Healing Psalms of Rebbe Nachman, Day Two


I am --and some of you are-- continuing the recitation of the healing Psalms begun yesterday, keeping in heart and mind my friend L. who is having coronary artery bypass surgery on Wednesday, and also his partner Y. and all who love and care for them.

The second Psalm in the sequence is Psalm 32. Rabbi Irving Greenberg titles his meditation on the Psalm "Afraid but Not Alone."

You are my Shelter,
***You protect me from distress, from enemies,
******You surround me with the joy of deliverance. (verse 7)

Rabbi Greenberg writes:

*****The truth is: When you are sinking, when you are totally wrapped in your own fear and pain, it is still possible to break out. God's Loving Presence surrounds you at all times; God shares your pain as only an infinite consciousness can. Hashem* feels your hurt, kisses your wound compassionately. The divine steadfast love enfolds you even when the longed-for miracle dos not come.

****Pain can obscure but it cannot degrade your preciousness to Hashem; fear can erode but not cancel the truth of your being beloved. You are an image of God, of infinite worth, unique, irreplaceable. God's face is toward you, God's eye is on you at all times. ....

****** * Hashem, literally "The Name," is a respectful alternative to Adonai, the appellative used often in prayer. It can also be somewhat more familiar, personal, even intimate.

From Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, C.S.W., Healing of Soul, Healing of Body: Spiritual Leaders unfold the Strength and Solace of Psalms. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994.

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