The Talmud teaches that teshuvah brings healing to the world, and healing is the subject of the eighth blessing, the next step in our teshuvah process. In making this request of God, however, we transition from personal matters concerning our teshuvah as individuals, and we ask for healing as a matter of concern for national teshuvah. Our transgressions not only create within us feelings of failure, incompetence and inadequacy, they also cause disease and sickness that weaken us and the Jewish nation in general. In the previous blessing, we addressed issues relating to our personal teshuvah, but now we include in our prayers matters that concern the well-being of the nation at large. Therefore, in this blessing we ask: Heal us, YHVH, and we will be healed, save us and we will be saved because You are our praise. And bring complete healing to all of our wounds because You are the Divine King who is a committed and compassionate Healer. Blessed are You, YHVH, who heals the sick of His nation Israel. In the previous request for personal redemption, we described God as one who “redeems Israel.” Here we, as members of His nation, ask for healing as a matter of national concern, thus we describe God as one “who heals the sick of His nation Israel.” We also address God here as a King and Healer. Essentially, we are implying, “God, You are not only our Healer, but also our King. For You to be manifest as a King, You need us—the people of Your kingdom—to be healthy and strong.” Earlier in the Amidah, we admitted that our wrongdoings damage us as individuals, and we now also acknowledge that they weaken the entire Jewish nation. We have not only failed as individuals, but also as members of the Jewish people. Having requested personal redemption, we can now ask for health and wholeness in order to partake in and complete our role in the national mission of the Jewish people. Asking for our own health and well-being in the interest of God’s nation puts us on a new level of stature and self-confidence in God’s presence. Let’s take a look at what this request fully addresses.