Aton Holzer
Tel Aviv Medical Center, Dermatology, Faculty Member
- Rabbi Aton Holzer, M.D., is Director of the Mohs Surgery Clinic in the Department of Dermatology, Sourasky Medical Ce... moreRabbi Aton Holzer, M.D., is Director of the Mohs Surgery Clinic in the Department of Dermatology, Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel, and is an assistant editor of the Rabbinical Council of America’s prayerbook Siddur Avodat Ha-lev. He completed a master’s degree in Jewish History at Bernard Revel Graduate School and rabbinic ordination at RIETS/Yeshiva University, and his medical training at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He has published in the past in Tradition, Hakirah, Lehrhaus, and Revue des Études Juives, as well as in the third volume of Answering a Question with a Question: Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Jewish Thought, and has forthcoming essays in Megadim and The Review of Rabbinic Judaism. He is enthralled by the intersections of Jewish ideas and practices with the social sciences — history, philosophy, psychology and sociology, particularly in the context of the major and minor Jewish holidays, and their associated laws and customs. He also is fascinated by the science and practice of dermatology, Mohs surgery and cutaneous oncology.edit
Hemodynamic stability, skin approximation (especially in high-tension areas), and achieving an ideal esthetic outcome are the goals of a cutaneous closure. The objectives can challenge those performing dermatologic procedures. While... more
Hemodynamic stability, skin approximation (especially in high-tension areas), and achieving an ideal esthetic outcome are the goals of a cutaneous closure. The objectives can challenge those performing dermatologic procedures. While dermatologists are familiar with the figure 8 suture technique, also known as the cruciate mattress suture, as a means to achieve the first 2 objectives, this crossed horizontal mattress can be less esthetic and potentially can catch on fingernails or clothing.
Research Interests:
Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) serve as both a valuable target as well as a potent tool in the therapy of melanoma and human papillomavirus infections. HSPs have been found to associate with key pathogenic antigens and, under different... more
Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) serve as both a valuable target as well as a potent tool in the therapy of melanoma and human papillomavirus infections. HSPs have been found to associate with key pathogenic antigens and, under different circumstances, activate or suppress both innate and adaptive immunity via several mechanisms. The dominant mechanism of HSP is as a chaperonin to upregulate antigens on antigen-presenting cell surfaces. While no HSP-based therapies are currently FDA approved, several are currently in phase III clinical trials. This study reviews the current literature on therapeutic studies of HSP and the significant role these proteins are likely to play in future therapeutic approaches to neoplasms, infections, and inflammatory diseases of the skin.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
For the past 40 years, dermatologists have safely used contact sensitizers such as dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP), and squaric acid dibutylester (SADBE) for the treatment of warts, alopecia areata, and even... more
For the past 40 years, dermatologists have safely used contact sensitizers such as dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP), and squaric acid dibutylester (SADBE) for the treatment of warts, alopecia areata, and even skin cancers. Most of these studies have utilized these powerful topical immunomodulators in acetone, a volatile solvent that precludes development of contact sensitizers as products. We have overcome these problems and stabilized these topical immunomodulators in a non-volatile, nonirritating GRAS (generally regarded as safe) vehicle. The current review article covers the traditional use of contact sensitizers for a variety of benign and malignant conditions and discusses possible mechanisms in relation to developments in modem molecular immunodermatology.
Research Interests:
CD4 T cell counts are recognized as the standard method for monitoring HIV-seropositive patients and, along with viral load, are clinically important as indicators for initiating highly active antiretrovival therapy (HAART). Skin reaction... more
CD4 T cell counts are recognized as the standard method for monitoring HIV-seropositive patients and, along with viral load, are clinically important as indicators for initiating highly active antiretrovival therapy (HAART). Skin reaction scores following topical application of diphenylcyclopropenone (DPC) also demonstrate diagnostic utility as a functional measure of immune competence. We used low sensitizing doses of DPC in 40 patients applied in a non-volatile, non-irritating topical delivery system to assess immune competence in 40 HIV-seropositive subjects with a range of CD4 T cell counts. Standardized patch test reading scores were used, with 2+ or greater scores (erythema and induration) indicative of a positive response. The patch test scores were then compared with CD4 counts. Application of DPC in concentrations of 0.4% and 0.2% successfully resulted in 90% sensitivity skin reaction scores in subjects with >300 CD4 T cells/microL, following a single 0.1 mL application ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... stronger local but weaker systemic immune activation in the latter, and that moderate and high doses of ... appear to stimulate a diverse array of cell-surface receptors on APCs, including both innate immune ... No writing assistance... more
... stronger local but weaker systemic immune activation in the latter, and that moderate and high doses of ... appear to stimulate a diverse array of cell-surface receptors on APCs, including both innate immune ... No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript. ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... B, Confluent, erythematous, hyperkeratotic plaques on the dorsal aspect of the hand with nail involvement. ... Author Affiliations: DermSurgery Associates, Houston, Texas (Drs Moody, Kazakevich, Smith, Holzer, and Gold-berg and Ms... more
... B, Confluent, erythematous, hyperkeratotic plaques on the dorsal aspect of the hand with nail involvement. ... Author Affiliations: DermSurgery Associates, Houston, Texas (Drs Moody, Kazakevich, Smith, Holzer, and Gold-berg and Ms Landau); Department of Dermatology, Weill ...
