Is It a Lack of Faith in G-d if a Person Goes to the Doctor?
Just the opposite!
G-d wants us to bring down His miraculous healing power through these physical channels which He creates for His spiritual blessings to be manifested in the world.
As we know, G-d sends the angel of healing, Raphael (whose name means “G-d has healed”) to accompany the doctor in his Divine mission to provide a healing remedy to the patient. Raphael was one of the three angels who visited Abraham after his circumcision, with the mission to bring to him the healing from G-d.
He is also an angel of mercy, so from there he was sent on the mission to save Lot and his family from G-d’s destruction of the metropolis of Sodom. (See Rashi’s explanations of the verses in that section of Genesis).
Some of the greatest sages in Jewish history, for example Maimonides (Rambam), were also expert doctors who dedicated a great amount of their time and energy to healing both Jewish and Gentile patients. The famous “Oath of Maimonides” for medical doctors reads as follows (quoted from Wikipedia):
“The Eternal Providence has appointed me to watch over the life and health of Thy creatures. May the love for my art actuate me at all time; may neither avarice nor miserliness, nor thirst for glory or for a great reputation engage my mind; for the enemies of truth and philanthropy could easily deceive me and make me forgetful of my lofty aim of doing good to Thy children.
May I never see in the patient anything but a fellow creature in pain.
Grant me the strength, time and opportunity always to correct what I have acquired, always to extend its domain; for knowledge is immense and the spirit of man can extend indefinitely to enrich itself daily with new requirements. Today he can discover his errors of yesterday and tomorrow he can obtain a new light on what he thinks himself sure of today.
Oh, G-d, Thou has appointed me to watch over the life and death of Thy creatures; here am I ready for my vocation and now I turn unto my calling.”
There are some short prayers that are traditional to say before and after taking medication. From the Mishneh Brurah, this prayer should be recited BEFORE taking medicine or when one undergoes a medical procedure:
“May it be Your will L-rd G-d, that this use of medicine bring me good health, for You heal graciously.” [Code of Jewish Law, Orakh Hayim 230:4]
AFTER taking medicine or after a medical procedure, it is traditional to say:
“Blessed is the Healer of the sick.”
Brought by Rabbi Moshe Perets
Rabbi Moshe Perets is the Founder and Executive Director of NoahideAcademy.org, the world’s largest Noahide informational website. He has established the Noahide Academy of Israel website under the non-profit organisation - אור לעמים - Light Unto the Nations since 2016. He accomplished his Rabbinical Studies at the Chabad Yeshiva of Brussels in 2011. He has a medical degree by the University of Louvain in Brussels as well a Masters in Biomedical Research by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has for the past years focused on Psychotherapy and developed a new approach: Deep Soul Therapy. He is a spiritual mentor, teacher, coach, and healer who has helped facilitate profound shifts for hundreds of people around the globe. His teaching activities at the Noahide Academy allowed students from all over the world to live passionate, purposeful lives, connect more intimately with G-d, and reveal the hidden light and power of their souls. Rabbi Moshe Perets lives currently in Israel with his wife and 5 children.
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