Tefillah LaCholeh — Prayer for a Sick Person
The Tefillah LaCholeh is a prayer for the recovery of someone who is ill. It was composed by Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1724–1806), known by the acronym Chida, one of the great Sephardic Torah scholars and kabbalists of his generation. He wrote that this prayer's 'foundation is in the mountains of holiness,' indicating its deep spiritual grounding. It is recited on behalf of a specific sick person, with their Hebrew name and their mother's name spoken aloud. Whoever you are, you are welcome to offer this prayer.
Prayer for a Sick Person
A prayer for a sick person arranged by our master and teacher the Chida, of blessed memory, who wrote of it that 'its foundation is in the mountains of holiness.'
May it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our forefathers,
that You be filled with compassion for [say the name of the sick person and the name of his mother],
and may Your mercy overcome Your anger,
and may You annul from upon [say the name of the sick person and the name of his mother]
all harsh and evil decrees.
Please, merciful and gracious King,
be filled with compassion for [say the name of the sick person and the name of his mother]
who lies upon a bed of suffering,
and heal him with a complete healing,
for You in Your mercy heal the sick of Your people Israel.
And fulfill in us the verse that is written:
'Adonai will sustain him on the bed of illness;
all his lying down You have transformed in his sickness.'
And for the merit of Abraham, who is bound to loving-kindness,
Isaac, who is crowned with strength,
Jacob, who is bound to harmony,
Moses, who is bound to eternity,
Aaron, who is bound to splendor —
heal him with a complete healing,
and deliver his soul from death.
And with the power of the twenty-two letters of Your holy Torah
that we received at Mount Sinai,
open for [say the name of the sick person and the name of his mother]
the gates of recovery and healing,
the gates of health,
the gates of joy,
the gates of freedom,
the gates of glory and beauty,
the gates of ancestral merit,
the gates of compassion,
the gates of goodness,
the gates of salvation,
the gates of atonement,
the gates of a pure heart,
the gates of forgiveness,
the gates of pleasantness,
the gates of support,
the gates of help,
the gates of redemption,
the gates of righteousness,
the gates of dignity,
the gates of complete healing,
the gates of gladness,
the gates of deliverance.
And all the righteous deeds that he and the members of his household have done —
may they be remembered before Your throne of mercy
to advocate well on his behalf,
and do not deliver him into the hands of his enemies.
May Adonai guard him and grant him life,
length of days and years of life and peace.
And may it be Your will, O holy Name, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh —
who is the foundation of all, the essence of all, and the root of all,
who was, who is, and who will be —
that You send a complete healing to this sick person, [say the name of the sick person and the name of his mother],
and restore him to his place, that he may live and recover from his illness.
We know that we are not worthy to pray before You on our own behalf,
still less on behalf of others.
Yet we have set Your mercy before our eyes,
for You are compassionate,
and You hear the prayer of every mouth.
Therefore, in shame and humility, we have come to seek mercy and supplication
for [say the name of the sick person and the name of his mother], this sick person.
O God, please heal him;
cure him, restore him, strengthen him, and fortify him,
and fulfill the desires of his heart for good.
Act for the sake of Your Name,
act for the sake of Your right hand,
act for the sake of Your Torah,
act for the sake of Your holiness.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart find favor before You,
Adonai, my rock and my redeemer.
Tefillah LaCholeh
Tefillah laCholeh she-sider Maran Rabbeinu haChida ziya'a, she-katav aleha she-'yesodatah beharerei kodesh.'
Yehi ratzon milfanecha, Adonai Eloheinu v'Elohei avoteinu,
shtetamale rachamim al [yomar et shem haCholeh v'shem imo],
v'yichbeshu rachamecha et ka'asecha,
utevatel me'al [yomar et shem haCholeh v'shem imo]
kol gezeirot kashot v'ra'ot.
Ana Melech rachum v'chanun,
hitamale rachamim al [yomar et shem haCholeh v'shem imo]
hamuttal al eresh devi,
uterapeihu refuah shleimah,
ki Atah berachamecha rofeh cholei amecha Yisrael.
Utekayem banu mikra she-katuv:
Adonai yis'adennu al eresh devi,
kol mishkavo hafachta vechalyo.
Ulema'an zechut Avraham achuz bachesed,
Yitzchak ne'ezar bigvurah,
Ya'akov achuz batiferet,
Moshe achuz banetzach,
Aharon bahod —
terapehu refuah shleimah,
vetatzil mavet nafsho.
