sem graduate

and if you plan on going to either, get ready to hear speeches against computers/internet – you’re not going to feel so comfortable sitting in the coffee room

if you’ve got time on your hands: buffalo wings

clean the wings (the most time consuming of the process)

cover with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 2 t. oil, 2 t. spicy sauce. put 1 1/2 c flour into a bag – add chicken wings and coat. Bake on cookie sheet in oven for 1/2 hour on each side at 200 C/400 F. cover with barbeque sauce of your choice. Allow to sit for a few minutes. I put back in the oven for 10 minutes before serving.

I went to four sem interviews and not one of them asked me about comparing myself to fruits or animals, nor did they ask why they should accept me. What they did ask is why you would want to attend their sem which is a very fair question – what is it that made you turn to them instead of elsewhere… the academics, the atmosphere, the hashkafa….

I’m not really sure how you are on yeshiva world if you dont have internet access, but here’s the story:

The Article by Kenneth M. Prager, M.D.

of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York

When I was an elementary school student in yeshiva – a Jewish parochial school with both religious and secular studies – my classmates and I used to find amusing a sign that was posted just outside the bathroom. It was an ancient Jewish blessing, commonly referred to as the asher yatzar benediction, that was supposed to be recited after one relieved oneself. For grade school children, there could be nothing more strange or ridiculous than to link to acts of micturition and defecation with holy words that mentioned God’s name. Blessings were reserved for prayers, for holy days, or for thanking God for food or for some act of deliverance, but surely not for a bodily function that evoked smirks and giggles.

It took me several decades to realize the wisdom that lay behind this blessing that was composed by Abayei, a fourth-century Babylonian rabbi.

Abayei’s blessing is contained in the Talmud, an encyclopedic work of Jewish law and lore that was written over the first five centuries of the common era. The Jewish religion is chock-full of these blessings, or brachot, as they are called in Hebrew. In fact, an entire tractate of Talmud, 128 pages in length, is devoted to brachot.

On page 120 (Brachot 60b) of the ancient text it is written: “Abayei said, when one comes out of a privy he should say: Blessed is He who has formed man in wisdom and created in him many orifices and many cavities. It is obvious and known before Your throne of glory that if one of them were to be ruptured or one of them blocked, it would be impossible for a man to survive and stand before You. Blessed are You that heals all flesh and does wonders.”

An observant Jew is supposed to recite this blessing in Hebrew after each visit to the bathroom. We young yeshiva students were reminded of our obligation to recite this prayer by the signs that contained its text that were posted just outside the restroom doors.

It is one thing, however, to post these signs and it is quite another to realistically expect preadolescents to have the maturity to realize the wisdom of and need for reciting a 1600-year-old blessing related to bodily functions.

It was not until my second year of medical school that I first began to understand the appropriateness of this short prayer. Pathophysiology brought home to me the terrible consequences of even minor aberrations in the structure and function of the human body, At the very least, I began to no longer take for granted the normalcy of my trips to the bathroom. Instead, I started to realize how many things had to operate just right for these minor interruptions of my daily routine to run smoothly.

I thought of Abayei and his blessing. I recalled my days at yeshiva and remembered how silly that sign outside the bathroom had seemed. But after seeing patients whose lives revolved around their dialysis machines, and others with colostomies and urinary catheters, I realized how wise the rabbi had been.

And then it happened: I began to recite Abayei’s bracha. At first I had to go back to my siddur, the Jewish prayer book, to get the text right. With repetition – and there were many opportunities for a novice to get to know this blessing well – I could recite it fluently and with sincerity and understanding.

Over the years, reciting the asher yatzar has become for me and opportunity to offer thanks not just for the proper functioning of my excretory organs, but for my overall good health. The text, after all, refers to catastrophic consequences of the rupture or obstruction of any bodily structure, not only those of the urinary or gastrointestinal tract. Could Abayei, for example, have foreseen that “blockage” of the “cavity,” or lumen, of the coronary artery would lead to the commonest cause of death in industrialized countries some 16 centuries later?

I have often wondered if other people also yearn for some way to express gratitude for their good health. Physicians especially, who are exposed daily to the ravages that illness can wreak, must sometimes feel the need to express thanks for being well and thus well-being. Perhaps a generic, nondenominational asher yatzar could be composed for those who want to verbalize their gratitude for being blessed with good health.

There was one unforgettable patient whose story reinforced the truth and beauty of the asher yatzar for me forever. Josh was a 20-year-old student who sustained an unstable fracture of his third and fourth cervical vertebrae in a motor vehicle crash. He nearly died from his injury and required emergency intubation and ventilatory support. He was initially totally quadriplegic but for weak flexion of his right biceps.

A long and difficult period of stabilization and rehabilitation followed. There were promising signs of neurological recovery over the first few months that came suddenly and unexpectedly: movement of a finger here, flexion of a toe there, return of sensation here, adduction of a muscle group there. With incredible courage, hard work, and an excellent physical therapist, Josh improved day by day. In time, and after what seemed like a miracle, he was able to walk slowly with a leg brace and a cane.

