Jewish health segulos have been the key to attaining the blessing of health even for people who were very sick. Receive the benefits of good health through fulfilling a segulah for Refuah Shleimah.
What Segulos for Health Can Do
Most people have times when they worry about their health. A routine scan might come back with worrisome results, or perhaps a new pain or weakness has become an unwelcome part of your life. Whatever the reason for your health concerns, it’s helpful to keep in mind the Jewish perspective on health. In Judaism, Hashem is called the Rofeh Chol Basar, the Healer of all Flesh. That means that ultimately, no matter what the doctor says, your health is in Hashem’s hands.
Knowing that Hashem is the true Doctor means that although you may turn to human doctors for healing, you don’t feel bound by their prognoses or statistics. Hashem is more powerful than science, and can heal you, regardless of what the statistics show.
Jewish history is full of stories of people who turned to Hashem for healing, through prayers and segulos for health. Many of them had miraculous recoveries, with doctors admitting that there was no way to explain the turnaround except as a G-dly intervention.
In order to merit this kind of Divine assistance, it’s important to be cognizant that true healing comes only from Hashem. Turning to Hashem through prayer and fulfilling a segulah for health will help you remember that Hashem is in charge of your health and thereby you will accrue merits for a Refuah Shleimah.
Segulos for a Refuah Shleimah
The best type of segulah for health is one that helps you feel calm and able to trust that Hashem will give you everything you need. Therefore, many segulos for health involve prayers and other mitzvos (good deeds) that bring one closer to Hashem.
Here is a list of segulos for health in Jewish tradition:
- Get A Bracha from Tzaddik
If someone is sick, or their family member becomes sick, one should ask a tzaddik (righteous person) to give their blessing that the person be healed. In fact, getting a bracha from tzaddik is already mentioned in the Talmud as the proper course of action when someone is ill.
Another way of receiving the benefit of a tzaddik’s intervention is through praying at a tzaddik’s kever (gravesite). One should pray that the tzaddik plead for mercy from Hashem. Rabbi Meir Baal Haness prayers at the kever are specifically known as a merit for healing.
When requesting a bracha from tzaddik for health, or praying at the gravesite of a tzaddik, it’s important to remember that Hashem is the Only One that can truly help. We don’t ask the tzaddik for the actual healing, only for the tzaddik to invoke his merit to ask Hashem for help on our behalf. Praying in this way brings us reassurance that Hashem, Who is in charge of our health, will surely help us.
- Say a Tefillah for Health
Praying to Hashem to heal you reminds you that your health is actually in Hashem’s hands, as mentioned earlier. This perspective is beneficial in many ways, but the realization also brings you to a higher level of awareness of Hashem. On this higher level of awareness, you are more deserving of the blessing of health.
You can say the following tefillah for health before taking any medication or undergoing a medical procedure:
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיך ה אֶלוֹקַי שֶיְהֵא עֵסֶק זֶה לִי לִרְפוּאָה כִּי רוֹפֵא חִינָם אָתָה
Yehi ratzon milfanecha adonay elohay sheyehai eisek zeh li l’refuah ki rofeh chinam atah.
The meaning of the tefillah is as follows: We ask Hashem to allow this medication or procedure to heal us, because in fact Hashem is a Free Healer. Although Hashem can heal us without any intervention at all, we are supposed to do hishtadlus (put in our effort), while davening that the intervention should bring healing. Through this prayer we acknowledge that the intervention can heal us even if it is not physically effective, because Hashem does not need physical means to give us a full healing.
A tefillah for health is said every day in the Shemoneh Esrei, (Standing Prayers). The eighth blessing in this prayer, רְפָאֵֽנוּ, which is said three times daily in the synagogues, is where we ask Hashem for full recovery.
There is also a yehi ratzon that can be inserted into this tefillah, in which you can mention the specific Hebrew name of a choleh (sick person). This yehi ratzon asks that the sick person be healed together with all the sick people of the Jewish nation.
