The National Wellness Institute promotes the use of the “Six Dimensions of Wellness”. Addressing these dimensions — occupational, emotional, spiritual, social, intellectual and physical — “builds a holistic sense of wellness,” which in turn helps “build resilience and enable us to thrive amidst life’s challenges.” Arguably, Judaism’s conception and implementation of prayer meets the spiritual, emotional and social dimensions of wellness.
Each dimension has its own goals. The spiritual addresses our need to find meaning and live authentic lives; the emotional addresses our need to live with an awareness of our thoughts and feelings; and the social addresses our need for community. Prayer addresses all three of these dimensions.
The Emotional Dimension of Wellness
Prayer in Jewish thought is understood as an experience of both supplication and reflection/introspection. Prayer provides us with an opportunity to engage with God as well as our innermost thoughts and feelings.
The Social Dimension of Wellness
A basic tenet of Jewish prayer is to always pray for ourselves and others. Jewish prayers are even written in the plural — “Blessed are you…OUR God,” contextualizing all prayer experiences within the context of community.
The Spiritual Dimension of Wellness
In the Shema, we are told to love God “with all your heart and with all your soul.” According to the Mishnah (Berakhot), this teaches us we have been given the responsibility to bring all aspects of ourselves to our service to God and the world. We need to ask ourselves what those special and unique aspects of ourselves are. Only then can we live our lives according to that best and most authentic version of each of us.