But Josh continued to require intermittent catheterization. I know only too well the problems and perils this young man would face for the rest of his life because of a neurogenic bladder. The urologists were very pessimistic about his chances for not requiring catheterization. They had not seen this occur after a spinal cord injury of this severity.

Then the impossible happened. I was there the day Josh no longer required a urinary catheter. I thought of Abayei’s asher yatzar prayer. Pointing out that I could not imagine a more meaningful scenario for its recitation, I suggested to Josh, who was also a yeshiva graduate, that he say the prayer. He agreed. As he recited the ancient bracha, tears welled in my eyes.

Josh is my son.

Ski, I fully agree with you. I recently had a nissayon which I had a hard time overcoming. When I asked someone for advice, she asked what I would answer someone asking me that question. My initial reaction was “just dont do it” but then I realized that saying it does not necessarily mean you will be able to follow that advice. Nobody can possibly know what you are going through and nobody can judge. Whether or not your friend was right in repeating what was said to you is something else entirely; the point is it should never have been said. “Don’t judge a person until you walk a mile in his shoes, and by then, you’ll be a mile a way so he won’t know about it!”

I dont know anything about it because I went to BYHSBP and not a single girl went there; nor did anyone from vien…. or BY LW

baking shabbos in chu”l IS a mitzva d’rabanan….

if you dont have a george forman, what i often do is just take a regular frying pan and “fry” the chicken, but without the oil. you have to be on top of it to prevent it from sticking to the pot, and the pot isnt the easiest thing to clean, but it comes out delicious. You can sprinkle chicken breasts with garlic salt and pepper and “grill/fry” it like that – it’s delicious.

Apricot chicken: apricot jam and onion soup mix spread over chicken bottoms, put in the oven 45 mins covered 15 mins uncovered

“roasted peppers” – saute onion for a few minutes and add strips of pepper and saute together until soft – great and healthy side dish

mashed potato – easy side dish but starch

stir fried veges – easy vege side dish

I think that it’s not so much the segula, as the zechus of the mitzva. We dont know things like if the mitzva for shmiras shabbos is more important than the mitzva of hafrashas challa. While taking on extra kabbalos would work, I’m not sure they would heal a sick person any more than the zechus of a mitzva

I’m always here, tho I’m sometimes too lazy to post…

Mazel Tov! May you always be zoche to share simchas with us!!

gumball, this is for you;

yo mama, she’s so skinny, she does hula hoop on a cheerio

yo mama, she’s so dumb, she failed her blood test

yo mama, she’s so fat, she goes to a restaurant, looks at the menu and says “okay”

yo mama, she’s so poor, she can’t afford to pay attention

How about requesting a written apology from the child. It will require that he/she sit down to think about what they did, and nobody likes apologizing… so they hopefully won’t do it again. If they do the “crime” again, show them the previous apology letter, ask them what happened to what they wrote, and have them come up with a method to ensure the issue will not arise again.

Personally, I don’t mind holding if it’s really just a few seconds. When I get a click, I usually take it and notify the person that I’m on the other line and I’ll be happy to call them back as soon as I hang up. The reason for this is simply because when I need to get through to someone and nobody picks up, it can get quite frustrating – this way, the caller understands the situation and (hopefully) nobody is hurt

If he’s petty enough to want the “image” and not the person who had enough brains to do what she thought was best for her… he’s not for you. My mother in law is very anti-israeli sems… but she let her son marry me anyway!!

You can definitely tell the difference between a full band and a one man band. you obviously have to stick within monetary boundaries, but if you can afford it, a band is definitely worth it. Even if some people stand by the band all the time, it just leaves more room on the dance floor for more people… if you want to see a nice band, type “aaron teitelbaum, taussig” into youtube and check out what comes up…

Thank you so much for your assistance…. I appreciate the fact that you went out of your way to fulfill my request!

Hi Mod! Can I please please get a subtitle of “but missing New York”? Thank you so much in advance!

of course its my home… i’m currently located in israel… live here…. but missing my family…

can I please get a subtitle of “but New York is my home”

lol…. i just asked the same question in a different post! are there numerous posts discussing the same topic? I’m only in the cr for about 2 weeks… still trying to learn the ropes! (but would love to get a subtitle)

I actually think this rhyme game is great

The talent of fellow cr’ers I appreciate

I felt I should write this before it gets late

You see, here in Israel, it’s already a quarter past eight

And in a little while, I’ll meet my husband, my mate

But I just had to tell you that your poetry skills are top rate!

it’s actually 24135 and 42531…. bidiagah and dibihege….

?????

?????

? = 1

? = 2

? = 3

? = 4

? = 5

wilhelms – they have the biggest selection and will toivel and deliver e/t for u

the people that teach english in israel do not get high salaries nor do they need a course in advance… they kinda just show up and figure it out if they’re lucky enough to get the job – but getting the job is quite difficult