When the Pain Is Not of the Body
The wound you are carrying does not bleed where anyone can see it. But it is as real as anything a doctor could find. You know that. You feel it in the morning before you open your eyes, and you feel it at night when the world goes quiet and there is nothing left to distract you from it.
That is not a small thing.
Reb Noson of Breslov, the closest talmid of Rebbe Nachman, wrote a tefillah in Likutei Tefillos (I:27) that reaches into the heart of this kind of pain. He cries out to Hashem: “My soul is exceedingly bitter.” He does not hide the hurt. He does not dress it up. He brings it raw before the Ribbono Shel Olam and asks for rachamim, compassion that holds a person the way a mother holds a child. This prayer for emotional healing is for anyone who carries heaviness that others cannot see.
Before You Say This Tefillah
Find a quiet place. You do not need to have the right words. You do not need to feel strong. Just come as you are. Hashem already knows what you carry. Before you begin, open your heart with this tefillah composed by Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities:
Master of the Universe, my soul is exceedingly bitter. There is a wound inside that cannot be seen but hurts every moment. I carry pain that is not of the body. Heal me with compassion, not with judgment. Heal the soul as You heal the flesh. God of Meir, answer me.
If giving tzedakah, add:
In the merit of the tzedakah I give in the merit of Rabbi Meir, may You heal my soul. Ribbono Shel Olam, I care for Your children. Please care for me.
Reb Noson’s Tefillah: The Full Prayer
The following is an excerpt from Likutei Tefillos, Volume II, Tefillah 4, composed by Reb Noson of Breslov, based on Rebbe Nachman’s lesson in Likutei Moharan II:4. This is the section of the tefillah that speaks directly to healing of body and soul.
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם רִבּוֹנוֹ דְעַלְמָא כֹּלָּא רְפָאֵנִי יְהֹוָה וְאֵרָפֵא הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי וְאִוָּשֵׁעָה כִּי תְהִלָּתִי אָתָּה׃
כִּי אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ אֶת מְרִירוּת לְבָבִי אֶת מְרִירוּת מַכּוֹתַי הָאֲנוּשׁוֹת אֶת מְרִירוּת נַפְשִׁי הָאֻמְלָלָה כִּי נַפְשִׁי מָרָה לִי מְאֹד׃
וְאֶל מָה אֲדַמֶּה וְאַמְשִׁיל מְרִירוּתִי מַר מִמָּוֶת מַר מִלַּעֲנָה וָרֹאשׁ מַר מִכָּל מְרִירוּת שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם׃
וְאַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר לְפִי עֹצֶם חֻלְשׁוֹת נַפְשִׁי לְפִי עֹצֶם וְרִבּוּי הַחוֹלָאַת וְהַמַּכְאוֹבִים הָרָעִים וְהַמָּרִים׃
אֵין שׁוּם רְפוּאָה בָּעוֹלָם שֶׁתּוּכַל לְהוֹעִיל לִי׃
וַאֲפִלּוּ אִם תִּמָּצֵא בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ אֵיזֶה רְפוּאָה שֶׁיּוֹעִיל לִי אִי אֶפְשָׁר לִי לִסְבֹּל מְרִירוּת הָרְפוּאָה לְפִי מַכּוֹתַי הָאֲנוּשׁוֹת מְאֹד׃
Riboino shel oilom, Riboino d’alma kola, r’fo’eini Hashem v’eiro’fei, hoishi’eini v’ivoshei’o, ki s’hilosi Oto.
Ki Ato yodato es m’rirus l’vovi, es m’rirus makoisai ho’anushos, es m’rirus nafshi ho’umlolo, ki nafshi moro li m’oid.
V’el mo adameh v’amshil m’rirusi. Mar mimoves, mar mila’anoh vorosh, mar mikol m’rirus shebo’oilom.
