More Than a Pot of Chicken Soup: Traditional Jewish Folk Medicine

Darla Strouse: Now, we all know Terri Clayman – or thought we knew everything about her. But let me just tell you. Terri graduated from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy – she told me I could tell the year – in 1977, with a Bachelor’s of Science in Pharmacy, and in 1998, with a Doctor of Pharmacy. She spent 43 years as a hospital pharmacist, working at Bonsecourt Hospital, Sinai Hospital, Northwest Medical Center, and Mercy Medical Center, where she did retire three-and-a-half years ago. She was the clinical specialist in the anticoagulation clinic at Mercy for the last five years prior to retiring.

Terri was an active member of the Maryland Society of Health System Pharmacists, serving as newsletter editor. She was Secretary for a period of time and Chair of their annual seminar. In 2005, Terri was honored as the society’s Pharmacist of the Year. So now you know everything that you ever want to know about Terri Clayman. But we’re very proud of her. And I think before the presentation, both the rabbi and Terri deserve a round of applause. I’m going to turn it over now. Thank you very much.

Linda Joseph: Jewish herbs and foods for healing is more than a pot of chicken soup!

It makes sense, given our understanding that Jewish tradition embraces science and places value on life, that Jews would have embraced the healing property of herbs, the natural medicines of the world.

The Talmud, in Pesachim, mentions a book of remedies hidden by King Hezekiah. It is said to be a book filled with natural tonics, the healing properties of plants and other natural elements.

The commentators argue over the origins of this book. Radak and Ramban suggest that it was written by the wise King Solomon. Our German commentators suggest that this herbal wisdom dates to the sons of Noah. One commentator even attributes the work to Moses himself!

So why did King Hezekiah hide the book of remedies? It’s said he wanted the people to heal through their faith in God rather than through medicine. The great doctor of the medieval era, Moses Maimonides, ridicules this idea. He suggests that the Book of Remedies was hidden because the book contained not just remedies – because he himself, of course used them – but it also contained magical incantations for healing that were a desecration of God’s Name and powers. And thus, King Hezekiah decided that this book best be hidden.

The evidence tells us that herbs and natural remedies were widely used by those who healed in Judaism.

Jewish medical history contained doctors. By and large, they were trained in medical academies outside of the Pale of Settlement such as in Padua, Italy. They often had additional professions such as being a rabbi, scholar, poet, or philosopher. (Maimonides was all of these!)

By and large, these physicians served the upper classes. They oversaw but did not perform surgeries. Most served as private doctors or university professors. Natural remedies were part of their medical practice. ¹Ashkenazi Herbalism by Deatra Cohen and Adam Siegel, Berkley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2021, p. 13

The Baalei Shem of Eastern Europe – and you may know them from the Baal Shem Tov of Hasidism – were the “Masters of Good Names”. They could perform amazing miracles by using and manipulating God’s name. They were known to rely heavily on medical literature which used herbs. They used and compiled Yiddish remedy books, touting them as Kabbalah. These books borrowed liberally from Slavic superstitions, popular medicines, and healing practices. It was not uncommon for them to recommend a charm along with an herbal remedies. ²Ibid., p.10

In the Ashkenazi world, the third type of healer were Feldshers, which today we might translate as paramedics. Feldshers were part of the medical landscape as early as the Middle Ages. They were prevalent on battlefields, where they were the barber-surgeons, and the earliest Jewish Feldsher that we have on record served in Swiss mercenary forces in the thirteenth century.

Feldshers not only did surgery, but they were expected to be knowledgeable about herbal treatments. ³Ibid., pp. 14-15 They were considered the folk physicians by the Jewish communities they practiced in, and Ashkenazi Jews often called them “rofe”  or “royfe,” meaning “doctor.” ⁴Ibid p. 17

From the Middle Ages onwards, pharmacies (like where Terri worked) were where the healers and medics attained their secret ingredients, recipes, and prescriptions. The pharmacy served as a meeting place for healers to share their scientific and folk knowledge. Baalei Shem, doctors, healers, and feldshers would all gather there. Pharmacies were a place for different cultures, the secular cultures or religious cultures that were outside of the Jewish world, to exchange their remedies too. ⁵Ibid., pp. 13-14

In Sephardic medical practice, by and large, family medicine was practiced by women, who were pivotal to the health of their communities. In the research by Isaac Jack Lévy and Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt, many women interviewed on their Sephardic medical practices, expressed skepticism about scientific medical practices and doctors.

