Wise Words
I recently "benched gomeil."'
For those of you who know what that means, everything’s fine. For those of you new to that term, it basically means saying a “blessing of redemption.” And what that means is that it’s a prayer for someone to say who has been through a harrowing experience, either their own or who has even been witness to someone else’s.
One says:
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, ha-gomel l’chayavim tovot she-g’malani kol tov.
Blessed are You, Adonai, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who rewards the undeserving with goodness, and who has rewarded me with goodness.
After the recitation of this blessing among others, the others then respond:
Mi she-g’malcha kol tov, hu yi-g’malcha kol tov selah.
May the One who rewarded you with all goodness reward you with all goodness forever.
I’m always a little skeptical of whether or not I or anyone “deserves” or “doesn’t deserve” goodness, or whether or not there is some sort of Divine bestowing of “reward” or “punishment.” But I can tell you that when I stood with the others who had experienced this event, too, and who said this prayer with me, I was truly grateful.
Shabbat shalom,
Robin
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