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How do you name a non-Jew for Mi Sheberach?
Ploni is the child of a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father. The father is ill and Ploni would like to say Mi Sheberach for him in a minyan. How should Ploni form the name for a non-Jewish relative?
"Christopher ben Lisa" would stand out (probably not what Ploni wants). Maybe Ploni should instead emphasize a Jewish connection and say "Christopher av Ploni", or maybe even "av Ploni" since Ploni only has one father.
Maybe Ploni shouldn't use a Hebrew-name construction at all and should just say the father's English name.
Or maybe public Mi Sheberach is for Jews only and Ploni should pray in his heart only.
Are there norms for what Ploni should do? Is this all in the realm of convention, or is there halacha involved?
1 answer
Rosends pointed out a related question elsewhere with a variety of answers. Here is a compilation of what I learned there and by following links from there:
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Chabad says (without citing a source): "When praying for a non-Jew, we mention the person's name along with his/her father's name." Another source (scroll down to "davening for a gentile").
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The two reasons the Ben Ish Chai (in Torah Lishmah) gives for praying for someone ben his mother apply to non-Jews too, so it seems proper to pray for a non-Jew using that person's mother's name.
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Rav Soloveitchik once advised someone to use the gentile's given and family name (Shu"t Hashoel 2:pg.126). According to the answer I'm summarizing (I haven't seen the cited source), he gave the following formation for the prayer:
ויתפלל אברהם אל האלקים וירפא אלקים את אבימלך ואת אשתו" "ואמוהתיו וילדו , הוא יברך וירפא את החולה... [name of person and family name] בעבור שאנחנו מתפללים בעבורו , הקדוש ברוך הוא ימלא רחמים עליו להחלימו ולרפאותו ולהחזירו ולהחיותו וישלח לו מהרה רפואה שלמה רפואת הנפש רפואת הגוף ונאמר אמן."
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One answer suggests that the non-Jew should not be included in the communal prayer (which is for the sick of Yisrael) and should be prayed for separately.
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One answer, cites the gemara in Berachot 34:
Anyone who requests mercy on behalf of another need not mention his name, as it is stated: “Please, God, heal her, please,” and he did not mention Miriam’s name.
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