About the Book

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Blue Dove Foundation believes Jewish prayers and rituals can help to strengthen our mental well-being, resilience, and recovery. Faith is an important part of healing for many, and Jewish thinkers and leaders historically have brought the two together. Creating this book during a pandemic-induced, certifiable mental health crisis confirmed for us the strong connection between faith and healing.*

When someone is ill or recovering from an illness or an accident, we often recite a mi sheberach to wish them a refuah shleimah, a “complete healing” or “full recovery.” But Jewish tradition invites us to adapt and interpret texts in ways that create meaning for the needs of our times. Today, that need is wishing a “complete healing” for those struggling with mental health.

The mi sheberachs shared here come from a series of ongoing workshops presented by the Blue Dove Foundation in partnership with various Jewish organizations across the globe. The workshops explore Jewish values and prayers as they relate to mental health, and one of the activities is for participants to write their own mi sheberach with a partner on a mental health topic that speaks to them. The results of this exercise did not disappoint! We were inspired by these impromptu prayers and are pleased to share them with our readers. We wish we could have included all of them in this book and hope we can use them in the future. In creating our own versions of a traditional Jewish prayer for healing, we can engage with Jewish text in a way that is personal, meaningful, and impactful in our own lives. We encourage you to explore what a mi sheberach might look for you, your loved ones, and your community.

The book contains various mi sheberachs organized and grouped by topics:

• Anxiety and Stress • Depression, Loneliness, and Isolation • Substance Abuse, Addictive Disorders, and Recovery • Suicide • Healing and Strength • Self-Affirmations, Self-Love, and Self-Esteem • Support from the Community • Parents of Struggling Children

The mi sheberachs in this book can be interpreted in different ways, and many of those written for broad appeal can apply equally as well to specific situations and settings, whether at home, work, school, camp, synagogue, or anywhere else. As you read through them, think about the common themes that resonate with you and how you can benefit from their healing words.

You may encounter various emotions while reading through the ones that are relevant to your own experiences or those of someone you know. We hope you will channel those feelings into your own mi sheberachs and have provided space toward the end of the book to write them down.

Each section begins with an introduction that has been adapted from the Blue Dove Foundation’s Jewish Mental Wellness Toolkit, which we developed in response to continuous requests for help in the area of mental health. As a practical guide for everyday use, it offers guidance and support for transforming our culture along with practical and concrete information about mental health and wellness. Created through a Jewish lens, this Toolkit is full of resources, facts, and suggested readings. We hope it will empower all of us to turn hope into action. Learn more at thebluedovefoundation.org/toolkit.

*When we began this book, many people were feeling isolated and depressed due to the social distancing measures stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. There is no doubt COVID-19 exacerbated the mental health crisis we’re experiencing. Fortunately, however, people are talking about it now, and it wasn’t surprising to see a large number of COVIDrelated mi sheberachs. But as we finished the book, the world has mostly opened up and started to ease toward some semblance of normalcy. People no longer need to stay isolated, and while we still find them meaningful, many of the mi sheberachs no longer are timely. For now, anyway; let’s hope they remain that way. If you would like to read those mi sheberachs, you can find them online at thebluedovefoundation.org/covidmisheberachs.