Lawrence Fine

This discussion of Alexander Altmann's contribution to the study of Jewish mysticism is divided into three parts: it begins with some observations about the impetus behind Altmann's involvement in the study of Kabbalah, and then turns to his scholarship itself. It ...

... Although Benjamin's and Petahiah's extremely popular travelogues were read primarily for enjoyment as belles lettres, as the historian Salo Baron pointed out, " they ... that as soon as he arrived in Safed he went to recite prayers at the tomb of the prophet Hosea ben Been. ...

This discussion of Alexander Altmann's contribution to the study of Jewish mysticism is divided into three parts: it begins with some observations about the impetus behind Altmann's involvement in the study of Kabbalah, and then turns to his scholarship itself. It ...

Résumé/Abstract Hayyim Vital (1543-1620), le disciple principal du grand kabbaliste de Safed, Isaac Luria (1534-1572). Dans son journal, Vital fait part de son expérience: la récitation de passages de la Mishna lui a procuré des visions. L'A. publie ici le quatrième ...

Amongst the most important roles which Isaac Luria (1534–1572), the preeminent kabbalist of sixteenth-century Safed, played in the lives of his disciples was that of physician of the soul. Before they could practice rituals which were intended to enable them to bind their souls to the divine realm, and to “repair” that realm in accordance with the teachings of Lurianic mythology, his disciples had first to mend their own souls, to cleanse and purify them of all imperfection No individual whose own soul had failed to achieve a certain level of perfection could hope to engage successfully in the intricate and elaborate contemplative rituals-such as the Yiḥudim-which Luria devised. A person had to undergo a period during which he cultivated certain spiritual and moral traits and atoned for whatever sins he might have committed. Luria, in fact, provided his followers with highly detailed rituals of atonement by which they were to mend their souls. These penitential acts were known as ti...

The presentation situates the development of Lurianic Kabbalah in its context of sixteenth-century Safed. Focusing on two texts by Hayyim Vital, Lawrence Fine discusses sexuality and marital relations in Lurianic Kabbalah and among the Kabbalists themselves. This presentation is for the following text(s): Ta'amei Mitsvot, Parshat Bereshit (Reasons for the Commandments concerning “Be Fruitful and Multiply”) by Hayim Vital (1570s) Sha'ar Kavvanot (The Gate of [Contemplative] Intentions, Concerning Sabbath Eve) by Hayim Vital (1570s) Click here to view the video

The purpose of the study was to provide the health care and public health communities with national prevalence estimates of selected conditions in the US working population. National prevalence estimates of self-reported conditions among working people were calculated from data collected for the 1988 Occupational Health Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey. The highest prevalence estimates were found among occupational groups. For example, the prevalence of back pain due to an injury at work among truck drivers was 6.7%; back pain due to repeated activities at work among mechanics and repairers of heavy equipment and machinery was 10.5%; hand discomfort among operators of machines that process metal, plastic, stone, and glass was 23.5%; and dermatitis due to contact with substances at work among physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and dietitians was 5.6%. A substantial proportion of these conditions among occupational groups with the highest prevalence estimates are occupational in origin. These prevalence estimates identify occupations in which efforts are needed to prevent these conditions.

We determined whether a representative national probability sample of US community-dwelling older adults who reported less social support also reported poorer general health status, which is a robust predictor of prospective mortality among elders. We analyzed 2 subsamples generated via random sampling with replacement from the full analytic sample of adults aged 60 years and older in the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n = 3476). We built multinomial logit models with the first analytic subsample (n = 1732). Then we tested the final models on the second subsample (n = 1744) to assess the differences in odds of reporting poor, fair, or good versus very good or excellent health. We fit the cross-validated final models to the full analytic sample. After we controlled for age, race, gender, and educational attainment, older persons across all analytic samples who reported that they needed more support also reported having poorer health compared with better health 2 times more often than did older persons who were satisfied with the support available to them (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7, 3.4; P < .001). In the United States, older persons' satisfaction with the emotional support available to them is associated with better self-reported health status.