Uvkoach esrim v'shtayim otiyot Toratecha hakedoshah
she-kibalnu beHar Sinai,
tiftach le-[yomar et shem haCholeh v'shem imo]
sha'arei aruchah umarpeh,
sha'arei bri'ut,
sha'arei gilah,
sha'arei deror,
sha'arei hod vehadar,
sha'arei zechut avot,
sha'arei chemlah,
sha'arei tovah,
sha'arei yeshu'ah,
sha'arei kaparah,
sha'arei lev tahor,
sha'arei mechilah,
sha'arei ne'imut,
sha'arei semichah,
sha'arei ezrah,
sha'arei pedut,
sha'arei tzedakah,
sha'arei komemiyut,
sha'arei refuah shleimah,
sha'arei simchah,
sha'arei teshu'ah.
Vechol tzidkotav asher asah hu uvnei veito
yizacheru lifnei kise rachamecha
lehamlitz tov be'ado,
ve'al titnehu benefesh oyevav.
Adonai yishmerenu veyechayehu
le'orech yamim ushnot chayyim veshalom.
Vihi ratzon milfanecha hashem hakadosh Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh,
asher Hu yesod hakol ve'ikar hakol veshoresh hakol,
hayah hoveh veyihyeh —
shitishlach refuah shleimah leCholeh hazeh [yomar et shem haCholeh v'shem imo],
veta'amidenu al omdo viychi mecholyav.
Veyada'nu ki ein anu kedai lehitpallel lefanecha al atzmenu,
vechol sheken al acherim.
Avanem samnu rachamecha neged eineinu,
ki rachum Atah,
v'Atah shome'a tefillat kol peh.
Lachen bevishet panim atanu levakesh rachamim vetachanunin
al [yomar et shem haCholeh v'shem imo] haCholeh hazeh.
El na refa na lo,
utvari'eihu vetchalemeihu vetech'azkeihu vete'amtzeihu,
utmaleh mish'alot libo letovah.
Aseh lema'an shmecha,
aseh lema'an yeminecha,
aseh lema'an Toratecha,
aseh lema'an kedushatecha.
Yiheyu leratzon imrei fi vehegyon libi lefanecha,
Adonai tzuri vego'ali.
Common Questions
Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1724–1806), known by the Hebrew acronym Chida, was a towering figure in Sephardic Jewish life — a halakhic authority, kabbalist, bibliographer, and traveler who journeyed widely on behalf of Jewish communities. His statement that this prayer's 'foundation is in the mountains of holiness' suggests he considered it built upon deep Torah and kabbalistic sources, lending it particular spiritual weight. Prayers authored by recognized sages carry a special status in Jewish tradition, as their words are trusted to be carefully chosen and spiritually potent.
Jewish prayer tradition identifies a person in need of healing by their Hebrew name alongside their mother's Hebrew name — for example, 'Yosef ben Miriam.' This custom is documented in medieval Jewish sources and is linked to the verse in Psalms (116:16) 'I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid.' The mother's name is used because the bond of birth is certain and intimate, and because in this context we appeal to mercy, which is associated in Jewish thought with the maternal relationship.
The prayer asks God to open twenty-two gates of blessing on behalf of the sick person, beginning with healing and ending with salvation. The number twenty-two corresponds to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in which the Torah was given at Mount Sinai — and which the prayer explicitly invokes. Each gate represents a distinct dimension of wellbeing: health, joy, freedom, dignity, forgiveness, and more. This alphabetical, mystical structure reflects the Chida's kabbalistic sensibility and his conviction that language itself carries healing power.
The prayer calls upon the spiritual merit of the five great patriarchal and priestly figures, each associated with a specific divine quality (sefirah) in kabbalistic tradition: Abraham with chesed (loving-kindness), Isaac with gevurah (strength), Jacob with tiferet (beauty/harmony), Moses with netzach (eternity), and Aaron with hod (splendor). By invoking these figures and their qualities together, the prayer draws on the full spectrum of divine compassion. This is a classic feature of Jewish intercessory prayer — appealing not only on the basis of the sick person's own merit, but on the accumulated merit of the great ancestors.
'Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh' — 'I Am That I Am' or 'I Will Be What I Will Be' — is the name God reveals to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). The prayer describes it as 'the foundation of all, the essence of all, and the root of all,' encompassing past, present, and future existence. In kabbalistic thought, this name is associated with the highest levels of divine being and infinite mercy. The Chida directs the one praying to contemplate the inner meaning of this name's four letters as an act of mystical intention (kavanah).
Yes, absolutely. While this prayer is rooted in Jewish tradition — invoking the patriarchs, the Torah given at Sinai, and the people of Israel — it is fundamentally a cry of the human heart for a loved one's recovery, and its language of divine compassion speaks across boundaries. Non-Jewish readers are warmly welcome to pray these words on behalf of someone they love. You may simply hold in mind the person you are praying for when the prayer instructs you to say their name. The prayer's closing line, borrowed from Psalm 19, expresses a hope that any sincere person can share: 'May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart find favor before You.'