A Torah Falls in Modi'in

During the Simchat Torah dancing last Tuesday at the Zachor Avraham shul in Modi'in, a 12 year old boy stumbled and fell when a Sefer Torah was passed to him. The Torah slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor, causing the congregation to pose a question to Modi'in town rabbi, R' David Lau..."what do we do now?"

R' Lau stated that since the child who dropped the Torah was over the age of 10, this was not intentional, but and accident, and this is a "call for the community to gather and strengthen the holiness of the shul and Torah."

"It is a sign from heaven that the community should examine their actions, because they have surely sinned...and they should improve their actions."

Additionally, R' Lau stated that the men in the shul should fast this coming Thursday, to recite slichot prayers in shul, gather to learn, and accept upon themselves to try not to speak [idle conversation] during prayer and Torah reading."

"It saddens me that this occurred [to the child] of such a serious and responsible family, and it is a difficult feeling to dismiss. Despite this not being the child's fault, Jewish law specifically mandates that the community fast" (source in Hebrew, and accompanying letter from R' Lau, courtesy of Rafi G.)

Not that my community is any better than Modi'in, or that we talk in shul less than they do, but a few years ago, we were saved from a similar mishap -- the amazing Simchat Torah Save of the Day.


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

Finally: A Solution to Yom Kippur Fast Headaches

When the Renegade Rebbetzin used blog, she often mentioned how much she hated fasting...whether it also impacted her Yom Kippur davening is all too obvious...

My [Yom Kippur] daavening was awful. Simply awful. I don't remember ever experiencing less of an awareness of the fact that it was Yom Kippur.

There was a moment - a quick succession of moments, actually - near the end of the silent Shmoneh Esrei of Neilah, wherein I suddenly began to feel That Connection forming, the Yom Kippur connection, the kind I used to feel. And just as the feeling began to slowly seep through me, and somewhere in the back of my head I began to think I may actually have one precious moment of true daavening - of real avoda she'ba-lev - just as I was beginning to flood with relief, and to open my heart to pour out whatever's been buried in there, just at that moment - wouldn't you know it - a pair of arms flings around my legs, and a dear little voice whispers "Why is everyone standing? Can I go to Daddy now? Is it still Yom Kippur? Why is that lady punching herself? Do you think Max has any more caramels?" And so forth.

Stupid kids.

If only she still blogged...she would know that headaches on the the Day of Atonement are unnecessary, says Dr. Zev (Jeremy) Wimpfheimer, a senior physician in the emergency medicine department of Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Wimpfheimer is testing a drug which, taken in pill form before the fast, will hopefully prevent those fasting from developing a headache. He wants about 200 people to try it before the onset of the 25-hour fast Wednesday evening. [source: JPost]

Performed in cooperation with Dr. Michael Drescher, the associate director of emergency medicine of Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, the study is designed to determine the feasibility of applying a "commonly used and proven-safe drug" to help people fast without getting headaches.

The particular drug chosen for the study is a clinically effective anti-inflammatory pain-relief compound with a favorable side effect profile, whose particular qualities make it effective even long after being ingested.

"With Yom Kippur lasting for over 25 hours, the effects of this drug, which include headache prevention, remain even at the end of the fast," said Wimpfheimer.

It's not too late!!!

While initial research seems to support the hypothesis that this drug will help fasters get through the day, this Yom Kippur will be the first time the drug will be available to the general public to provide real validation. Wimpfheimer said that while typically this pill is only provided to patients at a high cost, for the purposes of this study, healthy people living in Israel can get it for free. The single pill is taken orally just before the beginning of the fast and test participants will be asked to fill out a short questionnaire afterwards. Anyone who wants to participate in the study by Wednesday should e-mail ykheadache@gmail.com or call 054-627-2867.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד