There is a fascinating passage in the Talmud, describing an event in the third century, which tells of a certain rabbi who had the power of healing. When he laid his hand on someone who was ill, he was cured. Then, continues the Talmud, he fell ill himself and sent someone to fetch another rabbi to heal him. Why, asks the Talmud, did he not cure himself? It answers: a prisoner cannot release himself from prison.5 It takes someone else to turn the key that unlocks the door.
