The author discusses the ways in which illness and healing are metaphorically conceptualized in Rabbinic Judaism. The first part is devoted (1) to the metaphorical theme "sickness is chastisement," a conceptualisation which the author firmly rejects as a rabbi, and (2) to the statement 'healing is creating' (which explains the prohibition against healing on the Shabbat). The major part of the article concentrates on a passage in the Arba'ah Turim, which, as the author points out, implicitly contains the metaphorical statement 'Life is a shared journey'. The author reaches the conclusion that Jewish sources assume not only the idea that life is a common path, but a path that is marked by the sharing of words. The author admits that Judaism is clearly not alone in furthering the foundational metaphor of journeying. It is, however, especially adamant about applying the journey metaphor to the life of dialogue on a common road marked by illness. (Ralph Bisschops)