For Sephardim, all illness was connected to a spiritual cause, and thus, the women combined herbs with incantations and rituals for healing. Their practices included blessings and curses, and cures that involved herbs, oils, sugar and mumia (dried bones from corpses). ⁶Ritual Medical Lore of Sephardic Women by Isaac Jack Lévy and Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt, Urbana Chicago and Springfield: University of Illinois Press, 2002

Terri Clayman: “Herbal supplements are natural, so they must be safe, right”? No, that is not true all the time. Many popular natural remedies can clash with prescription and non-prescription drugs-sometimes with severe consequences. Certain herbal supplements can change absorption, metabolism, or excretion of a medication. If this happens, it can affect the potency of your medications, which means you may get either too much or too little of the medication you need.

Dangerous interactions are on the rise; mostly because doctors are in the dark about their patient’s use of supplements. About 50% of adults in the United States say they have used one or more supplements in the past 30 days. Almost 70% of older adults use them. But only about 25% of people who take herbal supplements tell their health care providers. And as many as 25% of people also take prescription medicines that are ordered for them by their healthcare providers.

This is why you need to talk with your health care provider before you take herbal supplements if you take prescription medicines. If you are prescribed a new medication, make sure your health care provider or pharmacist know you are taking an herbal supplement.

St. John’s Wort

Linda Joseph: Tonight, Terri and I are going to look at three herbs which you may consume, that were also common in Jewish herbal medicine. We are going to be talking about three different herbs, and I’m going to tell you the Jewish history of those herbs, and Terri is going to talk about them from a medical standpoint. And we are going to start with St. John’s wort.

My information on the use of St. John’s Wort is taken from this book, Ashkenazi Herbalism.

St John’s Wort was used widely in the ancient world. Its Latin name, hypericum, originates from the Greek and means “over an apparition”. There was an ancient belief that St John’s Wort was objectionable to evil spirits. Apparently even a small whiff of the plant could cause the evil spirits to flee! The Yiddish name for this herb – Shedim Shutz – indicates this. Shedim are evil spirits. Shutz means to run away!

St. John’s Wort was used in Ashkenazi herbalism to treat external wounds. Where did they learn this? Beginning with Greek medicine. The first indication of this use is found in the works of Hippocrates and Theophrastus.

Dioscorides found a practical use for St. John’s Wort as a healer for hip ailments, and knew of its ability to draw out bilious matter and excrement, and its ability to heal burns when plastered onto the skin.

Galen noted that it was astringent, and it also stimulated urination. The Jewish physician, Tobias HaKohen, also commented on the herb’s use for the urinary system, for digestion, and cited it as a possible remedy for kidney stones.

In the Islamic/Sephardic world, Maimonides, called this plant different names. In Arabic and Spanish, St John’s Worts name derived from the idea of being “forgetful” or “appeasing grief” or “calming”. It was also known as a “heart herb.”

During the Middle Ages and onwards, Polish Jews believed that this plant cured ninety-nine illnesses (so it was a “wonder drug”), as well as having power over evil forces. They thought if you hung it in the window, the house would be protected against lightning. Good to know, right?

They also used the herb as a diuretic and for wound healing. When the fresh flowers are combined with spiritus, it was believed to have healing properties for lacerations, burns and ulcers. ⁷Ashkenazi Herbalism, pp. 132-133

In the Pale of Settlement, as late as the twentieth century, St John’s wort was used widely for a variety of ailments. Here is a sample from some studies and interviews that were done:

• It was widely employed for intestinal ailments and kidney troubles. In Leitchev, Ashkenazi healers used it for skin disorders.
• We have records of folk healers using the plant for dysentery, respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis, blood, and metabolic diseases.
• For headaches caused by anemia or dizziness, a decoction of the herb was used to wash the hair.
• It was used in Berditchev and Cherkoss by women suffering from gynecological diseases.
• In Bohslov, the same infusion was given to bring on menstruation, or to stop hemorrhaging, in both men and women.
• If someone was bitten by a mad dog, in Bazilia, St. John’s wort was used to cure the infection.

Perhaps the most interesting use was as a remedy for nervous conditions. This replicates the use that we have in modern times for this herb. ⁸Ibid, pp. 137-139

Terri Clayman: St. John’s wort has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of mild to moderate depression. It is unclear if it is beneficial in the treatment of severe depression. Some evidence exists that shows that taking St. John’s wort, alone or with black cohosh, may reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.

However, there are many potentially serious interactions between St. John’s wort and prescription drugs. Taking St. John’s wort with antidepressants such as Prozac or Zoloft can increase levels of serotonin and cause headache, sweating, dizziness, and agitation. This same reaction can occur with some meds that are used to treat migraine headaches. Taking St. John’s wort with Xanax, some chemotherapeutic agents, simvastatin, some immunosuppressive agents like cyclosporine, digoxin, some HIV medications, and Prilosec can reduce the drug’s effectiveness. Loss of seizure control may occur if St. John’s wort is taken with Dilantin and breakthrough bleeding, irregular bleeding or unplanned pregnancy may occur if taken with contraceptives. St. John’s wort also has the potential to interact with blood thinning medications such as warfarin.