The Big Stone Power Plant located on the Minnesota - South Dakota border is expected to produce 400 tons of fly ash per day during its normal operation. Fly ash has been found to reduce the orthophosphate level in water solutions. It is the insoluble part of the fly ash that is effective in removing orthophosphate from solution, and it

The key issue for this think tank session stems from a number of related challenges in U.S. health care. Healthcare expenditures in the U.S. are huge, and continue to increase at rates well above inflation.(cite) 2) The quality of healthcare in the United States - that is, the extent to which the system does the right thing for the right

ABSTRACT In January 2014, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) announced the creation of a Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science (CTRIS) [1]. The center’s creation is part of the mission-driven realignment of the NHLBI Office of the Director which has made a strong commitment to serve as a catalyst for advancing translation research and implementation science in heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. In this column, we present the rationale for the creation of CTRIS; its primary charge and mission; the spectrum of activities in its first year and related funding opportunity announcements; and the scope of future research and scientific endeavors to promote the effective translation and dissemination of evidence-based interventions.RATIONALE FOR CREATING CTRISThe classic work of Balas and Boren [2] showed that only a fraction (14 %) of published scientific discoveries result in widespread translation and implementation in clinical practice, with an average ...

Findings from previous studies of the effects of exercise training on patient-reported health status have been inconsistent. To test the effects of exercise training on health status among patients with heart failure. Multicenter, randomized controlled trial among 2331 medically stable outpatients with heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction of 35% or less. Patients were randomized from April 2003 through February 2007. Usual care plus aerobic exercise training (n = 1172), consisting of 36 supervised sessions followed by home-based training, vs usual care alone (n = 1159). Randomization was stratified by heart failure etiology, which was a covariate in all models. Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) overall summary scale and key subscales at baseline, every 3 months for 12 months, and annually thereafter for up to 4 years. The KCCQ is scored from 0 to 100 with higher scores corresponding to better health status. Treatment group effects were estimated using linear mixed models according to the intention-to-treat principle. Median follow-up was 2.5 years. At 3 months, usual care plus exercise training led to greater improvement in the KCCQ overall summary score (mean, 5.21; 95% confidence interval, 4.42 to 6.00) compared with usual care alone (3.28; 95% confidence interval, 2.48 to 4.09). The additional 1.93-point increase (95% confidence interval, 0.84 to 3.01) in the exercise training group was statistically significant (P < .001). After 3 months, there were no further significant changes in KCCQ score for either group (P = .85 for the difference between slopes), resulting in a sustained, greater improvement overall for the exercise group (P < .001). Results were similar on the KCCQ subscales, and no subgroup interactions were detected. Exercise training conferred modest but statistically significant improvements in self-reported health status compared with usual care without training. Improvements occurred early and persisted over time. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00047437.

We determined whether a representative national probability sample of US community-dwelling older adults who reported less social support also reported poorer general health status, which is a robust predictor of prospective mortality among elders. We analyzed 2 subsamples generated via random sampling with replacement from the full analytic sample of adults aged 60 years and older in the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n = 3476). We built multinomial logit models with the first analytic subsample (n = 1732). Then we tested the final models on the second subsample (n = 1744) to assess the differences in odds of reporting poor, fair, or good versus very good or excellent health. We fit the cross-validated final models to the full analytic sample. After we controlled for age, race, gender, and educational attainment, older persons across all analytic samples who reported that they needed more support also reported having poorer health compared with better health 2 times more often than did older persons who were satisfied with the support available to them (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7, 3.4; P < .001). In the United States, older persons' satisfaction with the emotional support available to them is associated with better self-reported health status.

The purpose of the study was to provide the health care and public health communities with national prevalence estimates of selected conditions in the US working population. National prevalence estimates of self-reported conditions among working people were calculated from data collected for the 1988 Occupational Health Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey. The highest prevalence estimates were found among occupational groups. For example, the prevalence of back pain due to an injury at work among truck drivers was 6.7%; back pain due to repeated activities at work among mechanics and repairers of heavy equipment and machinery was 10.5%; hand discomfort among operators of machines that process metal, plastic, stone, and glass was 23.5%; and dermatitis due to contact with substances at work among physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and dietitians was 5.6%. A substantial proportion of these conditions among occupational groups with the highest prevalence estimates are occupational in origin. These prevalence estimates identify occupations in which efforts are needed to prevent these conditions.