Writings from Rabbi Glickman

The “Miracle Crusade” is coming to Tacoma! As I write these words, many in our region eagerly await the arrival of Pastor Benny Hinn, a man his website describes as “a recognized and respected teacher, healing evangelist, and best-selling author.”

Like others, I have seen Mr. Hinn on TV. Thousands attend his worship services. As they begin, inspirational music, prayer, and preaching uplift the crowd with ecstatic energy. Finally, scores of ailing believers approach the white-suited Hinn - sometimes one-by-one, sometimes in groups. Mr. Hinn puts his hand upon the forehead of each, and - whoosh! - they fall back into the arms of people waiting behind them, completely healed (we are told) from whatever malady had been plaguing them. Tumors disappear, the wheelchair-bound walk, cancer remisses.

For me to speculate as to the validity of Mr. Hinn’s work - or lack thereof - would be inappropriate. So I won’t do that.

Instead, what I will say is that, for many centuries, Judaism has approached the matter of healing quite differently than he does. For starters, we don’t talk about it as much. Yes, there are stories of healing in Jewish scripture, and our tradition speaks of illness and recovery at length. However, there is no direct commandment in Judaism to heal the sick. After all, some illnesses cannot be cured. Instead, we are supposed to visit the sick. Judaism teaches that what those in pain need most is not supernatural intervention, but rather the presence of loving friends and a caring community.

The ancient rabbis taught that such a visit brings one-sixtieth of a person’s healing.

In my experience, I have found that when a person is truly present for another who is ill, the healing that happens far exceeds one-sixtieth. When we really touch somebody who suffers, we usually cannot help but assist their healing. Even if their body is still just as sick.

In Judaism, you see, we go for the hug rather than the whoosh. We’ve found it to be a much more effective method of treatment.

Of course, Judaism sees doctors as having an integral roll, too. The ancient rabbis I just mentioned also taught that God wants us to heal when we suffer, and that he turns to physicians for help. Thus, in Judaism doctors (and other health-care workers, as well) become the hands of God, helping God attend to the sacred work of healing the sick.

I imagine a chorus of ancient rabbis calling to Mr. Hinn from on high: “Benny - yes, you down there in the Tacoma Dome - enough with all of this whooshing business, already. Those people are sick - send them to the doctor!”

Finally, Mr. Hinn’s supporters point to the miracles that happen around him as evidence of the wonderful things he can do. “Where else,” they seem to ask us, “can we see miracles like these taking place these days?”

Nowhere else, of course - what Mr. Hinn does seems so…miraculous. However, although I can’t comment as to whether these supernatural “miracles” are real or staged, I can say that I see other kinds of healing miracles all the time. I see love deepen when families and friends share the experience of illness; I see placebos work; I see people face tragic pain and disfigurement, and still remember how to smile.

Many look to the whoosh to find miracles. I, however, look instead to hands held tightly, hope made real, and weak smiles surrounded by haloes of hospital sheets. Miracles such as these occur within the natural world - not beyond it. They embody healing of heart and mind and spirit, and are truly profound.

By the time you read this, Benny Hinn’s “Miracle Crusade” will have come to Tacoma and gone. Perhaps there will really have been miraculous healing there - I certainly hope so. Perhaps it will only have looked miraculous. Regardless, many of us will continue trying to heal the old fashioned Jewish way - we’ll visit the sick people. We’ll try to be present in their lives. And we’ll make sure they have good doctors, too.

This ancient Jewish approach to healing tends to work very well. The only problem I have is that I still haven’t figured out how to say, “whoosh!” in Hebrew.

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