Garlic

Linda Joseph: In the Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 3:10, it is said that eating garlic was a Jewish custom – and Jews referred to themselves as “garlic- eaters.” The Emperor Marcus Aurelius is said to have criticized Jews for smelling of garlic!

In the Jerusalem Talmud, Garlic is an aphrodisiac. In the Jerusalem Talmud (Megillah 4:1, 75a), it is said that the scribe Ezra ate Garlic on Friday evenings because it “promotes love and arouses desire”. ⁹Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol 7, Col. 328-329

In Sephardic ritual, avoidance of Garlic was a common remedy used by women. My information about garlic is largely taken from this book: Ritual Medical Lore of Sephardic Women.

 Now, as I explained earlier, often the use of herbal remedies was accompanied by rituals and incantations by Sephardic women, as well as blessings and curses. But the Sephardic women were the local healers. They were the people that did the healing in their home.

Medicinal plants in Sephardic homes were known as segula, and might include items that were widely available, such as marjoram, garlic, rosemary, rue, salt, coffee, sugar, urine… to aid someone who was ill, the woman had to determine the cause of the problem. This was done by sight, by analyzing dreams or by divination using molten lead.

One use of garlic was its avoidance! Here are some samples of avoidance of garlic and the accompanying ceremonies:

In Rhodes and Izmir, if someone had taken fright, or was anxious or depressed, they would be secretly given mumia tapada (that is: secret mummy) – dried bones that were ground up and hidden in the food. Apparently the best mummia was not from a corpse, but from the foreskin of a circumcision. Other people took their mummia from bones of animals or animals, but it was a very prized ingredient in healing.

Mummia was regarded as a powerful medicine and was highly valued. It should be given, apparently, in the early morning, on a day when Torah is read, or on the eve of Rosh Chodesh. One does not tell the sick person that they are receiving a pinch of mummia.

Once mummia was administered, the ill person had to follow a special diet – no onion, fish or garlic. After three days one can tell the sick person that they consumed mummia, and they must continue the special diet for nine days. They are told because they may be well enough to feed themselves!

Garlic was also avoided after a patient had been diagnosed using livianos – divination using molten lead. The livianos had to be completed in one day, and once again, the patient underwent a special diet… for nine days they cannot eat onions, garlic, fish, fried food, food with strong odors and salted fish. So what did they eat instead – sweets, halva and pasta!

For those who were greatly ill, where other remedies did not work, a ceremony of ritual enclosure would take place several days before Rosh Chodesh, the new moon. The afflicted household would be enclosed for at least three days and nights, the ill person kept in bed. And they could only eat a bland diet – no oil, onion, garlic, no meat and no fish.

Lucy Garnett, in her book “The Women of Turkey and Their Folklore,” then describes the accompanying ritual –

“Another method of exorcising demons is… called indulgiancia, or coaxing, and is employed in the case of violent shock, or any mental excitement, as this is believed to be caused by some demon having gained mastery over the sufferer. The patient is washed, dressed in white linen, and laid on a white bed… The sufferer… must remain as much alone as possible, eating nothing but bread, butter, and milk, and takings as medicine occasional small doses of pulverized mummy [mumia], dissolved in sugar water.”

Sephardim called this ritual endulko and saradura, depending on where they lived. ¹⁰Ritual Medical Lore, op cit. pp. 131, 144, 148, 185

Another use for garlic was as a prophylactic protection. It was said to shield one from the evil eye. A woman from Salonika in her eighties is quoted as saying: “Garlic is for the evil eye, and Ruda is for the evil eye. They would put a piece of it [in the clothing] and hang [it in the house]. For fright, doctors don’t know anything about fright. He is going to give you all the medicines in the world, nothing to it [it won’t work].” ¹¹Ibid, p.69

Garlic was tucked as a protective into boy’s baby clothes before a circumcision. ¹²Ibid., p.69 It was not unusual for Garlic to be used as a protection with other items. A. Clara Donon of Zenica, Bosnia explained: “Rue is placed thus [pointing to the ear], garlic under the pillow so it could not be seen.” Julie Aljef, of Ruscuk, Bulgaria, recalled: “Garlic they put under the pillow for the evil eye. Sometimes they would tie blue chains [by stringing garlic together with blue beads]. Garlic they also put in pockets, in the house and under doors. With garlic in the pocket a male child was supposed to grow to be a strong man! Amulets were crocheted in red and blue and hung on the doors of houses to protect them.”

In Greece, if they believed the evil eye had fallen on a home, they would place a horseshoe, a head of garlic, and some beads.

