Halpern’s oath took the form of ten directives and was written in beautiful Biblical Hebrew, inspired in style and spirit by his forefathers, the rabbinical dynasty of Bialystok. Through to this day, all graduates of medical faculties in Israel take this oath. THE OATH OF THE HEBREW PHYSICIAN Novices of Medicine! You stand this day
before your masters in the ways of medicine and its statutes. That you should enter into covenant with medicine, to fulfill its laws with uprightness, and with all your might and mind that there Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical may be established a generation of physicians worthy to do, and faithfully dedicated to succor the sick. And this is the covenant which I make with you this day saying: You are charged day and night to stand by the sick in their selleckchem distress at any time and at any hour. You shall watch verily over the life of man from
his mother’s womb and his welfare shall always be your chief concern. And Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical you will help the sick, base or honorable, stranger or alien or citizen, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical because he is sick. And you shall seek to fathom the soul of the sick, to restore their spirits with perspicacity and love of man. Do not hasten to bring forth judgment, and weigh your advice on a wise balance, tried in the crucible of wisdom forged by experience. Be loyal to those who put their trust in you. Reveal not his secret and go not as a taleteller. And make Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical wise your heart to the health and welfare of the public and bring healing to alleviate
the distress of the people. Give honor and esteem to your teachers who have striven to lead in the paths of medicine. Increase wisdom and weaken not, for wisdom is your life and from it shall flow the outcomes of life. Heed the dignity of your friends for in honoring them you will Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical be honored. The words of this covenant are most unto your mind and your heart to follow them with your heart and with your whole soul and you will answer—Amen. Amen thus we shall do. May your endeavors glorify Thalidomide the heritage of medicine in Israel. CONTINUED ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1953–1968 In 1953, Halpern became the first recipient of the prestigious Israel Prize in Medicine for the discovery and elucidation of the “sensorimotor induction syndrome,” which came to be known as “Halpern’s syndrome.” This syndrome was described in detail by Halpern in a book that was published in Paris two years earlier.9 The book contained a multitude of observations and experiments Halpern conducted, beginning in the 1930s, and carried out amidst the struggle to build the Department of Neurology, his clinical work, and the upheavals of WWII and the War of Independence.