haileesteinfeld: #ALSICEBUCKETCHALLENGE Accepted! Thanks @kyle_newman. Not only did I do it, but I am donating to the ALS Foundation as well. I nominate @austinmahone #RebelWilson and @griffinsteinfeld :)
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת
.הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה וּבָרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים
גָּלוּי וְיָדוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶךָ שֶׁאִם יִפָּתֵחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם
אוֹ יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם וְלַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶיךָ
.אֲפִילוּ שָׁעָה אֶחָת
.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשֹוֹת
||Blessed are You, Hashem, our G-d, King of the universe, Who formed man with wisdom and created within him many passages and many openings (cavities). It is obvious and known before Your Throne of Glory that if but one of them were to be ruptured or if one of them were to be blocked it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You (even for a short period of time). Blessed are You, Hashem, Who heals all flesh and performs wonderously.||
Louis Jacobs: Before a man enters the privy he should address a special apology to the angels for his having to take leave of them.
Jewniverse: There's a Jewish practice of saying a blessing before eating any food—a spiritual equivalent of saying thank you to the "chef." But did you know that there's also a blessing for food that's on its way out?
The blessing for going to the bathroom is known as "asher yatzar" (which translates simply as "The Creator"). Its words don't focus on the act itself, but on the miracle that our bodies are designed precisely, with remarkable systems inside them. The ancient rabbis didn't know the details of how our bodies functioned, but they were aware of how complicated it must be: "If one of those organs would be blocked where it's normally open, or open where it's normally closed, it would be impossible to survive for even a moment," says the prayer.
The prayer was first mentioned in the Talmud (Berakhot 60b). According to the famed Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, saying it regularly and with intention will bring a person good health and a long life ["and the days of your old age will be like the days of your youth" (Devarim 33:25)].More directly, it's a way of reminding ourselves that we can find greater meaning in every single aspect of our lives—even, well, poop.
Text #1 - Talmud Berachot 62a
It has been taught: R. Akiba said: Once I went in after R. Joshua to a privy, and I learned three things from him:
I learned that one does not sit east and west but north and south
I learned that one evacuates not standing but sitting
I learned that it is proper to wipe with the left hand and not with the right
Ben Azzai said to him: Did you dare to take such liberties with your master?
Chabad
Jerusalem Post
Frum Satire
