Twohandsondeck
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- Apr 22, 2019
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The article in the subject line is found here behind a paywall. It is a 10 page PDF.
Because it is not in a free public domain, I have taken a moment to only quote the parts of the article that I found most practical.
The bibliography of the article includes 41 sources. I have omitted most of their reference numbers from the quotes shared below because the bibliography is not added with this post.
FOREWORD -
The Jewish people have historically referred to their class of priests (the Levites) for treatment of physical conditions. Over the centuries, as they were subjected to captivity to the Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, they adopted medicinal suggestions from those peoples as they were dwelling among them.
Nearly every practical dental suggestion referenced in the article is derived from the writings of a Rabbi who was using a version of the Talmud (at the time of their writing) to assert their conclusions.
The Talmud, according to Wikipedia is, "after the Hebrew Bible, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology."
There are two documents titled as the "Talmud" - the [Palestinian] Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud.
From the article -
"The whole of Jewish life, in every detail, was controlled by the Torah— the written enactment of the Mosaic code. However, great academies of learning
arose, particularly under the patriarchates in Babylon and Palestine, where every phase of the lives of these peoples was discussed, taught, memorized, etc. And so a great body of rabbinical law and tradition grew up, embodied in the work known as the Talmud."
"What is the Talmud? The Talmud might be considered the corpus juris, 'very ill-digested, full of irregularities, incongruities, and discontinuities of all kinds, and containing much material which has nothing to do with law.' The medical knowledge, although 'copious but naturally unsystematic,' was still based upon 'tradition, observations of diseases and experiments upon animals (issuk-de-debarim).' Medicine was an integral part of the religion of the Jews, and medical subjects (including, of course, dental) are treated or alluded to only so far as they concern or elucidate some point of law."
QUOTES / PRACTICAL BITS -
a) "The pious Jew daily prays: 'Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed, save us and we shall be saved, for Thou art our praise. And bring perfect healing to all our wounds for Thou, Almighty King, art a faithful and merciful Healer. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who healest the sick of the people of Israel.' ”
b) "How this is brought out in reference to stomatology is shown by the fact that the Israelites believed that tooth decay was caused by a worm— a belief now known to be of Babylonian origin. Bitter herbs were eaten as a 'preventive against demoniac influences and to keep demons from entering the mouth,' and 'the practice of rubbing the gums with date juices' as a defense against evil spirits."
c) "The cause of toothache was still the worm. One of the most frequent remedies mentioned is vinegar and salt. Others mentioned were clove of garlic, oil and fruit juices."
> Lines up with what David Kennedy shares in his video, "Bad Bugs" about how tooth decay is caused by parasites/worms in the mouth.
d) ". . . and we have learned: One who suffers with toothache must not gargle vinegar for it, but he may dip something in vinegar and apply it and if the pain is relieved thereby, hence have no fears of the consequences. (B. Talmud, Bezah 18, b.)"
e) "For toothache, counsels Rabba bar Rav Huna (died 322 a.d.), take a single clove of garlic, rub it with oil and salt and place it on the thumb-nail of the aching side. It should, however, be circumscribed with a rim of dough and care should be taken that it touch not the skin because there is danger of leprosy. Apply this to the painful tooth. (B. Talmud, Gitten, 69, a.) This type of therapy seems most similar to that practiced by the Romans."
f) "Another suggestion was that sour fruit juices be used for toothache as they are not harmful to healthy teeth. (B. Talmud, Shabbot, 111, a.)"
g) "Abscesses and inflammatory processes about the jaws were recognized, for we find the following treatment advised in such conditions... Rabbi Johanan (born in the last quarter of the Second Century a .d .— died 279 a .d .) said: for (affections of) the palate take bertram (pellitory leaves) which is good as mamru. To check (the spread of) inflammation take this into the mouth. To ripen (an abscess) take the bran remaining in the sieve, lentils together with dust, fenngreek, bud of cascuta, and hops; from this a piece about the size of a nut is taken into the mouth. To open (the abscess) white cresses should be blown in by someone through a stalk. To heal, the earth should be taken from near a privy, kneaded with honey, and eaten. This proves effective."
h) "Rabbi Abaya (died circa 339) said, 'I have used all these remedies and was not cured until an Arab merchant told me that the stones (seeds) of the olive, one-third grown, should be burned in a new mar, and be applied to the rows of teeth. This I have done and was cured.' "
i) "What causes such sickness? Eating hot wheat bread or the remains of a dish of haisana (fried fish in oil) of the previous evening. What are its symptoms? When something is put on the teeth they begin to bleed. Rabbi Nachman ben Yitzchak (died circa 356) said, “Scurvy begins in the mouth and ends in the entrails."
j) "They also believed that the humidity of the bathhouses was harmful to the teeth."
