(ח) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ שָׂרָ֔ף וְשִׂ֥ים אֹת֖וֹ עַל־נֵ֑ס וְהָיָה֙ כָּל־הַנָּשׁ֔וּךְ וְרָאָ֥ה אֹת֖וֹ וָחָֽי׃
Oath of Asaph Text
- This is the pact which Asaph ben Berakhyahu and Yohanan ben Zabda made with their pupils, and they adjured them with the following words:
- Do not attempt to kill any soul by means of a potion of herbs,
- Do not make a woman [who is] pregnant [as a result] of whoring take a drink with a view to causing abortion,
- Do not covet beauty of form in women with a view to fornicating with them,
- Do not divulge the secret of a man who has trusted you,
- Do not take any reward [which may be offered in order to induce you] to destroy and to ruin,
- Do not harden your heart [and turn it away] from pitying the poor and healing the needy,
- Do not say of [what is] good; it is bad, nor of [what is] bad: it is good,
- Do not adopt the ways of the sorcerers using [as they do] charms, augury and sorcery in order to separate a man from the wife of his bosom or a woman from the companion of her youth,
- You shall not covet any wealth or reward [which may be offered in order to induce you] to help in a lustful desire,
- You shall not seek help in any idolatrous [worship] so as to heal through [a recourse to idols], and you shall not heal with anything [pertaining] to their worship,
- But on the contrary detest and abhor and hate all those who worship them, put their trust in them, and give assurance [referring] to them,
- For they are all naught, useless, for they are nothing, demons, spirits of the dead; they cannot help their own corpses, how then could they help those who live?
- Now [then] put your trust in the Lord, your God, [who is] a true God, a living God,
- For [it is] He who kills and makes alive, who wounds and heals,
- Who teaches men knowledge and also to profit,
- Who wounds with justice and righteousness, and who heals with pity and compassion,
- No designs of [His] sagacity are beyond His [power]
- And nothing is hidden from His eyes.
- Who causes curative plants to grow,
- Who puts sagacity into the hearts of the wise in order that they should heal through the abundance of His loving-kindness, and that they should recount wonders in the congregation of many; so that every living [being] knows that He made him and that there is no saviour [other] than He.
- For the nations trust in their idols, who [are supposed] to save them from their distress and will not deliver them from their misfortunes
- For their trust and hope is in the dead.
- For this [reason] it is fitting to keep yourselves separate from them; to remove yourselves and keep far away from all the abominations of their idols,
- And to cleave to the name of the Lord God of spirits for all flesh,
- And the soul of every living being is in His hand to kill and to make live,
- And there is none that can deliver out of His hand.
- Remember Him always and seek Him in truth, in righteousness in an upright way, in order that you should prosper in all your works
- And He will give you help to make you prosper in [what you are doing], and you shall be [said to be] happy in the mouth of all flesh.
- And the nations will abandon their idols and images and will desire to worship God like you,
- For they will know that their trust is in vain and their endeavor fruitless,
- For they implore a god, who will not do good [to them], who will not save [them].
- As for you, be strong, do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded,
- The Lord is with you, while you are with Him,
- If you keep His pact, follow His commandments, cleaving to them,
- You will be regarded as His saints in the eyes of all flesh, and they will say:
- Happy the people whose [lot] is such, happy the people whose God is the Lord.
- Their pupils answered saying:
- We will do all that you exhorted and ordered us [to do],
- For it is a commandment of the Torah,
- And we must do it with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our might, To do and to obey
- Not to swerve or turn aside to the right hand or the left
- And they [Asaph and Yohanan] blessed them in the name of God most high, maker of heaven and earth.
- And they continued to charge them, and said:
- The Lord God, His saints and His Torah [bear] witness, that you should fear Him, that you should not turn aside from His commandments, and that you should follow His laws with an upright heart,
- You shall not incline after lucre [so as] to help a godless [man in shedding] innocent blood.
- You shall not mix a deadly drug for any man or woman so that he [or she] should kill their fellow-man.