Research Interests:
Although infrared radiation (IRR) is ubiquitous in the terrestrial milieu, its effects on human skin have until now been largely ignored. Recent studies suggest an important role for infrared A (IRA) radiation (760-1440 nm) in dermal... more
Although infrared radiation (IRR) is ubiquitous in the terrestrial milieu, its effects on human skin have until now been largely ignored. Recent studies suggest an important role for infrared A (IRA) radiation (760-1440 nm) in dermal inflammation, photoaging, and photocarcinogenesis. In this issue, Calles et al. identify and analyze the IRA-induced transcriptome in human dermal fibroblasts. Their work paves the way for new research directions in IRA photobiology and raises important clinical questions regarding photoprotection and IRR-based dermatotherapy.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Hepatitis C, Biopsy, Humans, Male, Clinical Sciences, and 7 moreMiddle Aged, Necrosis, Foot, Zinc Sulfate, Hand, Hair Follicle, and The American
Research Interests:
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will... more
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Research Interests:
Surgical defects involving multiple facial cosmetic subunits can be challenging to reconstruct. We report on a patient with a complex temporal defect following Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) for a basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The... more
Surgical defects involving multiple facial cosmetic subunits can be challenging to reconstruct. We report on a patient with a complex temporal defect following Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) for a basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The extension of the defect across the left temple, cheek, and forehead hindered the utilization of linear closures or flaps. Healing by secondary intention was considered but was determined to be a suboptimal approach given the involvement of the convex cheek. A modified full-thickness skin graft (FTSG) with linear closures of the distal poles of the wound was ultimately utilized, with excellent cosmetic results at three-month follow-up. Herein, the authors summarize this case and the indications for FTSG and secondary intention healing (SIH) for surgical defects involving the face.
Research Interests:
The nucleotide adenosine triphosphate (ATP) has long been known to drive and participate in countless intracellular processes. Extracellular ATP and its metabolite adenosine have also been shown to exert a variety of effects on nearly... more
The nucleotide adenosine triphosphate (ATP) has long been known to drive and participate in countless intracellular processes. Extracellular ATP and its metabolite adenosine have also been shown to exert a variety of effects on nearly every cell type in human skin. Knowledge of the sources and effects of extracellular ATP in human skin may help shape new therapies for skin injury, inflammation, and numerous other cutaneous disorders. The objective of this review is to introduce the reader to current knowledge regarding the sources and effects of extracellular ATP in human skin and to outline areas in which further research is necessary to clarify the nature and mechanism of these effects. Extracellular ATP seems to play a direct role in triggering skin inflammatory, regenerative, and fibrotic responses to mechanical injury, an indirect role in melanocyte proliferation and apoptosis, and a complex role in Langerhans cell-directed adaptive immunity.
Research Interests:
... 11 Levine VJ, Geronemus RG. Tattoo removal with the Q-switched ruby laser and the Q-switched Nd:YAG laser: a comparative study. Cutis 1995;55:2916 ...