V’Ato yodato Riboino shel oilom, asher l’fi oitzem chulshois nafshi, l’fi oitzem v’ribui hacholoas v’hamach’oivim horo’im v’hamorim.
Ein shum r’fuoh bo’oilom shetukal l’hoil li.
Va’afilu im timotzei b’rachamecho eizeh r’fuoh sheyoil li, i efshor li lisboll m’rirus hor’fuoh l’fi makoisai ho’anushos m’oid.
Ribono shel olam, Ribono de’alma kola, refa’eni Hashem ve’erafeh, hoshi’eni ve’ivvashe’a, ki tehilati Ata.
Ki Ata yadata et merirut levavi, et merirut makotai ha’anushot, et merirut nafshi ha’umlala, ki nafshi mara li me’od.
Ve’el ma adameh ve’amshil meriruti. Mar mimavet, mar mila’ana varosh, mar mikol merirut sheba’olam.
Ve’Ata yadata Ribono shel olam, asher lefi otzem chulshot nafshi, lefi otzem veribui hacholot vehamach’ovim hara’im vehamarim.
Ein shum refuah ba’olam shetukal leho’il li.
Va’afilu im timatze berachamecha eizeh refuah sheyo’il li, i efshar li lisboll merirut harefuah lefi makotai ha’anushot me’od.
Master of the world, Master of all existence, heal me, Hashem, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for You are my praise.
For You know the bitterness of my heart, the bitterness of my devastating wounds, the bitterness of my wretched soul. My soul is exceedingly bitter.
To what can I compare my bitterness? It is more bitter than death, more bitter than wormwood and gall, more bitter than all the bitterness in the world.
And You know, Master of the world, that because of the immense weakness of my soul, because of the great number of terrible, bitter afflictions and pains,
there is no remedy in the world that can help me.
And even if, in Your mercy, some remedy were found that might help me, I could not bear the bitterness of the cure, so severe are my wounds.
Reb Noson wrote this tefillah as a companion to the teachings of Rebbe Nachman in Likutei Moharan. The entire twenty-seventh prayer in the collection deals with healing, but the section above is the heart of it: a person who comes before Hashem with pain that no worldly remedy can touch. Reb Noson does not try to sound brave or polished. He brings the rawness, and that is what makes these words so powerful for anyone carrying pain on the inside.
What These Words Mean for You
Riboino shel oilom, r’fo’eini Hashem v’eiro’fei “Master of the world, heal me, Hashem, and I will be healed.”
These words come straight from the navi Yirmiyahu (17:14). Reb Noson opens with them because they carry a truth every person in pain needs to hear: healing does not start with a pill or a plan.
It starts with turning to the One who created you. The word r’fo’eini shares a root with the letters resh-pei-alef, the same root in the brachah of Rofei Cholei Amo Yisrael that we say every day in Shemoneh Esrei. When you say these words, you are placing your healing in Hashem’s hands. That is the first step.
Nafshi moro li m’oid “My soul is exceedingly bitter.”
Reb Noson cries out these words, and they echo what Chana said to Hashem in Shmuel I (1:10). The Gemara in Berachos (31b) derives from Chana that heartfelt tefillah, even silent, even bitter, is the highest form of prayer.
Reb Noson is telling us something here: you do not need to clean up your pain before you bring it to Hashem. You can come bitter. You can come broken. The bitterness itself becomes the tefillah. Mar mimoves, mar mila’anoh vorosh “More bitter than death, more bitter than wormwood and gall.”
Reb Noson uses the word mar, bitter, three times in a row. Not once. Three times.
Anyone who has lived with heaviness on the heart knows that there are days when the pain feels heavier than the body can hold. Reb Noson is saying: I see you. Hashem sees you. And there is no bitterness so deep that it cannot be brought before Him. A related tefillah that speaks to this same yearning is the prayer for self worth.
Ein shum r’fuoh bo’oilom shetukal l’hoil li “There is no remedy in the world that can help me.”
This is not despair. This is emunah at its deepest.
