Article Discussion: Paging Dr. God: Jewish Views of Illness and Healing

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Click here to read the article:Paging Dr. God: Jewish Views of Illness and Healing

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"Judaism views illness as part of a natural order that God sets in motion but doesn't control, says Weintraub."

I truly wish that people would stop generalizing when they state their own views. "Judaism" does not have a dogma or doctrine about illness; thus, it is inaccurate to say that it "views" illness in a certain way.

In fact, traditionally, Jews would never have said that God cannot control something. The quoted view is one that has been advanced to explain why a loving God can allow bad things to happen. It reflects a limited view of God. Rather than admitting that God is a mystery, it feels better to us to assume that what we want is always what God wants; therefore, it's not God who is the mystery, but the illness.

If we admit that we cannot know God's nature, we wrestle -- like our forefather Jacob -- with the impossibility of seeing things from God's perspective. Therefore, the deepest prayer is one that prays for healing but humbly accepts the outcome. As we say when we hear that someone has died, "Bless God, the true judge." Just as we cannot understand death, we cannot understand why God allows illness and suffering. So we ask for God's mercy and healing, and trust that whatever happens is for the ultimate good, even if we cannot see it. (The book of Job underscores this point.)

[Unregistered]

In our congregation we say a Misha Berach for EVERYONE our members are concerned about, family, friends, national figures, everyone.  It is part of what  defines us as a religious community.