Torah reading term · מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ
Mi Sheberach: Meaning, Origins, and the Torah-Service Blessing
Mi Sheberach (מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ, "May the One who blessed") is a Jewish public petitionary prayer named for its opening words, asking that the God who blessed the biblical ancestors likewise grant a specific blessing to a named person or group. It is most familiar today as a prayer for healing recited during the synagogue Torah service.
What Mi Sheberach means and where it comes from
"Mi Sheberach" literally means "May the One who blessed," taking its name (as many Jewish prayers do) from its first two Hebrew words. The full opening continues, "May the One who blessed our ancestors" — traditionally Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with many modern versions adding the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. The prayer's logic is rhetorical and reassuring: the same God who blessed the patriarchs and matriarchs is asked to extend a blessing to the individual or community named today. The blessing originated in Babylonia (Lower Mesopotamia) around the 10th–11th century as a Shabbat blessing for the whole congregation, related to the Aramaic Yekum Purkan prayers. By the 12th–13th centuries, among the Jews of France and Germany, it expanded into personalized blessings recited during the public Torah reading. Customarily it is said in the presence of a Torah scroll and a minyan, and it is frequently recited in the congregation's vernacular alongside the Hebrew.
Mi Sheberach in the Torah service and the aliyah honor
In the synagogue Torah service, Mi Sheberach is most closely associated with the aliyah honor. After a person is "called up" to the Torah (an oleh), the prayer leader recites a Mi Sheberach blessing that individual, and the oleh often requests additional blessings for others on whose behalf they wish to pray — for example, someone who is ill. Distinct gendered forms exist (masculine and feminine), and Conservative Judaism has approved a non-binary-inclusive version. A congregational Mi Sheberach for the entire community is also part of the Torah service in many rites, commonly recited after the haftarah. A historically important related custom is the pledge: an oleh would offer a charitable gift (tzedakah) in connection with the blessing, a practice that became a meaningful source of synagogue income. Many congregations maintain ongoing "Mi Sheberach lists" of people — especially those who are sick — to be prayed for week after week. If you are preparing for an aliyah or learning the surrounding Torah service, TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice Torah reading with trope (the cantillation melodies) at adjustable speed, so you can build confidence before stepping up to the bimah.
The prayer for healing — Mi Sheberach for the sick
The best-known modern use of Mi Sheberach is the prayer for healing. Over the centuries the form proliferated into many occasion-specific versions — for a new mother and newborn, a bar or bat mitzvah, a brit milah, conversion, marriage and anniversaries, travelers, and communal benefactors — but the version for the sick is the one most people encounter today. It asks God for refuah sheleimah, a "complete healing" of both body (guf) and spirit or soul (nefesh), and the ill person is typically named together with their mother's name (or, in some communities, both parents' names). The modern healing prayer gained wide popularity through the bilingual Hebrew-English melody composed by Debbie Friedman with Drorah Setel in 1987, which became especially widespread in Reform and other liberal communities.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Mi Sheberach?
A Mi Sheberach is a Jewish public petitionary blessing, named for its opening Hebrew words meaning "May the One who blessed." It invokes the biblical ancestors and asks God to grant a specific blessing to a named individual or group. It is traditionally recited in the presence of a Torah scroll and a minyan, most often during the synagogue Torah service, and is best known today as a prayer for healing.
What does Mi Sheberach mean?
"Mi Sheberach" (מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ) literally means "May the One who blessed." It is short for "May the One who blessed our ancestors" — the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and in many modern versions the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. The prayer asks that the God who blessed those ancestors likewise bless the person named today.
How do you pronounce Mi Sheberach?
It is commonly pronounced "mee sheh-bay-RAKH," with the final "kh" a soft guttural sound (like the ch in "Bach"). You will also see it transliterated as Mi Shebeirach, Mi Shebeirakh, or Misheberach — all the same Hebrew phrase, מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ.
When is the Mi Sheberach recited in the service?
It is most associated with the aliyah: after a person is called up to the Torah, the leader recites a Mi Sheberach blessing them and anyone they request a blessing for, such as the sick. Many communities also recite a congregational Mi Sheberach for the whole community during the Torah service, commonly after the haftarah, though the exact placement varies by rite and community.
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