Reb Noson is saying: I have reached the end of what the world can offer me, and now I am turning to You alone. The word rachamim (compassion) shares a root with rechem (womb). The compassion Reb Noson is asking for is the kind that holds you close, the way a mother holds a child who is hurting. When human remedies fall short, there is still Hashem’s rachamim. That is what this prayer for emotional healing reaches for.
How to Say This Prayer
Morning, afternoon, or the middle of the night — Hashem is waiting to hear from you. Some people say it at night, when the house is quiet and they can be alone with Hashem. Others say it first thing in the morning, before the day begins. Say it when your heart is heavy. Say it when you need to.
Sitting or standing, at home or wherever you find a still moment. If you cannot read the Hebrew right now, use the transliteration or say it in English. Hashem hears every language. He hears the words you say and the ones you cannot get out.
Before you begin, set your kavanah. You might say quietly in your own words: “Hashem, I am hurting. I do not even know how to explain it. But You know. You see what is inside me. I am asking You to heal what is broken.”
Many who daven for this also find strength in the jewish prayer for anxiety.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness
The Gemara in Avodah Zarah (18a-18b) tells how Bruria asked Rabbi Meir to rescue her sister, who was condemned by the Romans to a house of shame. There seemed to be no way out. Rabbi Meir approached the guard with a bribe, teaching him to say “Eloka d’Meir aneni!” — “God of Meir, answer me!” — if he was ever in danger. When the guard asked for proof, Rabbi Meir said the words and nearby dogs that had been ready to attack turned away. The guard was convinced and released her, later relying on these words to miraculously save his life when he was caught.
You are asking for healing from a place that feels unreachable. Tefillah and tzedakah go together. When you daven and also give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, the two rise as one. Your words reach up and your chesed reaches out. It is asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the combined zechus of the great tzaddik Rabbi Meir and your own act of kindness.
After the tefillah, you may say: Elokah d’Meir aneni!
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799. It supports talmidei chachamim and the poor in Eretz Yisrael. The talmidei chachamim at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias daven for those who reach out to them. When you give tzedakah for the poor of Eretz Yisrael in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, your chesed and your tefillah rise together.
Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Reb Noson’s tefillah from Likutei Tefillos (II:4) speaks directly to pain of the soul. He cries out “My soul is exceedingly bitter” and asks Hashem for healing that no worldly remedy can give. These words were written for exactly this kind of moment. Yes. This tefillah is about healing of the neshama, not only the body. Reb Noson himself wrote about wounds that are not visible, pain that lives on the inside. You do not need a physical illness to bring this tefillah before Hashem. For a related tefillah, see the prayer for burnout . Whenever your heart is heavy. There is no required time or posture. Sitting, standing, in bed if that is where you are. Morning or night. Say it in Hebrew, in English, or in your own words. Hashem hears all of it. God of Meir, answer me.” These are the words Rabbi Meir said to the guard when there seemed to be no way out, and Hashem answered. Saying these words alongside the tefillah and giving tzedakah is an act of emunah that Hashem hears every cry. Tzedakah adds a real act of chesed to your tefillah. You are caring for others while asking Hashem to care for you. Generations of Yidden have given in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness at their most difficult moments. The chesed you do for others opens a channel of rachamim for yourself while tapping in to the merit of Rabbi Meir.
A Prayer for Your Healing
The fact that you are looking for this tefillah tells me that somewhere inside, you still believe healing is possible. Hold on to that.
May the Ribbono Shel Olam, who knows every wound you carry, send you a refuah sheleimah of the neshama. May the heaviness begin to lift, little by little, day by day. May you find the right people to talk to and the strength to reach out. May Hashem hold you with the rachamim of a mother holding a child, the way Reb Noson asked. And may you look back on this time and see that even here, even in the darkest place, Hashem was with you.
You can submit a prayer request to the talmidei chachamim at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for your healing by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your prayer.