Research Interests:
Contemporary psychoanalysis is as concerned with deconstruction as it is with construction, as increasing attention is given to the study and treatment of vague, amorphous mental states – not yet shaped as proper emotions... more
Contemporary psychoanalysis is as concerned with deconstruction as it is with
construction, as increasing attention is given to the study and treatment
of vague, amorphous mental states – not yet shaped as proper emotions
– alongside finely-honed cognitive states and intrapsychic conflict. Religious
belief and practice have always also contended with this tension, particularly
in the effort to balance raw, formless and perhaps more authentic emotion with
the mandate of normative formulae and structured prayer. In Rabbinic thought,
the expression of the inchoate mental state comes to full expression via Shofar
blasts, particularly as set against the highly organized prayer service of Rosh
ha-shannah. Commentaries on a cryptic Talmudic passage, especially of
Hassidically-influenced thinkers, take the matter to a depth compatible with
certain psychoanalytic ideas. It emerges that the Shofar is intended to
accomplish a deconstruction of the ego-ideal as explained by Jacques Lacan
(1901-1981). After reversion or regression to a more primitive state, the
psychic dimensions which had formulated the current ego structure might
digress, add new forcefulness and evoke a reformation of the ego in a manner
that enables a more refined entry into the Symbolic order and a more sober
recognition of what cannot be altered by human struggle.
construction, as increasing attention is given to the study and treatment
of vague, amorphous mental states – not yet shaped as proper emotions
– alongside finely-honed cognitive states and intrapsychic conflict. Religious
belief and practice have always also contended with this tension, particularly
in the effort to balance raw, formless and perhaps more authentic emotion with
the mandate of normative formulae and structured prayer. In Rabbinic thought,
the expression of the inchoate mental state comes to full expression via Shofar
blasts, particularly as set against the highly organized prayer service of Rosh
ha-shannah. Commentaries on a cryptic Talmudic passage, especially of
Hassidically-influenced thinkers, take the matter to a depth compatible with
certain psychoanalytic ideas. It emerges that the Shofar is intended to
accomplish a deconstruction of the ego-ideal as explained by Jacques Lacan
(1901-1981). After reversion or regression to a more primitive state, the
psychic dimensions which had formulated the current ego structure might
digress, add new forcefulness and evoke a reformation of the ego in a manner
that enables a more refined entry into the Symbolic order and a more sober
recognition of what cannot be altered by human struggle.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Tea, a popular beverage with its origins in southeast Asia, generally refers to an infusion derived from processed leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the plant Camellia sinensis. There are four types of C. sinensis teas commonly... more
Tea, a popular beverage with its origins in southeast Asia, generally refers to an infusion derived from processed leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the plant Camellia sinensis. There are four types of C. sinensis teas commonly available on the market – black, oolong, green, and white – which differ in their modes of processing, and in the case of
Research Interests:
The meaning of the mangal This week, the Israeli doctor Aton Holzer wrote for us a stirring essay on a deep subject: how time and history come to sanctify the practices that we think of as tradition. How, why, and when do canons of... more
The meaning of the mangal
This week, the Israeli doctor Aton Holzer wrote for us a stirring essay on a deep subject: how time and history come to sanctify the practices that we think of as tradition. How, why, and when do canons of liturgy and prayer get established, and how do you know when they actually are established?
The case study that Holzer puts before us is that of Israel’s Independence Day. How will Jewish religious practice come to finally consecrate the sovereignty of the third Jewish commonwealth? And how will the women and men who live there mark it? In considering these questions, Holzer has offered a splendid meditation on the meaning of Israel’s barbecue culture, the meaning of the mangal.
This week, the Israeli doctor Aton Holzer wrote for us a stirring essay on a deep subject: how time and history come to sanctify the practices that we think of as tradition. How, why, and when do canons of liturgy and prayer get established, and how do you know when they actually are established?
The case study that Holzer puts before us is that of Israel’s Independence Day. How will Jewish religious practice come to finally consecrate the sovereignty of the third Jewish commonwealth? And how will the women and men who live there mark it? In considering these questions, Holzer has offered a splendid meditation on the meaning of Israel’s barbecue culture, the meaning of the mangal.
Research Interests:
In light of a new theory regarding Biblical extramural sacrifice, this study proposes that the scapegoat fits into a schema of sacrificial procedures that engage three realms of a “shadow-sanctuary” outside of human habitation, one... more
In light of a new theory regarding Biblical extramural sacrifice, this study proposes that the scapegoat fits into a schema of sacrificial procedures that engage three realms of a “shadow-sanctuary” outside of human habitation, one continuous with the actual sanctuary, and linked by shared rituals at its outermost and innermost extents. The origins of such an entity are explored; a theological rationale for its persistence within ḥatat-rites is proposed; and possible allusions to both are identified in early halakhic and liturgical texts.