> I can add recent personal testimony to this as I realized that excessive steam sauna use was making my fingernails feel brittle for a few hours afterwards.
k) “Spleen, with the gall removed, is good for the teeth, but bad for the intestines. Leek is bad for the teeth and good for the intestines; cook it and swallow it.” (B. Talmud, Berakot, 44, b.)
l) "Scaling the necks of the teeth or the removal of the 'toothstone' around the teeth near the gums was advised by scraping or pricking at the deposit. For rubbing the teeth and gums, a salt poultice was used; also, one such poultice was to be placed under the tongue every morning, where it might be dissolved."
m) "Rabbi Johanan says, 'eating of lentils will cause fetid odor from the mouth.' Rav Mari reports that he also stated, 'he who indulges in the practice of eating lentils once in thirty days keeps away quinsy, but they arc not good to be eaten because then the breath becomes corrupted.' (B. Talmud, Berakot, 40, a.)"
n) "The curative measures were those aimed at getting rid of bad breath. We need but to mention the use of salt, pepper, cinnamon or ginger (B. Talmud, Shabbot, 65, a) to combat it. And, Whoever has eaten a meal without having eaten salt therein; whoever has drunk a beverage without having drunk water thereafter, will be worried during the day with fetid odor from the mouth. (B. Talmud, Berakot, 40, a.)"
o) "If one does not walk, say four cubits, before falling asleep after a meal, that which he has eaten, being undigestible, causes foulness of breath. (B. Talm ud, Shabbot, 41, a.)"
p) "The Talmud on several occasions speaks of qesom, that is, chip or splinter, which was divided on one end by chewing and biting and then used like a toothbrush. Often fragrant wood was used for this purpose. Rabbi Eleazar said: 'One may take a splinter from the wood lying near him to clean his teeth with; the sages say he can take it only from a manger.' (B. Talm ud, Shabbot, 81, b.)"
q) "Rab advises his son Hyyah: Do not make a habit of taking medicine. Do not make long strides. Avoid having a tooth extracted. (B. Talm ud, Pesahim, 113, a.). Rabbi Hannel (Chananel) adds: If an eyetooth hurts you, do not have it extracted because of the eye."
> It is then mentioned that tooth extractions still took place in crude fashion, but it was a rare occurrence and not well advised.
Because it is not in a free public domain, I have taken a moment to only quote the parts of the article that I found most practical.
The bibliography of the article includes 41 sources. I have omitted most of their reference numbers from the quotes shared below because the bibliography is not added with this post.
FOREWORD -
The Jewish people have historically referred to their class of priests (the Levites) for treatment of physical conditions. Over the centuries, as they were subjected to captivity to the Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, they adopted medicinal suggestions from those peoples as they were dwelling among them.
Nearly every practical dental suggestion referenced in the article is derived from the writings of a Rabbi who was using a version of the Talmud (at the time of their writing) to assert their conclusions.
The Talmud, according to Wikipedia is, "after the Hebrew Bible, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology."
There are two documents titled as the "Talmud" - the [Palestinian] Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud.
From the article -
"The whole of Jewish life, in every detail, was controlled by the Torah— the written enactment of the Mosaic code. However, great academies of learning
arose, particularly under the patriarchates in Babylon and Palestine, where every phase of the lives of these peoples was discussed, taught, memorized, etc. And so a great body of rabbinical law and tradition grew up, embodied in the work known as the Talmud."
"What is the Talmud? The Talmud might be considered the corpus juris, 'very ill-digested, full of irregularities, incongruities, and discontinuities of all kinds, and containing much material which has nothing to do with law.' The medical knowledge, although 'copious but naturally unsystematic,' was still based upon 'tradition, observations of diseases and experiments upon animals (issuk-de-debarim).' Medicine was an integral part of the religion of the Jews, and medical subjects (including, of course, dental) are treated or alluded to only so far as they concern or elucidate some point of law."
QUOTES / PRACTICAL BITS -
a) "The pious Jew daily prays: 'Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed, save us and we shall be saved, for Thou art our praise. And bring perfect healing to all our wounds for Thou, Almighty King, art a faithful and merciful Healer. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who healest the sick of the people of Israel.' ”
b) "How this is brought out in reference to stomatology is shown by the fact that the Israelites believed that tooth decay was caused by a worm— a belief now known to be of Babylonian origin. Bitter herbs were eaten as a 'preventive against demoniac influences and to keep demons from entering the mouth,' and 'the practice of rubbing the gums with date juices' as a defense against evil spirits."
c) "The cause of toothache was still the worm. One of the most frequent remedies mentioned is vinegar and salt. Others mentioned were clove of garlic, oil and fruit juices."
