On the surface, the days of S’firas HaOmer seem to have two somewhat contradictory themes: On one hand, it’s a time of mourning, when we limit joyous activities, like making a wedding, listening to music, or buying new clothes. On the other hand, the month of Iyar, which sits in the middle of S’firas HaOmer and contains the majority of its days, is a time of great rachamim (compassion) and an influx of Divine healing. The Hebrew letters that spell the month of Iyar are actually an acronym for the phrase “Ani Hashem Rof’echa” – “I am G-d, your healer” (Sh’mos 15:26).

We no longer daven for rain at this time of year. But, according to Reb Pinchas of Koritz, even the rain that falls between Pesach and Shavuos, particularly in Iyar, is a r’fuah for diseases that have no cure. So, how can we tap into the flow of rachamim in Iyar? How can we use this time to change the dinim in our lives to rachamim?

According to the Zohar, when Hashem wants to show us compassion, He first sends to us an individual who, himself, is in need of compassion. When we have compassion on this person, then Hashem has compassion on us, as it says, “Whoever has compassion on G-d’s creatures, receives compassion from Heaven.”

But this compassion is not just physical in nature. It also involves our thoughts:

The Sages taught: “You shall judge your fellow with righteousness” (Vayikra 19:15). [This means]…you should judge another on the side of merit.

According to the Baal Shem Tov, when you see a person commit a shameful act or serious transgression, you should realize that at that precise moment, you are seeing a person caught in a life-and-death battle with his yeitzer ha’ra (evil inclination), and his yeitzer ha’ra is winning:

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: A person’s evil inclination overcomes him each day and seeks to kill him, as it is stated in Sukkah 52b: “The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to kill him.” Our Sages teach us that one should have compassion on this person and make every effort to find some justification for his actions – even if he is known to be a rasha (a wicked person).

By not arousing judgment upon someone who is overwhelmed by internal conflict and the struggle with his yeitzer ha’ra, you fulfill the verse “You shall not incline the judgment of your poor in his dispute” (Sh’mos 23:6). In the end, you will arouse favorable heavenly judgments upon him.

Every Jew, no matter how far away he is from Hashem and his true tafkid in the world, still has a cheilek Elokah mi’maal, a Divine spark of k’dushah, within him that no one else in the world possesses. He is, at any given moment, a tzadik in potential. As it states in Yeshayahu 60:21 “Your people are all tzadikim.”

By seeking out the good points in your fellow and judging him favorably – even when he is at his lowest – your compassion for him will elicit a flow of compassion from Above. This influx of Divine compassion can sweeten the harshest decrees and bring with it countless brachah, y’shuos, and, r’fuos – for you and your fellow alike.

Material was previously published on ShiratMiriam.com.

List of People Who Need a r’fuah sh’leimah (a complete recovery)

Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.

Yitzchak ben Mazal Tov

Yaakov Yosef ben Blima

Shmaryahu ben Raizel Shoshanah Miriam

Yisrael ben Raizel Shoshanah Miriam

Avraham David Ben Ruchama

Chaim Lev ben Chayah Sarah

David Ben-Zion ben Chanah

David ben Alizah Leah

 

Tziporah bas Fruma

Esther Hadassah bas Devorah

Mitali Naomi bas Gilah Farcha

Hinda Brachah bas Sima Golda

Yael Shoshanah bas Chanah Freidel

Sarah bas Bitiyah

Cindy Chanah bas Malkah

Naomi Chavah bas Chanah Rivkah

Heleni Orna bas Chen Chanah

Zoya bas Rachel Raya

Rachel bas Leah

Nancy Elisheva Sarah bas Roza

 

Israeli Soldiers (Please recite Psalms 25, 26, 46, 83, 142.)

Ben Zion Yitzchak ben Ilanah Malkah

Aharon Simchah ben Meirah Ilanah

David ben Rivkah Zlata

Matnia ben Sarah

Yehudah Chaim ben Mina Chayah

Yehudah ben Baila

Shai ben Baila

Ro’i ben Baila

Asaf ben Tamar

Avitar ben Tamar

Elad ben Tamar

Amit Levy ben Dalit

Menachem ben Aliza Esther

Yehoshua ben Aliza Esther

Binyamin ben Chanah

Yoel Tzvi ben Adinah Shoshanah

Moshe Avraham ben Malkah Rivkah

Yosef Rachamim ben Sarah

Binyamin Moshe ben Sarah

Yosef Elyasaf ben Devorah

Menachem Shlomo ben Miriam Tamara

Omer ben Sigal

Moshe David ben Chavah Leah

Shmuel Yonah ben Leah

Yehoshua Hershel ben Chanah

Alexander Gedalia ben Chayah Basyah

Ezra Yisrael ben Chayah Basyah

Harel ben Chanah

Oz ben Smadar

Omer ben Michal

Reef ben Eti

Aryeh Eitam ben Raya

Amit Yosef ben Devorah

Michel ben Naomi Sarah

Ravid ben Nega

Aviad ben Liat

Ohen ben Inav

Ori ben Leorah

Amit ben Sanhav

Omri ben Ilat

Sivan ben Halan

Ori ben Leora

Moshe Yosef ben Raizel Chayah

Nir Gutman ben Miriam

 

To add names of individuals who need a r’fuah sh’leimah to next week’s T’hilim column, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and complete the Google form.