Health And Medicine In The Jewish Tradition

"The premise of the Jewish attitude toward illness is that living is sacred, that good health enables us to live a fully religious life, and that disease is an evil. Any effective therapy is permitted, even if it conflicts with Jewish law. To bring about healing is a responsibility not only of the person who is ill and of the professional caregivers, but also of the loved ones, and of the larger circle of family, friends, and community." "Illness and Health in the Jewish Tradition is an anthology of traditional and modern Jewish writings that highlights these basic principles."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This book integrates the foundations of the values of the Jewish heritage with the actual experiences of patients. Through clinical guidelines and anecdotes, the reader will gain insight into complex issues involving life, death, pain, suffering, illness and health as they affect patients, health care providers and family members. The book discusses contemporary issues such as AIDS, hospice and Baby M based on the value system of the Jewish heritage. It is unique in that it combines the personal reflections of patients with expert discussions of psychological and medical aspects of these issues. Includes a contribution by the winner of the 1991 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

Gift of Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut.

Is ‘Jewish medicine’ a valid historical category? Does it represent a collective constituted by the interplay of medical, ethnic and religious cultures? Integrating academic disciplines from medical history to philology and Jewish studies, this book aims at answering this question historically by presenting comprehensive coverage of Jewish medical traditions in Central Eastern Europe, mostly on what is today Poland and Germany (and the former Russian, Prussian and Austro-Hungarian Empires). In this significant zone of ethnic, religious and cultural interaction, Jewish, Polish, and German traditions and communities were more entangled, and identities were shared to an extent greater than anywhere else. Starting with early modern times and the Enlightenment, through the 19th century, up until the horrors of medicine in the ghettos and concentration camps, the book collects a variety of perspectives on the question of how Judaism and Jewish culture were dynamically related to medicine and healthcare. It discusses the Halachic traditions, hygiene-related stereotypes, the organization of healthcare within specified communities, academic careers, hybrid medical identities, and diversified medical practices.

Essential reading for people interested in the Jewish healing, spirituality and spiritual direction movements, this groundbreaking volume explores the Jewish tradition for comfort in times of illness and Judaism?s perspectives on the inevitable suffering with which we live.Pushing the boundaries of Jewish knowledge, scholars, teachers, artists and activists examine the aspects of our mortality and the important distinctions between curing and healing. Topics discussed include: the importance of the individual; health and healing among the mystics; hope and the Hebrew Bible; from disability to enablement; overcoming stigma; Jewish bioethics; and more.Drawing from literature, personal experience, and the foundational texts of Judaism, these celebrated thinkers show us that healing is an idea that can both soften us so that we are open to inspiration as well as toughen us?like good scar tissue?in order to live with the consequences of being human.

Jews and Medicine examines the special relationship between Jews and medicine both intrinsically, from within, and historically, from without. Two questions were posed: first, does Judaism in itself foster a special attitude toward medicine, and secondly, to what extent did life in the Diaspora influence the Jewish contribution to medicine? The book chronologically traces the most significant points of encounter between the history of the Jewish people and the history of medicine, beginning with the Bible and ending with the modern world and the State of Israel. This beautiful book is a unique combination of information and artifact, history and philosophy, and is a perfect gift for any doctor, rabbi, or anyone else interested in the long and noble relationship between Jews and medicine.

This volume examines the spiritual shortfalls of our current healing environment and explores how midrash can help you see beyond the physical aspects of healing to tune in to your spiritual source.

From the Middle East B.C.E. to medieval Spain through the end of WWII, Frank Heynick traces the relationship between a people and a science in Jews and Medicine: An Epic Saga. The ancient ritual of circumcision, Maimonides, the Bavarian Jacob Henle and Nobel-winner Otto Loewi make appearances in this sweeping history of literary, religious and professional links between Judaism and medical practice. Heynick, a scholar of medical history and linguistics, discusses the sale of mummified remains as a cure for disease, the ascendance of psychoanalysis and hundreds of other famous and obscure historical moments. -Publisher's Weekly.