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This English translation of the prayer “Asher Yatsar” by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, was first published in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). Versification by Aharon Varady according to the nusaḥ ha-ARI z”l. . . .  Tags: Body as Cosmos, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, Asiyah, four worlds, Body as Earth, English Translation, Body as Society, Late Antiquity, Bathroom etiquette, excretion, plumbing as metaphor, internal plumbing, אשר יצר Asher Yatsar, Amoraic prayers, Bathroom Prayer, Prayers in the Babylonian Talmud, Body as Temple, Prayers of Pumbedita, אדם קדמון Adam Ḳadmonאשר יצר | Asher Yatsar prayer for recognizing the Divine Image in all our bodies, by Rabbi Emily Aviva KaporAsher Yatzar (the “bathroom blessing”, traditionally said every morning and after every time one goes to relieve oneself) has always rung hollow to me, at best, and at worst has been a prayer not celebrating beauty but highlighting pain. The original version praises bodies whose nekavim nekavim ḥalulim ḥalulim (“all manner of ducts and tubes”) are properly opened and closed—yes, in a digestive/excretory sense, but it is quite easy to read a reproductive sense into it as well. What do you do if the “ducts and tubes” in your body are not properly opened and closed, what if one is open that should be closed, or vice versa? . . .  Categories: Birkhot haShaḥar, Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31st), Well-being, health, and caregivingA paraliturgical reflection on the prayer following urination and defecation, Asher Yatsar, for a shame resilience practice. . . . ברכת יוצר האדם | Mi sheberakh for the egg donor, gestational surrogate, physicians, and parents of children celebrating their Bnei Mitsvah, by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried (2022)This is a “Blessing for the human creation” composed by Rabbi Esteban Gottfried for a mi sheberakh delivered after the Torah reading of twin siblings celebrating their bar and bat mitsvah. Both children came into this world through medical intervention, egg donation, and surrogate pregnancy. “It was a really moving ceremony,” said Rabbi Gottfried, “it is very rare that the parents are in touch with the egg donor and pregnancy surrogate (from the US and Ukraine) thirteen years later, and they all celebrate together….After their ascent to the Torah, I asked the parents together with the donor and the surrogate to take the stage and greet them. I share here (with their approval) the blessing of the “Human Creation.” . . . Categories: Bnei (Bar/Bat) Mitsvah & Other Birthday Prayers“Asher Yatzar (The One Who Forms): a prayer of gratitude for our bodies as transgender, nonbinary, intersex people, and everybody else” was written by Rabbi Elliot Kukla and adapted from the blessing known by its incipit “Asher Yatsar” or “the bathroom blessing” traditionally recited after excretion of waste. The blessing is also recited as part of the birkhot hashaḥar complex of blessings recited upon waking up and becoming active. Rabbi Kukla’s blessing was first published in Where Healing Resides (CCAR 2013), p. 32. . . . Categories: Birkhot haShaḥar, Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31st), Well-being, health, and caregiving |
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