Acupuncture & placebo effect

NYTIMES

Fake acupuncture appears to work just as well for pain relief as the real thing, according to a new study of patients with knee arthritis.

The findings, published in the September issue of the journal Arthritis Care and Research, are the latest to suggest that a powerful but little understood placebo effect may be at work when patients report benefits from acupuncture treatment, which involves inserting thin needles deeply into the skin at specific points on the body.[...]

Nigerian hacker's IP Nigeria (ipnxtelecoms.com:41.184.6.35)

I was notified by my gmail account that I was visited recently by a
Nigerian hacker - Nigeria (ipnxtelecoms.com:41.184.6.35)

Final Cover - 3 variations

1 upper left
2 upper right
3 lower right

please vote in the poll in the sidebar

Here are three variations. Two are similar except for how dark the cover is. The third version has the subtitle with a different font and without slant

I prefer the lighter version with the slant. My eye gets stuck on the subtitle when it is not slanted.

Yofas To'ar:Fight yetzer harah by removing prohibition

כסף משנה הלכות מלכים פרק ח הלכה ב

וכן בועל אשה בגיותה אם תקפו יצרו וכו'. כתבו התוספות בקידושין (דף כ"ב)

ד"ה שלא ילחצנה דפלוגתא דרב ושמואל היא בירושלמי דלרב מותרת בביאה ראשונה

מיד ואסורה בביאה שניה עד אחר כל המעשים ולשמואל אפילו בביאה ראשונה אסורה

עד לאחר כל המעשים ופסק רבינו כרב דהלכתא כוותיה באיסורי לגבי שמואל אבל

כתב סמ"ג דבירושלמי דשבת איפליגו רב ור' יוחנן דלרב יפת תאר מותרת בביאה

ראשונה מיד ובביאה שנייה עד אחר כל המעשים ולר"י אפילו ביאה ראשונה אסורה

עד לאחר כל המעשים וכיון שכן ה"ל לרבינו לפסוק כר"י דקי"ל כוותיה לגבי רב.

וי"ל דפסק רבינו דביאה ראשונה מותרת משום דגמ' דידן סבר הכי דאמרינן בפ"ב

דסנהדרין תמר בת יפת תאר היתה שנאמר ועתה דבר אל המלך כי לא ימנעני ממך ואי

ס"ד בת נשואין הואי אחתיה מי הות שריא ליה אלא ש"מ בת יפת תואר היתה ואי

ס"ל לגמרא דיפת תואר אסורה עד לאחר כל המעשים היאך היתה תמר מותרת לאמנון

והרי אחותו מאביו היתה שהרי אחר כל המעשים חשיבא גיורת וליקוחין יש לו בה

אלא ודאי ס"ל לגמרא דביאה ראשונה מותרת מיד ודוד בא על מעכה קודם עשיית

המעשים ונתעברה מיד מתמר ולכך לא היתה חשובה בת דוד והיתה מותרת לאמנון

דבנך הבא מן העכו"ם אינו קרוי בנך וכיון דסתם גמרא דידן הכי כוותיה פסקינן:

ומ"ש אם תקפו יצרו. הכי תניא בפ"ק דקידושין (דף כ"א:) לא דברה תורה אלא

כנגד יצר הרע:

ומ"ש שנאמר וראית בשביה. אריש מילתיה דשרי יפת תואר מביא ראיה מוראית בשביה:

ומ"ש ואסור לבעול אותה ביאה שנייה. כבר נתבאר דאפילו מאן דשרי ביאה ראשונה

אוסר ביאה שניה עד אחר כל המעשים:

Abuse book - final cover

ADHD - 1 million kids misdiagnosed?

Newscore

ALMOST one million American children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have been misdiagnosed, scientists revealed today.

In a study of nearly 12,000 children, researchers from Michigan State University found the youngest kindergarten pupils were 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than the oldest children in the same grade.

In another study released yesterday, researchers from North Carolina State University examined national health data spanning 10 years and came to a similar conclusion.

