Openings and Closings: The Value of Caring for the Whole Patient in Traditional Jewish Prayer
Jessica Frey, MD, University of Florida
Analysis of traditional Jewish prayer, specifically the Asher Yatzar, offers a number of insights into the intersection between medicine and religion and what it means to be healthy. A lesser-known prayer, the Asher Yatzar is recited after elimination of urine or emptying of bowels. On the surface, this may seem like a trivial prayer about going to the bathroom, but the complexity of meaning is much deeper. In fact, the modern-day medical perspective of caring for the whole patient from a biopsychosocial perspective is echoed in this religious prayer.
The prayer first thanks G-d for the chochma, or wisdom, with which G-d created the human body. Chochma can be broken down into two words: choach, or “potential” and ma, or “to be.” Many scholars interpret chochma as the soul of the individual, the spiritual starting point of creation, from which all future potential will develop. The Asher Yatzar then thanks G-d for the physical human body, calling the organs, arteries, tissues, and sinews a “miraculous combination.” Arguably the most meaningful line, the prayer goes on to thank G-d for the way in which the body has been assembled, stating that “if one of these were to be open where it should be closed, or closed where it should be open” the person reciting the prayer would not be alive.
This statement is both literal and metaphorical. From a literal standpoint, the prayer thanks G-d for the closings and openings in our bodies. For example, the ability to keep air inside of our lungs in spite of having so many holes, or orifices, in our body is miraculous. The Asher Yatzar therefore is a prayer that thanks G-d for the normal functioning of the human body. The fact that the Asher Yatzar is a compulsory prayer to be said each time one uses the bathroom serves as a reminder to be grateful for the normal functioning of the human body on a regular basis. If something as mundane as the act of going to the bathroom can be held to a sacred standard, then other aspects of health must also be sacred.
Just as the physical body depends on the proper closings and openings to function correctly, we must be attuned to the emotional and spiritual openings and closings in our life to be whole individuals. Similarly, it is important to be aware of the holes (both literal and figurative) in patients, so that whole patient can be effectively treated. This concept is reiterated another traditional Jewish prayer for healing, the Mi Shebeirach. This prayer asks for both a physical healing (“renewal of body”) as well as a spiritual healing (“renewal of spirit”). Indeed, health is not merely a physical state; only by caring for the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our lives can we achieve our fullest, truest selves using the chochma with which G-d initially imbued us. Thus the Asher Yatzar is a powerful example of the contemporary views of health and caring for the whole patient.
The prayer first thanks G-d for the chochma, or wisdom, with which G-d created the human body. Chochma can be broken down into two words: choach, or “potential” and ma, or “to be.” Many scholars interpret chochma as the soul of the individual, the spiritual starting point of creation, from which all future potential will develop. The Asher Yatzar then thanks G-d for the physical human body, calling the organs, arteries, tissues, and sinews a “miraculous combination.” Arguably the most meaningful line, the prayer goes on to thank G-d for the way in which the body has been assembled, stating that “if one of these were to be open where it should be closed, or closed where it should be open” the person reciting the prayer would not be alive.
This statement is both literal and metaphorical. From a literal standpoint, the prayer thanks G-d for the closings and openings in our bodies. For example, the ability to keep air inside of our lungs in spite of having so many holes, or orifices, in our body is miraculous. The Asher Yatzar therefore is a prayer that thanks G-d for the normal functioning of the human body. The fact that the Asher Yatzar is a compulsory prayer to be said each time one uses the bathroom serves as a reminder to be grateful for the normal functioning of the human body on a regular basis. If something as mundane as the act of going to the bathroom can be held to a sacred standard, then other aspects of health must also be sacred.
Just as the physical body depends on the proper closings and openings to function correctly, we must be attuned to the emotional and spiritual openings and closings in our life to be whole individuals. Similarly, it is important to be aware of the holes (both literal and figurative) in patients, so that whole patient can be effectively treated. This concept is reiterated another traditional Jewish prayer for healing, the Mi Shebeirach. This prayer asks for both a physical healing (“renewal of body”) as well as a spiritual healing (“renewal of spirit”). Indeed, health is not merely a physical state; only by caring for the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our lives can we achieve our fullest, truest selves using the chochma with which G-d initially imbued us. Thus the Asher Yatzar is a powerful example of the contemporary views of health and caring for the whole patient.