This week’s parshah states, “Yisrael bowed towards the head of the bed.” (47:31). Did Yaakov Avinu bow to his son [Yosef]? Rashi explains: Yaakov Avinu turned himself toward the head of the bed. Based on this, our Sages taught (Shabbos 12b), “The Sh’chinah resides above the head of an ill person.”
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov explains that just being sick, in itself, doesn’t bring the Sh’chinah, but rather that G-d is felt to be present when a human being is asking hard questions about life, looking deeply into his or her own soul and struggling to do the right thing. It’s the wrestling with conscience that opens up this level of spirituality, not the illness, which just gives us a chance to do the thinking. Even a very evil person has thoughts of t’shuvah in this time [i.e., upon a sickbed]. (Source: Itturei Torah)
The Midrash states: “From the day that heaven and earth were created, people did not become sick. A person might have been walking in the market, he would sneeze, and his soul would leave his body through his nostrils. Yaakov Avinu requested mercy: “Master of the Universe, do not take my soul until I have instructed my children and the members of my house.” G-d acceded to the request. That is why one wishes a person “life” when he or she sneezes” (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer ch. 52).
The Midrash further explains that from the beginning of B’reishis until the time of Yaakov Avinu, people did not become ill before they died. The word choleh (sick) was not mentioned. There was no alarm set to remind a person of his transient status on this earth. It was Yaakov Avinu who asked Hashem to bring illness to the world instead of someone simply dying. Yaakov had to ask Hashem as a show of mercy to bring illness, so that a person could put his affairs in order and as an impetus for self-introspection and evaluation. Hashem agreed to Yaakov’s suggestion and declared He would start with Yaakov. Yaakov was therefore the first one to become sick.
List of People Who Need a r’fuah sh’leimah (a complete recovery)
Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.
Michael Rachamim ben Mazal
Yosef Yosi ben Simchah
Chaim Avraham ben Shifrah Zissel
Chaim ben Adinah Eidel
Matan ben Devorah
Noam ben Adi
Moshe Shlomo ben Orah Sarah
Tinok ben Chavah Michal
Omer ben Tali
Shachar ben Golan
Mazal bas Rivkah
Odelya bas Mahbubeh Yocheved
Zhenya bas Zoya
Esther Hadassah bas Devorah
Mitali Naomi bas Gilah Farcha
Zoya bas Rachel Raya
Rachel bas Leah
Mazal bas Rachel
Israeli Soldiers (Please recite Psalms 25, 26, 46, 83, 142.)
Avraham Yaakov ben Devorah
Binyamin Shlomo Yitzchak ben Rivkah Avivah
Shmuel ben Rachel
Avraham Yitzchak ben Chayah Sara
Aharon Yehudah ben Rivkah Zlata
Chaim Yair ben Miriam Devorah
Yitzchak ben Chanah Brachah
Levi Yitzchak ben Dinah Miriam
Meir Moshe ben Gittel
Yehoshua Elyakim Getzel ben Devorah
Naftali ben Devorah Sharon
Yisrael Mordechai ben Chanah Gittel
Shmayah ben Chanah Zelda
Avraham ben Ilanah Tovah
Yehudah Chaim ben Mina Chayah
Ohr Moshe ben Alizah
Elya Akiva ben Chavah Leah