רְפָאֵֽנוּ יְהֹוָה וְנֵרָפֵא הוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ וְנִוָּשֵֽׁעָה כִּי תְהִלָּתֵֽנוּ אָֽתָּה וְהַעֲלֵה רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה לְכָל מַכּוֹתֵֽינוּ* כִּי אֵל מֶֽלֶךְ רוֹפֵא נֶאֱמָן וְרַחֲמָן אָֽתָּה: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה רוֹפֵא חוֹלֵי עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל
Heal us, Hashem, and we will be healed, deliver us and we will be delivered; for You are our praise. Grant a complete healing to all our affliction*. Because You are the Almighty, King, Who is a faithful and merciful Healer. Blessed are You, Hashem, Healer of the sick of His people Israel.
*If you wish to pray for the recovery of a sick person, you may do so here.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּ֒פָנֶֽיךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ שֶׁתִּשְׁלַח מְהֵרָה רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה מִן הַשָּׁמַֽיִם, רְפוּאַת הַנֶּֽפֶשׁ וּרְפוּאַת הַגּוּף, לַחוֹלֶה (פלוני/פלונית) בֶּן/בַּת (פלונית) בְּתוֹךְ שְׁאָר חוֹלֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
May it be Your will, Adonoy, our God, and the God of our fathers, that You send, quickly, a complete recovery from the heavens, healing for the soul, and healing for the body, for the ailing (name) son/daughter of (mother’s name) among the ailing of Israel.
Concentrating on the meaning of the words when praying is a very powerful way to merit healing, both for yourself and for any loved ones.
A general tefillah for health is also said as part of the Mi Shebeirach that is recited after a Torah reading. This Mi Shebeirach also gives the opportunity to mention the names of specific sick people by name, as well as requesting good health for the entire congregation and all Jewish people.
- Recite Psalms for Good Health
Saying Tehillim (Psalms), is considered a great segulah for health. Dovid Hamelech (King David) was a tzaddik who composed the Psalms throughout the many troubles he faced throughout his life, always turning to Hashem no matter how great his suffering was. David HaMelech imbued his closeness to Hashem into his composition of Tehillim, and every one of us can tap into that by reciting Tehillim carefully and with concentration. This actually adds merits to the sick person, enabling them to be healed.
You can also say specific Psalms that are propitious for healing and for health. These specific Psalms are segulos for health:
Tehillim Chapters 20, 30, 121, 130, 142
Asking an Orthodox Rabbi for specific Psalms recommendations if you are praying for a specific illness or procedure can be helpful to ensure that all goes well.
- Engage in Torah Learning for Long Life
In Jewish tradition, being involved in learning Torah is one of the greatest merits a person can attain. This great merit of Torah learning stands a person in good stead to have a long and healthy life. To acquire this merit, a person can learn whichever part of Torah he is familiar with. There are many resources that offer a wide array of Torah content for those who want to learn, including online resources.
Another way of tapping into the merit of Torah learning is to support Torah scholars who learn Torah in depth.
Specifically, the study of Mishnah, or learning mishnayos, is mentioned as one of the segulos for health and long life. Jewish tradition favors mishnayos as the area of Torah that is most propitious for the blessing of long life.
You can also sponsor Torah scholars who will learn Mishnayos for you. RMBH offers a service where you can donate to have Torah scholars learn Mishnayos specifically in your merit.
- Concentrate on the Prayer of Asher Yatzar
A tried and true segulah for health which many people have seen healing from is to recite the blessing of Asher Yatzar with concentration.
