Serious illness: prayers in Judaism

Texts from their published editions. Guidance on what this tradition does at this moment is on the occasion page, and background on the tradition is at /traditions/jewish.

Texts from their published editions

Each text below was transcribed from the edition named under it and checked twice, independently, against that edition. Where the two transcriptions disagreed by even one character, the text is not shown here. That is a claim about wording only: these are not selected or endorsed for any particular situation, and nobody credentialed in the tradition has signed them. Older spelling is kept as the edition prints it.

Psalm 23 (JPS 1917)

A short psalm of trust attributed to David, widely used at funerals, at memorial gatherings and at the Sabbath afternoon meal in some communities. In Jewish use it is read in Hebrew from the Book of Psalms and is not tied to a fixed liturgical slot the way the fixed prayers are.

English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul;

He guideth me in straight paths for His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

For Thou art with me;

Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;

Thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;

And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Source

Nothing here has been signed by a reviewer credentialed in this tradition. When that happens, reviewed prayers appear above these, and these stay where they are, as an anthology. How that works.