Kol Ha Bayit (BST Blog)

At every service conducted at Beth Sholom Temple, we set aside time to pray for people in need of healing, inviting those present to say aloud the names of people they are thinking of.  We sing “Mi Shebeirach”, asking the One who blessed our ancestors to please help our loved ones who are ailing.  While our service leaders (lay and professional) approach this portion of the service in varied ways, the core intention is to allow those present to say aloud the names people they love who are sick, joining their voices to recite or sing this prayer for healing.  Whether we ask G-d to intercede, or whether we simply lift up the hurt and suffering in our world to G-d, this is a central component of our worship. 

It is also a custom for the service leader to read aloud the names on our “Mi Shebeirach List”. 

Periodically, we start the list anew – and now, the end of the calendar year, is such a time.  Please contact the temple office if you or someone in your family is in need of a prayer for healing.  While our love and concern for others does not stop at the congregational door, we ask that names you add to Beth Sholom’s Mi Shebeirach list focus on those connected to our membership family.

Whatever this ritual means to you, I hope you will agree that it involves you.  Please be present partake, personally, in this prayer, and to say aloud the names of those in your heart.  Being part of the service minyan, joining our voices together, is what gives this prayer its power.