH
, has inserted a
Mi Shebeirach
for an
Aliyah,
which essentially is the tradi-tional text. Some of the members of our Religious Practices Committee found the traditional wording objec-tionable from a theological standpoint, so I took the liberty of rewriting the blessing. The translation of thetext now reads:May the One Who blessed our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and our mothers, Sarah, Re-becca, Rachel and Leah, bless ________ (son)(daughter) of _________ who has ascended to theTorah, with good health, happiness, prosperity and peace; with wisdom and understanding, withthe love of Torah and reverence for the Divine. And let us say Amen.
We have used this already at Shabbat Morning services, and it seems to be well received by those in atten-dance, and appreciated by those who have been called for an
aliyah
. Thus, the next time you happen to be at amorning service, you’ll hear this
Mi Shebeirach
in addition to the one for healing. We hope you will enjoy theaddition of this blessing. Though it adds little more than a few seconds to the service, it holds considerablesignificance for those being blessed, and their families.Blessings to all –
-Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman
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