Both studies found large discrepancies in diagnosis and treatment rates based on small differences in children's dates of birth - with children born just after kindergarten eligibility cutoff dates more likely to be given the ADHD label. [...]

Gamil account hijacked!

Please ignore bizarre messages sent from my gmail account. the account
was hijacked

Brain death - major collection of sources/videos

Halachic Organ Donor Society

 I am not going to attempt a review of the literature on brain death and transplants - that has been done many times. Simply go to the above sight and read the articles and watch the videos

Abuse book - Cover 4

This is a compromise between those who want an emotional eye catching covering and those who want a dignified scholarly cover.

 =====================

There are those who view this issue of abuse as a battle between the forces of good and evil and therefore they want me to use this book as an atom bomb  or at least a karate kick to stir things up a bit.  However I view this book simply as an educational tool. Most people who know me see me as a rather bland conventional follower of the establishment. I am not a fighter or revolutionary. I simply naively expect people to live up to the beautiful speeches about spirituality and Torah and the need to follow halacha that they regular produce and fill up books, magazine and newspapers   I like those speeches and I really belief them. In addition I plan to continue living in the community during and after the transition. 

I think the climate has changed significantly over the last year or two - that the concern now is how people are going to digest the changes that are perceived as inevitable (or will soon be perceived as inevitable) while proclaiming that this is the way it has always been done. 

Brain death: Sacrificing the individual for the sake of others

I was discussing the principle this morning with a talmid chachom  - that an innocent person is not sacrificed for the good of others. This is a major principle in halacha which is obviously relevant to the issue of child abuse.

Rema(Y.D. 157:1): ... If a non-Jew tells Jews that one Jew should be handed over to them to be killed, the Jews should not give one over unless they specify who they want (Mishna Terumos Chapter 8 and Rambam Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah Chapter 5). Others say that even if they specify a particular Jews he is not to be given over except if he is liable to the death penalty such as Shiva ben Bichri (Beis Yosef citing Rashi and the Ran). Similarly in the case of a group of women. If non-Jews say to give over one woman to be raped, they should all be raped rather than give over a single Jewish soul (Rambam).

The talmid chachom I was discussing this asked the following. He said that major poskim had said that brain death is actually death. Therefore doing a heart transplant by removing the heart of a brain dead person was permitted according to these poskim. However he had heard that even though these poskim held this way - they would not give a general heter to allow heart transplants with brain dead indiviuals because they didn't trust non-Jewish or non-religious doctors to decide whether a person was in fact brain dead. His question was, "So isn't this in effect sacrificing the individual who needs a heart transplant for the sake of maintaining the religious standards of the community - i.e., the welfare of others?" A possible answer is that we are not simply sacrificing a possible recipient by denying him a heart transplant but rather we are not sacrificing the donor - whom we have a sofek about whether they are dead for the sake of the possible recipient - even if the possible recipient will definitely die if he doesn't have a transplant.

Abuse:Rabbis fail to report pedophile

YNET

A Jerusalem resident Gil Dvash, 45, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexually harassing and sodomizing 10 minors over the past few years, after offering them money at a local synagogue.
 
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Thursday extended the suspect's remand, with Judge Fineberg ruling that "there is reasonable ground to believe that he committed the acts ascribed to him."
 
According to the suspicions, the man arrived at a synagogue in the Bait Vagan neighborhood, where the minors were praying, offered them money and carried out his scheme. [...]

Gerim: Shavei Yisroel teaches Chinese

Forward

A year ago they were living by the bank of China’s Yellow River. Now, the seven yarmulke-and-tzitzit-clad young men, sitting in central Jerusalem and chatting about their lives, are Israel’s keenest yeshiva students.

It is the end of July, the day after the Fast of Av, when every yeshiva halts for summer break — but this group won’t stop.

They come from a community that has fascinated Jews for centuries — China’s Kaifeng Jewish community. Jews are said to have settled in China in the eighth or ninth century. It is believed that at one point, there were as many as 5,000 Jews in Kaifeng; however the community disintegrated in the mid-19th century, with the death of its last rabbi, and those members that hadn’t done so already intermarried and dropped most aspects of religious observance. [...]