It is known from the Midrashim that our world was created through the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
The Torah, written with the 22 Hebrew letters, is the genetic code of the universe.
Rabbi Avraham Hamoy reveals in his book «Yemalet Nafsho» that the soul is connected to the body through the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. These letters are channels connecting the 248 limbs of the body with the 248 parts of the soul. When this connection is severed and the letter-channels rise up, a person dies. Through the secret of the 22 letters of the alphabet, a person can be brought back to life.
We already know that the world was created through the 22 letters of the alphabet, but we must also remember that five of them, those that also have a final form, are called םןץףך — MaNTzePaKh — and symbolize five judgments. If we add the gematria values of these letters, we obtain the number 280 — «par» פר. All illnesses stem from «par dinim» (280 judgments) — the source of all illness. And all of them result from a person's sins: he sins and opens a channel for negative forces — «par dinim». To change the situation, the letters must be raised to the source of all letters, the root of the alphabet, the letter א. If the letters פר are raised to their source — א — they form the word רפא (heal). When the judgments are raised to their root, healing comes. The Ari HaKadosh taught that all spiritual and material changes in the world take place through these 22 letters of the Torah.The Baal Shem Tov taught that when a person has a problem, it is beneficial for him to recite aloud pesukim (verses) from the Torah, Tehillim, and the Prophets that describe the same problem — health, livelihood, or salvation. It is customary to recite them a specific number of times: 3, 7, 17, or 40.
Pesukim from Tanakh for Healing 1. Shemot 15:26 ויאמר אם שמע תשמע לקול ה' אלקיך והישר בעיניו תעשה והאזנת למצותיו ושמרת כל חוקיו, כל המחלה אשר שמתי במצרים לא אשים עליך כי אני ה' רופאך. (שמות טו כו) - «Vayomer im-shamoa tishma lekol Ado-nai Elohecha, vehayashar be'einav ta'aseh, veha'azanta lemitzvotav vesh martah kol-chukav; kol-hamachalah asher samti veMitzrayim lo-asim alecha, ki ani Ado-nai rofecha» - (And He said: “If you will diligently heed the voice of the L-rd your G-d, do what is right in His eyes, listen to His commandments, and observe all His statutes, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon Egypt, for I am the L-rd, your healer”); 2. Shemot 23:25 ועבדתם את ה' אלקיכם וברך את לחמך ואת מימיך, והסירותי מחלה מקרבך - «Va'avadtem et Ado-nai Elohechem uverach et-lachmecha ve'et-memecha, vahasiroti machalah mikirbecha» - (And you shall serve the L-rd your G-d, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove illness from your midst); 3. Bamidbar 12:13 ויצעק משה אל ה' לאמר, א-ל נא רפא נא לה – «Vayitz'ak Moshe el Ado-nai lemor: El na, refa na lah» – (And Moshe cried out to the L-rd, saying: “Please, G-d, please heal her”); 4. Tehillim 6:3 חנני ה' כי אומלל אני רפאני ה' כי נבהלו עצמי - «Choneini Ado-nai, ki umlal ani; refa'eini Ado-nai, ki nivhalu atzamai» - (Have mercy on me, O L-rd, for I am languishing; heal me, O L-rd, for my bones tremble); 5. Tehillim 30:3 ה' אֱלֹהָ֑י שִׁוַּ֥עְתִּי אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ וַתִּרְפָּאֵֽנִי׃ - «Ado-nai Elohai, shivati elecha vatirpa'eini» - (O L-rd, my G-d! I cried out to You, and You healed me); 6. Tehillim 107:20 יִשְׁלַ֣ח דְּ֭בָרוֹ וְיִרְפָּאֵ֑ם וִֽ֝ימַלֵּ֗ט מִשְּׁחִיתוֹתָֽם - «Yishlach devaro veyirpa'em, vimalet mishchitotam» - (He sent forth His word and healed them, and delivered them from their graves); 7. Tehillim 41:4 ה' יִ֭סְעָדֶנּוּ עַל־עֶ֣רֶשׂ דְּוָ֑י כָּל־מִ֝שְׁכָּב֗וֹ הָפַ֥כְתָּ בְחָלְיֽוֹ - «Ado-nai yis'adenu al-eres devai; kol-mishkavo hafachta vecholyov» - (The L-rd will sustain him on his sickbed; You will transform his bed in his illness); 8. Tehillim 7:2 ה’ אֱ֭לֹהַי בְּךָ֣ חָסִ֑יתִּי הוֹשִׁיעֵ֥נִי מִכָּל־רֹ֝דְפַ֗י וְהַצִּילֵֽנִי – «Ado-nai Elohai, becha chasiti, hoshi'eini mikol rodfai, vehatzileini» – (O L-rd, my G-d, in You I have placed my trust; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me); This pasuk contains, encoded twice, the second of the 72 Holy Names of Ha-Shem, about which the Arizal said that it raises a sick person from his bed — ילי.9. Yeshayahu 38:5
הָלוֹךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל-חִזְקִיָּהוּ, כֹּה-אָמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי דָּוִד אָבִיךָ, שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת- עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה תְּפִלָּתֶךָ, רָאִיתִי אֶת-דִּמְעָתֶךָ; הִנְנִי יוֹסִף עַל-יָמֶיךָ, חֲמֵשׁ
- «Halokh ve'amarta el-Chizkiyahu: koh amar Ado-nai Elohei David avicha: shamati et-tefilatecha, ra'iti et-dim'atecha; hineni yosif al-yamecha chamesh esreh shanah»
(Go and say to Chizkiyahu: Thus said the L-rd, the G-d of David your father: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life);
10. Yeshayahu 38:21
וַיֹּאמֶר יְשַׁעְיָהוּ, יִשְׂאוּ דְּבֶלֶת תְּאֵנִים; וְיִמְרְחוּ עַל-הַשְּׁחִין, וְיֶחִי
- «Vayomer Yeshayahu: yisu develet te'enim; veyimrechu al-hashchin veyechi» -
(And Yeshayahu said: Let them bring a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover).
Stories of Tzadikim for HealingIt is related that the Baal Shem Tov taught — and Baba Sali likewise emphasized — that stories about Tzadikim who faced the same problem help a person undergoing yissurim (trials).
Berachah for Refuah Shleimah When Baba Sali was ill and lying in the hospital before surgery, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu came to visit the Tzadik, but the guard at the entrance to the ward would not allow the Rav to enter, following the doctors' instructions. When Baba Sali learned of this, he told the guard to let the visitor in, saying that he knew this was Rav Mordechai Eliyahu. When the Rav entered, Baba Sali asked him to pray for him and give him a blessing that the surgery would be avoided. A few days later, Baba Sali recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Rav Mordechai Eliyahu asked Baba Sali why the Tzadik had asked him to give a berachah. Baba Sali told him that he had received from Ha-Shem the keys to blessing the sick with healing, but after him these keys would be passed to him — Rav Mordechai Eliyahu. Healing Through Sipurei Tzadikim Tikun Evarim (rectification of the limbs)Tikkun Evarim (Organs) in Tehillim 51 and the Ari's Mikveh
(Based on a lesson by Rav Yisrael Yakovov, “Healing Through Torah”)