> Lines up with what David Kennedy shares in his video, "Bad Bugs" about how tooth decay is caused by parasites/worms in the mouth.
d) ". . . and we have learned: One who suffers with toothache must not gargle vinegar for it, but he may dip something in vinegar and apply it and if the pain is relieved thereby, hence have no fears of the consequences. (B. Talmud, Bezah 18, b.)"
e) "For toothache, counsels Rabba bar Rav Huna (died 322 a.d.), take a single clove of garlic, rub it with oil and salt and place it on the thumb-nail of the aching side. It should, however, be circumscribed with a rim of dough and care should be taken that it touch not the skin because there is danger of leprosy. Apply this to the painful tooth. (B. Talmud, Gitten, 69, a.) This type of therapy seems most similar to that practiced by the Romans."
f) "Another suggestion was that sour fruit juices be used for toothache as they are not harmful to healthy teeth. (B. Talmud, Shabbot, 111, a.)"
g) "Abscesses and inflammatory processes about the jaws were recognized, for we find the following treatment advised in such conditions... Rabbi Johanan (born in the last quarter of the Second Century a .d .— died 279 a .d .) said: for (affections of) the palate take bertram (pellitory leaves) which is good as mamru. To check (the spread of) inflammation take this into the mouth. To ripen (an abscess) take the bran remaining in the sieve, lentils together with dust, fenngreek, bud of cascuta, and hops; from this a piece about the size of a nut is taken into the mouth. To open (the abscess) white cresses should be blown in by someone through a stalk. To heal, the earth should be taken from near a privy, kneaded with honey, and eaten. This proves effective."
h) "Rabbi Abaya (died circa 339) said, 'I have used all these remedies and was not cured until an Arab merchant told me that the stones (seeds) of the olive, one-third grown, should be burned in a new mar, and be applied to the rows of teeth. This I have done and was cured.' "
i) "What causes such sickness? Eating hot wheat bread or the remains of a dish of haisana (fried fish in oil) of the previous evening. What are its symptoms? When something is put on the teeth they begin to bleed. Rabbi Nachman ben Yitzchak (died circa 356) said, “Scurvy begins in the mouth and ends in the entrails."
j) "They also believed that the humidity of the bathhouses was harmful to the teeth."
> I can add recent personal testimony to this as I realized that excessive steam sauna use was making my fingernails feel brittle for a few hours afterwards.
k) “Spleen, with the gall removed, is good for the teeth, but bad for the intestines. Leek is bad for the teeth and good for the intestines; cook it and swallow it.” (B. Talmud, Berakot, 44, b.)
l) "Scaling the necks of the teeth or the removal of the 'toothstone' around the teeth near the gums was advised by scraping or pricking at the deposit. For rubbing the teeth and gums, a salt poultice was used; also, one such poultice was to be placed under the tongue every morning, where it might be dissolved."
m) "Rabbi Johanan says, 'eating of lentils will cause fetid odor from the mouth.' Rav Mari reports that he also stated, 'he who indulges in the practice of eating lentils once in thirty days keeps away quinsy, but they arc not good to be eaten because then the breath becomes corrupted.' (B. Talmud, Berakot, 40, a.)"
n) "The curative measures were those aimed at getting rid of bad breath. We need but to mention the use of salt, pepper, cinnamon or ginger (B. Talmud, Shabbot, 65, a) to combat it. And, Whoever has eaten a meal without having eaten salt therein; whoever has drunk a beverage without having drunk water thereafter, will be worried during the day with fetid odor from the mouth. (B. Talmud, Berakot, 40, a.)"
o) "If one does not walk, say four cubits, before falling asleep after a meal, that which he has eaten, being undigestible, causes foulness of breath. (B. Talm ud, Shabbot, 41, a.)"
p) "The Talmud on several occasions speaks of qesom, that is, chip or splinter, which was divided on one end by chewing and biting and then used like a toothbrush. Often fragrant wood was used for this purpose. Rabbi Eleazar said: 'One may take a splinter from the wood lying near him to clean his teeth with; the sages say he can take it only from a manger.' (B. Talm ud, Shabbot, 81, b.)"
q) "Rab advises his son Hyyah: Do not make a habit of taking medicine. Do not make long strides. Avoid having a tooth extracted. (B. Talm ud, Pesahim, 113, a.). Rabbi Hannel (Chananel) adds: If an eyetooth hurts you, do not have it extracted because of the eye."
> It is then mentioned that tooth extractions still took place in crude fashion, but it was a rare occurrence and not well advised.
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