Asher Yatsar Blessing

This blessing, composed by Abayé, a 4th century Babylonian rabbi, is quoted in the Talmud, the encyclopedic work of Jewish law and knowledge written during the first five centuries of the common era. The Jewish religion is replete with these blessings or berakhot, as they are called in Hebrew.

Here is the text of the Asher Yatsar blessing that you must recite when you get out of the toilet, and get to know it by heart while understanding its meaning:

Baruch Atta Hashem Elokenu, Mekech ha olam,
Blessed, You, Hashem our Gd, King of the world

asher yatsar summer haAdam bechochma
who fashioned man wisely

or vara vo neqavim neqavim, chaloulim chaloulim
and who created in him holes and voids,

galouï vé yadouâ lifné khissé khévodekha
it is clear and known before the Throne of Your Glory

she im yissatem a'had mehem
that if one of them closed

o im yipatea'h a'had mehem
or if one of them opened,

i efchar lehitqayém afillou chaâ é'hat
it is impossible to survive even a single hour.

Baroukh Atta Hachém, rofé khol-bassar or mafli laâssote.
Blessed, You, doctor of all flesh and who works wonders to realize them.

Reciting Asher Yatsar is a way to express gratitude to Gd, not only for the proper functioning of our excretory organs, but also for the good health of our organism in general. The text refers to the catastrophic consequences of rupture or obstruction of any body structure, not just the urinary or gastrointestinal tract.

Was Rav Abaye able to foresee that the "blockage of the cavity" or lumen, of a coronary artery would constitute the most frequent cause of death in industrialized countries some 16 centuries later?

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