Research Interests:
On the eve of the Exodus, God commands the Jews to “borrow” vessels and clothing from their Egyptian neighbors, which are not to be returned but rather become spoils of Egypt. The apparent deception presents a thorny challenge to Divine... more
On the eve of the Exodus, God commands the Jews to “borrow” vessels and clothing from their Egyptian neighbors, which are not to be returned but rather become spoils of Egypt. The apparent deception presents a thorny challenge to Divine morality, and stands in stark contrast to the unambiguous miraculous displays of Divine power that characterize the remainder of the Exodus narrative. The command also poses contextual problems, among them that the actual time of the fulfillment of the command arrives when the deception was least likely to be effective. The history of the question and classical, medieval and modern approaches are surveyed. A new solution is presented on the basis of Hittite scapegoat rituals meant to remove plagues, which date to the ostensible period of the enslavement and Exodus. Among these rituals are ones which involve the dressing of male and female scapegoats in the finery of the royal family or suitable substitutes and sending them to the land of the enemy, which, for the plague-stricken Hittites, would have been Egypt, particularly its Northeast border. It is proposed that the Egyptians were asked to enact this scapegoat ritual upon the Israelites for the purpose of removing the plague of the firstborn and dispatching it to Canaan, and as such garments and finery needed to be borrowed – to belong to the Egyptians – even though it was clear that they were not to be returned. This also can explain why the Egyptians sought to kill the Israelites when they turned back toward Egypt, and why the verses raise the concern that the Israelites could suffer the plagues of Egypt in the aftermath of the Exodus. The use of the scapegoat ritual as a medical procedure incidentally rights a moral wrong, expiating the sins of Egypt by providing reparations; the transformation of the scapegoat ritual to an ethical-moral one is fully complete in the Azazel-goat ritual.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Does R. Soloveitchik's newly published "Jewish Sovereignty and the Redemption of the Shekhina" (TRADITION, Winter 2021) provide a new data point in unraveling his views on the religious meaning of the State of Israel? Aton Holzer... more
Does R. Soloveitchik's newly published "Jewish Sovereignty and the Redemption of the Shekhina" (TRADITION, Winter 2021) provide a new data point in unraveling his views on the religious meaning of the State of Israel? Aton Holzer speculates…
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
https://thelehrhaus.com/holidays/frum-and-free-passover-and-jewish-views-on-liberty/ A foundational value of modern Western democracies is freedom, or its sometimes synonym liberty. Modern states quibble regarding the appropriate... more
https://thelehrhaus.com/holidays/frum-and-free-passover-and-jewish-views-on-liberty/
A foundational value of modern Western democracies is freedom, or its sometimes synonym liberty. Modern states quibble regarding the appropriate parameters of liberty, but they hold the principle as a fundamental, and for some even intrinsic, value.
A foundational value of modern Western democracies is freedom, or its sometimes synonym liberty. Modern states quibble regarding the appropriate parameters of liberty, but they hold the principle as a fundamental, and for some even intrinsic, value.
Research Interests:
thelehrhaus.com/holidays/mind-blown-shofar-as-divine-encounter-beyond-the-limits-of-human-comprehension One of the most perplexing practices in the Jewish tradition-when we give it sufficient thought-is the sounding of the shofar. Jews... more
thelehrhaus.com/holidays/mind-blown-shofar-as-divine-encounter-beyond-the-limits-of-human-comprehension
One of the most perplexing practices in the Jewish tradition-when we give it sufficient thought-is the sounding of the shofar. Jews come to synagogue, begin prayer, and punctuate the prayer with loud, monotonal trumpet blasts. What do the blasts mean? The Torah gives no indication. The Talmud (Rosh Ha-Shanah 16a) explores this question haltingly, and becomes a locus classicus for the unknowability of the mind of God: Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Why does one sound [tok'in] on Rosh Ha-Shanah? Why do we sound? The Merciful One states "Sound [tik'u]" (Psalms 81:4). Rather, why does one sound blasts [teru'a]? Sound a teru'a? The Merciful One states: "a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns [teru'a]" (Leviticus 23:24). Rather, why does one sound blast [teki'a] and blasts [teru'a] sitting and sound a tekia and a teru'a while they are standing? In order to confuse [le'arbev] the Satan.