Terri Clayman: Garlic has been used to lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Taken in large doses, garlic also thins the blood. Because of this, people taking warfarin, regular doses of aspirin, or other blood thinners should not use garlic for anything other than seasoning. Garlic can cause potentially harmful side effects when combined with the anti-HIV drug saquinavir and patients should be cautious about using garlic supplements during HIV therapy. Garlic may also cause hypoglycemia and should be used cautiously with diabetes medications. 

Cannabis

Linda Joseph: For a long time, archaeologists and paleobotanists believed that cannabis was unknown to the ancient Israelites.

Some writers had hypothesized its usage in religious ritual in the Bible. Sula Benet in 1936 claimed that the plant Keneh Busam, mentioned five times in the Bible as used in anointing oil, was cannabis. Academics by and large dismissed this as erroneous.

However, in 2020, archaeologists and paleobotanists identified cannabis residue on the sanctuary altar at Tel Arad, suggesting that cannabis may have been part of the ritual of the time.

In Jewish law there has been some debate around the use of Cannabis. In 1973, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein stated that Cannabis was not permitted under Jewish Law, citing the herb’s harmful effects. However, Rabbi Efraim Zalmanovich believed that medical, not recreational Marijuana was permitted. ¹³Wikipedia, “Cannabis and Judaism”

The majority of Orthodox posekim teach that the Torah obligates us to lead our lives as healthily as possible. In an article by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg published in the JewishPress.com he gives an explanation that reaches back into rabbinic sources:

“The Talmud in Pesachim 113a tells us that Rav, who lived in the second century, told his son Chiya, “Do not ingest any drugs.” Rashi explains that Rav was concerned that a person would enjoy the “high” and would crave experiencing it over and over. Why is that a problem? How is being high and happy a violation of living healthy?”

He continues by arguing that if the substance clouds our judgement of compromises our consciousness, we are weakening the God part of our soul, surrendering our humanity to the substance. He quotes Maimonides: “whoever becomes drunk is a sinner, is shameful and will lose his wisdom. If he becomes drunk before others, he desecrates God’s Name.”

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg sums up the Orthodox position this way:

“While the world around is adopting more permissive laws and views of marijuana use, Jewish law believes that although medical marijuana is permissible, its recreational use prevents us from being our best selves and is forbidden. We should satisfy the craving to “get high” by working hard to develop our spiritual muscles and deepen our connection to the Infinite Source of creation.” ¹⁴“Marijuana and Judaism: What is Halakhic Position on Pot? By Rabbi Efrem Goldberg in JewishPress.com, December 9, 2021

So now you must be wondering – I’ve given you the Orthodox point of view. What does Reform Judaism say? It actually agrees with the Orthodox position.

At the 67^th General Assembly in November 2003 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the following resolutions was adopted by the Union for Reform Judaism:

… the Union for Reform Judaism resolves to:

1. 1. Urge elected officials in the United States to support federal legislation and regulation to allow the medicinal use of marijuana for patients with intractable pain and other conditions, under medical supervision;
   2. Urge the Food and Drug Administration to expand the scope of allowable Investigational New Drug applications in order to move research forward more quickly toward an approved product;
   3. Call for further medical research on marijuana and its constituent compounds with the goal of developing reliable and safe cannabinoid drugs for management of debilitating conditions; and
   4. Call upon congregations to advocate for the necessary changes in local, state and federal law to permit the medicinal use of marijuana and ensure its accessibility for that purpose.

And just in case you are interested, cannabis, if smoked, is considered Kosher because it is not consumed. Some legal opinions only apply this to medical cannabis. Edibles, may not be Kosher, on the chance they will contains small insects, so the halachic recommendation is to only use cannabis that is certified as Kosher. ¹⁵Wikipedia, ibid

Terri Clayman: This is going to be a hard act to follow! Cannabis has been used since 2900 BC for pain management. Researchers believe that components such as CBD (cannabidiol) are responsible for its pain-relieving effects. It may be effective for conditions like fibromyalgia. CBD oil may help reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and even psychosis. Some evidence suggests cannabinoids may have neuroprotective properties, potentially benefiting conditions like MS. Cannabis oil can stimulate appetite making it useful for patients who have lost their appetite due to medical conditions or treatments. THC containing cannabis has been researched for chemotherapy related symptoms. In the hospital we would give out dronabinol, which was a THC – a cannabis – thing, for patients that were undergoing chemotherapy who had lost their appetite.

There are 394 medications that are known to interact with cannabis. Of these, 28 are major interactions. Most of these reactions are with central nervous system depressants such as codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, morphine, oxycodone, meperidine, and tramadol which can cause additive effects leading to respiratory depression, coma and even death.  Cannabis may also increase the risk of bleeding if taken with warfarin.