Yisrael Yehudah ben Elisheva Rachel
Baruch Tzvi ben Shoshanah Raizel
Meir Simchah ben Adinah
Aharon Mordechai ben Kresel Baila
Avraham Mordechai ben Tiferes
Eliyahu ben Chayah Tamar
Yitzchak Issac ben Freida
Shlomo Zalman ben Tziporah Alitah
Netanel Meir ben Esther
Tuvia Nissim ben Yehudis
Yonah ben Tziporah
Yehudah Aharon ben Tziviah
Yehudah ben Nurit
Daniel ben Nurit
Roy ben Ronit
Amit ben Janet
Danny ben Chavah
Elya ben Merav
Dvir ben Granit
Avihu ben Anat
Yosef Chaim ben Yael
Chagai Naftali ben Esther Avigayil
Nesanel Moshe ben Yocheved
Neriah ben Rivkah
Eitan ben Sarah
Nir ben Limor
Aviv Birka ben Pleia
List of Remaining Hostages
Tamir ben Yael (Adar)
Edan ben Yael (Alexander)
Matan ben Anat (Angrest)
Noa bat Liora (Argamani)
Karina bat Eerena (Ariev)
Uriel ben Naomi (Baruch)
Ohad ben Esther (Ben-Ami)
Ron ben Chanah (Benjamin)
Agam bat Meirav (Berger)
Gali ben Tamar (Berman)
Ziv ben Tamar (Berman)
Kfir ben Shiri (Bibas)
Yarden ben Peninah (Bibas)
Shiri bat Margit (Bibas)
Ariel ben Shiri (Bibas)
Elkanah ben Ruchamah
Rom Noah ben Tamar
Amit Esther Chayah bat Ilanah
Itay ben Chagit (Chen)
Eliya ben Sigalit (Cohen)
Nimrod ben Vicky (Cohen)
Amiram ben Sarah (Cooper)
Alexander ben Nina
Ori ben Inav (Danino)
Evyatar ben Yasmin (David)
Sagui ben Naamit (Dekel-Chen)
Liri bat Shirah (Elbag)
Itzhak ben Chanah (Elgarat)
Carmel bat Kineret (Gat)
Yitzchak ben Gilah (Gelerenter)
Daniella bat Orly (Gilboa)
Guy ben Meirav (Gilboa-Dalal)
Hersh ben Perel Chana
Romi bat Meirav (Gonen)
Ran ben Tali (Gvili)
Louis ben Nurah (Har)
Maxim ben Tella (Herkin)
Yair ben Rut Eedit (Horn)
Eitan ben Rut Eedit (Horn)
Tsachi ben Devorah (Idan)
Ofer ben Kochavah (Kalderon)
Segev ben Galit (Kalfon)
Elad ben Chanah (Katzir)
David ben Sylvia (Konio)
Ariel ben Sylvia (Konio)
Andrey ben Yavgena (Kozlov)
Bar Avraham ben Julia
Or ben Geulah (Levy)
Naama bat Ayelet (Levy)
Elyakim Shlomo ben Avishag
Oded ben Bilhah (Lifshitz)
Alexander ben Oksana
Shlomo ben Marcel (Mansour)
Fernando Shimon ben Tanya
Almog ben Orit (Meir-Jan)
Yoram ben Miriam (Metzger)
Omri ben Veronica Esther
Eitan Avraham ben Efrat (Mor)
Gadi Moshe ben Sarah (Mosez)
Abraham Gliad ben Emunah
Omer Maksim Ben Orna Esther
Tamir ben Cherut (Nimrod)
Michel ben Solomira
Yosef Chaim ben Miriam
Alon ben Idit (Ohel)
Dror ben Dorit (Or)
Avinathan ben Ditza Tirtza (Or)
Daniel Shimon ben Sharon
Chaim ben Nechamah (Peri)
Nadav ben Chanah (Popplewell)
Lior ben Michal (Rudaeff)
Almog ben Nira (Sarusi)
Eliyahu ben Chanah (Sharabi)
Yosef ben Chanah (Sharabi)
Omer ben Sheli (Shem Tov)
Tal ben Nitza (Shoham)
Idan ben Dalit (Shtivi)
Shmuel ben Gladys (Siegel)
Doron bat Sarah (Steinbrecher)
Itai ben Irit (Svirsky)
Alexander (Sasha) ben Ilena (Trupanob)
Judith bat Marilyn (Weinstein)
Ilan Shlomo ben Miriam (Weiss)
Omer ben Niva (Wenkert)
Yair ben Flor (Yaakov)
Chanan ben Vered (Yablonka)
Yagev ben Esther (Buchshtab )
Ohad ben Keren (Yahalomi)
Dolev ben Yael (Yahud)
Arbel bat Yael (Yahud)
Eden bat Shirit (Yerushalmi)
Matan ben Einav (Zangauker)
Shlomi ben Rozita Ira (Ziv)
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.
