Safed rabbi rolls out Jewish prayer for coronavirus

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu suggests a Jewish prayer to heal the thousands afflicted with coronavirus.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A man wears a mask as he walks past a mural showing a modified image of the Chinese Communist Party emblem in Shanghai, China after the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, January 28, 2020 (photo credit: REUTERS/ALY SONG)
A man wears a mask as he walks past a mural showing a modified image of the Chinese Communist Party emblem in Shanghai, China after the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, January 28, 2020
(photo credit: REUTERS/ALY SONG)

The Rabbi of Safed, Shmuel Eliyahu, released on Thursday an opinion article in the portal Srugim in which he argued that just as Abraham prayed for the recovery of Abimelech [Genesis 20:17], so should the Jewish people today pray for the recovery of the thousands suffering from coronavirus.

“There is now a plague in China,” he said, “it infected tens of thousands and laid waste to thousands. The Torah says  “do not be hardhearted" (Deuteronomy 15:7).

"We must pray for them, either each worshiper on his own during the blessing He who hears our prayers or collectively when the ark in which the Torah scroll is kept is opened," he said. 

The Rabbi also provided a general version of the prayer, which might be used for coronavirus as well as all other diseases.