- You shall not speak of the herbs [out of which such drugs are made]. You shall not hand them over to any man,
- And you shall not talk about any matter [connected] with this,
- You shall not use blood in any work of medicine,
- You shall not attempt to provoke an ailment in a human soul through [the use of] iron instruments or searing with fire before making an examination two or three times; then [only] should you give your advice.
- You shall not be ruled - your eyes and your heart being lifted up - by a haughty spirit.
- Do not keep [in your hearts] the vindictiveness of hatred with regard to a sick man,
- You shall not change your words in anything,
- The Lord our God hates [?] [this?] being done,
- But keep His orders and commandments, and follow all His ways, in order to please Him, [and] to be pure, true and upright.
- Thus did Asaph and Yohanan exhort and adjure their pupils.
Ben Sirach 28:3 (200 - 175 BCE)
Honor a physician with the honor due unto him for the uses which you may have of him: for the Lord created him. 2For of the most High comes healing, and he shall receive honor of the king. 3The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be admired. 4The Lord created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them. 5Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? 6And He has given men skill, that he might be honored in His marvelous works.
GEMARA: Our Rabbis taught: King Hezekiah [7th c. BCE] performed six actions. For three of these, he was commended. For the other three he was not. He was commended for dragging his father's bones on a bier of ropes [his father was a king]. He was commended for grinding the serpent rod of Israel into dust, and he was commended for doing away with Sefer Refuot [The Book of Healing].
תורה מביאה לידי זהירות זהירות מביאה לידי זריזות זריזות מביאה לידי נקיות נקיות מביאה לידי פרישות פרישות מביאה לידי טהרה טהרה מביאה לידי חסידות חסידות מביאה לידי ענוה ענוה מביאה לידי יראת חטא יראת חטא מביאה לידי קדושה קדושה מביאה לידי רוח הקודש רוח הקודש מביאה לידי תחיית המתים
The study of Torah leads to being careful. Being careful leads to agility. Agility leads to cleanliness. Cleanliness leads to restraint. Restraint leads to purity. Purity leads to righteousness. Righteousness leads to humility. Humility leads to the fear of sin. The fear of sin leads to holiness. Holiness leads to the Divine Spirit. The Divine Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead and eternal life.
תא שמע מי שיש לו בית בחצר השותפין ה"ז לא ישכירנו לא לרופא ולא לאומן ולא לגרדי ולא לסופר יהודי ולא לסופר ארמאי
GEMARAH: Come and hear: One who has a house in a jointly owned courtyard may not rent it to a doctor, nor to a surgeon, nor to a weaver, nor to a Jewish teacher [sofer], nor to a non-Jewish teacher.
ת"ר טחול יפה לשינים וקשה לבני מעים כרישין קשין לשינים ויפין לבני מעים כל ירק חי מוריק וכל קטן מקטין וכל נפש משיב את הנפש וכל קרוב לנפש משיב את הנפש כרוב למזון ותרדין לרפואה אוי לו לבית שהלפת עוברת בתוכו...
The Rabbis taught: Spleen is beneficial for the teeth and harmful for the intestines. Leeks, however, are harmful for the teeth and beneficial for the intestines. All raw vegetables turn one’s face pale. Anything small that has not yet reached its full size is harmful and impedes growth, and any living creature eaten whole, e.g., a fully grown fish, restores the soul. And anything close to the soul restores the soul. Cabbage is for nourishment and beets for healing. Woe unto the house through which the turnip passes, for it is extremely harmful.
Maimonides Commentary on the Mishnah Mo'ed, 177-178
According to their confused and stupid logic, if a hungry man grabs bread and eats it, [an act] which is sure to cure this painful suffering, does this mean that he stopped relying on G-d?! They should be told: "You fools! As I think G-d for the food which He provided me, which alleviates my hunger and sustains me, in the same way I thank Him for providing a medicine which heals my illness when I use it!"
Questions For Reflection
1. What does the evolution of Israelite medicine and healing look like? On which aspects of health and healing does Jewish leadership focus during each of these different periods of Jewish history?
2. What are the theological implications and controversies that show up throughout this evolution?
3. Why do you think that ancient Jewish medicine was more free from magic and folk remedy than its later variations? For example, why is cleanliness and quarantine the focus of the Bible while potions and magic are the highlights of Eastern European Judaism into the 20th century?