The blessing of Asher Yatzar is said every time one leaves the restroom, to thank Hashem for the miracle of a functioning body. It’s a beautiful blessing in which we declare that every part of our body is made with wisdom, and we bless Hashem for healing all flesh. The text of Asher Yatzar is as follows:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה וּבָרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים גָּלוּי וְיָדוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶךָ שֶׁאִם יִפָּתֵחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם אוֹ יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם וְלַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶיךָ אֲפִילוּ שָׁעָה אֶחָת. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשֹוֹת
Baruch atah Adonoi, Elohainu, melech ha’olam, Asher yatzar et ha’adam b’chochmah, u’vara vo n’kavim n’kavim, chalulim chalulim, galui v’yadua lifnai chisei chvodecha, she’im yipatei’ach echad maihem o yisataim echad maihem, ee efshar l’hitkayeim v’la’amod l’fanecha afilu sha’ah achat. Baruch atah Adonoi, rofeh chol basar u’mafli la’asot.
Asher Yatzar’s English translation is as follows:
Blessed are You, Hashem, Our God, King of the World, Who formed man with wisdom and created within him many openings and hollows. It is known before Your Throne of Glory that if one of them were to be open or blocked, it would be impossible to stand before You for even one hour. Blessed are You Hashem, Who heals all flesh and acts wondrously.
Keeping one’s concentration on the wonders of the human body and focusing on Hashem’s kindness and healing as one recites the blessing is a wonderful merit for healing. You can also ask others to recite the prayer with concentration as a merit for your own healing.
One way to ensure proper concentration is to read the text as opposed to reciting it from memory. Many people will hang up signs near the washing station, where they wash their hands to say the bracha. Then the text is always handy when they are ready to say it. It can be very helpful to distribute such signs to those that offer to recite this prayer with concentration in your merit.
- Donate Tzedakah (Charity) for Health
Rabbis have recommended that charity be given before one prays to make one’s prayers more effective. Specifically, donating to the charity of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness is a segulah for a Refuah Shleimah.
There is no minimum donation to fulfill this segulah. Any donation, especially if it is accompanied by prayer, will be a fulfillment of donating tzedakah for health. Even people in critical condition can see a miraculous turnaround through donating. As the verse tells us, “Tzedakah tatzil mimaves,” which means, “Charity saves one from death.”
Donating to help poor brides get married is another specific segulah for health which has brought many people healing. Helping poor brides get married is a special mitzvah called hachnosas kallah (supporting the bride). This mitzvah is mentioned in Eilu Devarim of the daily prayers in between the words “bikur cholim” (visiting the sick), and the words “levayas hameis” (accompanying the dead). The Steipler, a great tzaddik (righteous person) would say that there is a hint in these words. If one fulfills hachnosas kallah, visiting the sick doesn’t turn into accompanying the dead.
- Write a Will
Although it may sound counterintuitive, making the preparations for one’s death, such as writing a will or buying a burial plot, is actually a segulah for a long life. Many people who are sick take care of these death planning arrangements as part of Jewish health segulos, and go on to live long, healthy lives.
When To Do Jewish Health Segulos
All of the segulos mentioned in this article can be done at any time, even when one is healthy and well. Doing actions that benefit health and help you merit a long life are always a good idea, whether you are hale and hearty or facing a serious health concern.
However, when you or someone you know is experiencing health issues or even life-threatening conditions, it can be especially helpful to consider fulfilling one of these segulos for health. As you fulfill the Segulah, remembering that Hashem is the Ultimate Healer serves as a powerful merit for recovery. Specifically, the segulah of brachah from tzaddik or praying at the tzaddik’s gravesite adds many additional benefits in a time when they are most needed.
To fulfill the segulah of praying at a tzaddik’s gravesite, as well as gaining the merit of tzedakah, take advantage of RMBH’s prayer services. Even if you cannot be at the gravesite of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness yourself, you can still have the benefit and merit of prayers recited there. Every donation to the charity of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness is a great merit, but getting Rabbi Meir Baal Haness prayers recited on your behalf is even greater.
Jewish Guidance for the Sick
Perspectives on Jewish Health Maintenance 
Prayers and Segulahs for
a Healthy Pregnancy 
A Guide to Jewish Care
for the Ill
