Today, I attended the University of Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences graduation for their medical students. At the end of the ceremony, the new physicians recited the Charge of Maimonides.
I find it touching and reproduced it here.
Charge of Maimonides
“May the Almighty, source of Mercy, be with you in all your efforts to heal the sick.
“May you be filled with love for your art and for mankind.
“May the thirst for gain and desire for fame be far from your heart, for these are the enemies of pity and the ministers of hate.
“May your strength be preserved that you may be able to restore the strength of the rich and the poor, the good and the bad, the friend and the foe. May you see in the sufferer the human alone.
“When those wiser teach you, may you be humble to learn, for the human mind is, and the art of healing is so vast.
May there never rise in you the notion that you know enough, but may you always have strength, leisure, and zeal to enlarge your knowledge. Your work is great and the mind of mankind presses forward forever.
“You have been chosen to watch over the life and death of the creatures of the Most High, and from the Most High will come the guidance and strength that shall make this immense work of avail.
May physicians near and far remember this.
That made me a bit teary. It’s lovely. I hope all physicians, nurses, and caretakers will find these words and consider them daily, hourly, and from one moment to the next. Thanks for sharing. <3
It had the same effect on me, so I posted it. It is not just for physicians but other health care workers too.