One of the most perplexing practices in the Jewish tradition-when we give it sufficient thought-is the sounding of the shofar. Jews come to synagogue, begin prayer, and punctuate the prayer with loud, monotonal trumpet blasts. What do the blasts mean? The Torah gives no indication. The Talmud (Rosh Ha-Shanah 16a) explores this question haltingly, and becomes a locus classicus for the unknowability of the mind of God: Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Why does one sound [tok'in] on Rosh Ha-Shanah? Why do we sound? The Merciful One states "Sound [tik'u]" (Psalms 81:4). Rather, why does one sound blasts [teru'a]? Sound a teru'a? The Merciful One states: "a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns [teru'a]" (Leviticus 23:24). Rather, why does one sound blast [teki'a] and blasts [teru'a] sitting and sound a tekia and a teru'a while they are standing? In order to confuse [le'arbev] the Satan.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Maccabees won the battle, but did they lose the war? Modern scholarship demonstrates that Judaism was indeed irrevocably transformed by its encounter with Hellenism, which extinguished prophecy and ushered in a new way of thinking... more
The Maccabees won the battle, but did they lose the war? Modern scholarship demonstrates that Judaism was indeed irrevocably transformed by its encounter with Hellenism, which extinguished prophecy and ushered in a new way of thinking about existence, and God’s place within it.
Modern philosophers raised searing critiques of Hellenistic metaphysics and theology. In a remarkable passage, Rav Kook articulates the sharpest of these. He goes on to read the Hanukkah miracle as an allegory for the ultimate resolution to the crisis, one which anticipates key ideas of postmodern thinker Jacques Derrida.
Modern philosophers raised searing critiques of Hellenistic metaphysics and theology. In a remarkable passage, Rav Kook articulates the sharpest of these. He goes on to read the Hanukkah miracle as an allegory for the ultimate resolution to the crisis, one which anticipates key ideas of postmodern thinker Jacques Derrida.
Research Interests:
In his latest for the Lehrhaus, Aton Holzer sheds light on the hidden roots of Hanukkah–exploring the political and theological meaning of the holiday from the Second Temple period through the Talmud.
Research Interests:
The last verse in the Book of Lamentations has posed both a textual and theological problem for commentators since the dawn of Jewish Biblical exegesis. In this article we explore four approaches in modern scholarly literature, identify... more
The last verse in the Book of Lamentations has posed both a textual
and theological problem for commentators since the dawn of Jewish
Biblical exegesis. In this article we explore four approaches in modern
scholarly literature, identify some antecedents in Rabbinic Midrash and
Aggada, propose a rationale for the choice of approach related to
changing historical circumstances in late antiquity, and suggest
possible traces of the ideologies represented by these approaches in
Jewish ritual observances commemorating the Temple’s destruction.
and theological problem for commentators since the dawn of Jewish
Biblical exegesis. In this article we explore four approaches in modern
scholarly literature, identify some antecedents in Rabbinic Midrash and
Aggada, propose a rationale for the choice of approach related to
changing historical circumstances in late antiquity, and suggest
possible traces of the ideologies represented by these approaches in
Jewish ritual observances commemorating the Temple’s destruction.
Research Interests:
The manner in which the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, initially a date of purely technical significance, evolved into a minor festival is shrouded in mystery. In this article, I examine an eleventh-century liturgical text... more
The manner in which the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, initially a date of purely technical significance, evolved into a minor festival is shrouded in mystery. In this article, I examine an eleventh-century liturgical text for ṭu bi-Šebhaṭ, a qedušta from the Cairo Geniza. The content of the piyuṭ-poem appears to situate the sacralization of ṭu bi-Šebhaṭ in the context of Rabbanite-Karaite polemic, and particularly the confrontation between the Yešibha Ge'on Ya'aqobh of Jerusalem and the abhele ṣiyon community nearby. Appreciation of the historical circumstances and ideological commitments of these two communities-made possible by recent Geniza discoveries-helps to shed new light on the liturgy, as well as the religious evolution of the date that today is observed as the Jewish Arbor Day.
Research Interests:
Flowers and traditions involving flowers tend to be conspicuously absent from early and late medieval Rabbinic literature, with one well-known but controversial exception. In contrast, literature and archaeological motifs beginning from... more
Flowers and traditions involving flowers tend to be conspicuously absent from early and late medieval Rabbinic literature, with one well-known but controversial exception. In contrast, literature and archaeological motifs beginning from the biblical period and reaching a climax in the late Second Temple period are replete with floral themes. The Madonna lily – lilium candidum – is especially celebrated as a symbol of ancient Israel, and particularly the Temple in Jerusalem, which may have been adorned with them in the late spring. In this essay, we analyze the Jewish culture of flowers in its Greco-Roman context and suggest possibilities to account for its ultimate disappearance – in particular, the translocation of Rabbinic scholarship to a Zoroastrian milieu, in which flowers played a central role in worship.