Refa'einu: Prayer, Sefirah and Healing from Trauma

In this episode, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu conclude their exploration of Marah and its connection to Refa’einu. The piece of the puzzle lies in understanding the meaning of God’s very strange method for turning the bitter waters sweet: uprooting a tree and throwing it into the waters. What message is this symbol meant to teach us? And what does it have to do with healing? The answers Rabbi Fohrman and Imu discover lead to a revolutionary way of thinking about faith, and how we can respond to the crises in our lives--especially the current crisis caused by COVID-19. This episode concludes the first half of Refa’einu. We hope you enjoyed listening. Normally, Aleph Beta’s most advanced courses, like Refa’einu, are available exclusively to our premium users. But we made the first half of Refa’einu available to everyone, because we hope it can offer solace and inspiration through these difficult times. If you liked what you heard, visit Alephbeta.org and sign up for Premium to listen to part two, where we continue to unpack the Torah’s messages about healing from Trauma, and glean new insight into how to handle the uncertainty of living through a pandemic.

In episode three, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu journeyed back to Egypt, for an in-depth account of the trauma the Israelites experienced there. In this episode, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu return to the story of Marah, to see if it reads any differently with this backstory in mind. What they discover is an incredible new meaning to God’s promise to be our Healer--a meaning that extends beyond individual healing to touch on the very essence of our national identity as caregivers to the world. Could it be that God’s promise to heal us is intimately bound up with our willingness to heal others? Listen to find out.

In episode two, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu looked deeper into the Biblical sources found in Refa’einu--the story of the splitting of the sea, and the story of the bitter waters of Marah. They discovered that these stories point to a mysterious illness which God cures the Israelites of... but what is this illness exactly? In this episode, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu begin to answer this question. Their journey leads them back to Egypt, and an in-depth account of the trauma the Israelites experienced there. Could it be this trauma is the mysterious illness alluded to? And, if yes, what would it mean to heal from this type of illness, physically, emotionally, and spiritually?

In episode one, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu discovered references in Refa’einu to two Biblical stories that appear at the very end of the redemption from Egypt: the story of the splitting of the sea, and the story that comes right after this: the bitter waters of marah. In this episode, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu dive even deeper into these two events, to discover why Chazal turned to them for guidance when writing Refa’einu. On the surface, neither event has very much to do with health or healing. However, if we take a much closer look--and carefully examine all the clues the text leaves for us--a very different picture emerges.

In this first episode of the series, Rabbi Fohrman and Imu begin their journey by looking closely at the language of Refa’einu. It turns out, this prayer is hinting at an event from the Exodus story. But it’s not one of the obvious contenders, like the plagues, or the splitting of the sea. It’s the strange story of the bitter waters the Israelites came to shortly after entering the desert, and how God turned these waters sweet for them. What does this have to do with Refa’einu? Listen to find out.