Prayer for a Good Eye

Master of the Universe, grant me the merit of a good eye, as it is said regarding him, "Rabbi Elazar ben Arach says: A good eye" (Pirkei Avot 2:9). Because of this, Rabbi Elazar ben Arach merited that fire blazed around him, as it is stated in Tractate Chagigah (14b): "The Sages taught: There was an incident with Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, who was riding on a donkey and departing from Jerusalem, and his five disciples were walking beside him. His disciples asked Rabbi Yochanan to tell them secrets from the Ma'aseh Bereishit (Work of Creation). Rabbi Yochanan told them that he did not have permission to reveal any secret to them. Rabbi Elazar ben Arach asked Rabbi Yochanan for permission to expound upon the Ma'aseh Merkavah (Work of the Divine Chariot), and he granted it to him. Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, who championed the trait of a 'good eye,' began to expound upon the Ma'aseh Merkavah. Rabbi Yochanan descended from the donkey and sat upon a rock to listen to the novel Torah insights of Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, who championed the 'good eye.' Therefore, he was considered equal to all of them combined. Immediately, fire descended from heaven and enveloped all the trees, and all the trees began to sing a song of praise: 'Praise Hashem from the earth, sea monsters and all depths... fruit trees and all cedars, wild beasts and all cattle, creeping things and winged birds, kings of the earth and all nations, princes and all judges of the earth' (Tehillim 148:7-11)."

For through a good eye, all the worlds are unified, along with all the Sefirot (Divine emanations)—from the highest level of Adam Kadmon down to the lowest level of Asiyah d'Asiyah, the Malchut of Malchut. And the glory of Hashem is revealed in all the worlds, both upper and lower, for there is no place devoid of Him. Therefore, an angel of Hashem stood up at the moment the fire descended from heaven and enveloped the trees, and declared: "These are indeed the Ma'aseh Merkavah! How do we unify all four holy creatures of the Chariot—the Eagle, the Man, the Lion, and the Ox? These correspond to the angels Nuriel, Gavriel, Michael, and Refael." And a Heavenly Voice (Bat Kol) rang out from heaven: "These are the Ma'aseh Merkavah: Nuriel corresponds to the Eagle, Michael corresponds to the Lion, Gavriel corresponds to the Ox, and Refael corresponds to the Man."

For through a good eye, one draws down the angel Refael (the angel of healing), making it possible to heal all the illnesses in the world, so that no illness will remain in the world—just as it was at the Giving of the Torah, when Moshe Rabbeinu revealed the Ma'aseh Merkavah to them, as it is written: "The chariots of God are myriads, thousands of angels" (Tehillim 68:18). Through this, all the healings in the world were drawn down: the blind saw, the deaf heard, the lame received legs, and the amputees received hands. Likewise, all other illnesses were healed in the blink of an eye, in the merit of the good eye of Moshe Rabbeinu. In this merit, he was privileged to live a full 120 years, which are twenty years corresponding to each millennium (of the 6,000 years of creation), in the aspect of one-sixtieth. For with every 20 years of his life, Moshe rectified a thousand years, and through his good eye, he drew down all the healings in the world. So too, any person who possesses a good eye can heal all the illnesses in the world, and even bring about the Resurrection of the Dead, as it is stated, "And you and your sons will live on the remainder until the Resurrection of the Dead" (Targum Yonatan on 2 Kings 4:7).

B'Siyata D'Shmaya (With the Help of Heaven) L.Sh.M. L.Sh.B. 38