Community Magazine August 2006

 ”  20 Community Magazine days after conception. The Sages were familiar with the science of nursing, as well. They teach us that the manna that the Jews ate in the wilderness could assume any taste, with the exception of onions and garlic. The reason, the Rabbis explained, is that these foods are detrimental to mothers’ milk, as they lend it a sour taste. This appears in all modern parenting books – but it was known to the Rabbis already millennia ago. There is another tractate of the Talmud called Masechet Chulin, which contains a detailed presentation of the seventy tereifot, internal disorders in animals that an animal cannot endure for more than a year, thereby rendering it forbidden for consumption. Anyone who studies this section of the Talmud is amazed by the Rabbis’ zoologi- cal expertise, how they knew precisely which kind of disorders are terminal, and which are not. The modern student of this tractate is at a loss, as he lacks even basic familiarity with this information over which Hazal had complete mastery. Books have been published to help people who wish to study this material, and these books con- tain detailed pictures and diagrams of the animal’s internal organs, identifying each organ, vein and sinew on the basis of the Gemara’s discussions. The Rabbis had a clear picture of the anatomy of these animals, and knew precisely which disorders constituted a terminal illness. King Solomon and Laser Technology The Rabbis say that when King Solomon built the Bet Ha’mikdash, he faced a difficult problem. The Torah requires that the engraving on the stones of the kohen gadol’s breastplate had to be done in a manner that did not remove any particles from the stone, but no metal could be used in this process. The Gemara in Sota says that King Solomon therefore used a creature called the shamir. The arti- sans drew the script to be engraved on the stone with ink, and then placed the shamir over the script. This creature caused the stone to be perfectly engraved, in such a manner that did not diminish any part of the stone. The shamir worked precisely like laser technology, which uses laser beams to make perfect incisions without the use of knives or scalpels. We know that lasers use a type of radiation and some types of radiation, like X-rays, can pass through anything except for lead. Interestingly enough, the Tosefta in Masechet Sota says that the shamir had to be stored in material that could withstand its force, that it could not penetrate. Therefore, the Tosefta says, the shamir was wrapped in wool and stored in a lead container – because it was incapable of penetrating lead! King Solomon had access even to the wonders of laser technology. “It contains everything” – even the science of lasers. Dr. Pasteur and the Talmud In Masechet Avoda Zara (31b), we read that the sage Shemuel said to Rav Chiya, the son of Rav, “Let me tell you something great that your father taught.” Shemuel proceeded to discuss with Rav Chiya, his father’s question as to how gentiles survive after drinking water that had been drunk by a snake, and thus contained venom. Rav explained that since the gentiles, who do not abide by the kashrut laws, ingest all kinds of bugs and insects, their bodies are already accustomed to withstanding the effects of otherwise harmful substances. In other words, Rav here teaches the medical concept of immunization – the body’s ability to build resistance to harmful bacteria. Many centuries later, Dr. Louis Pasteur conceived of the idea of vaccines, injecting a small strand of bacteria into the blood- stream, so that the body produces antibodies that immunize it from this disease for life. Rav understood this concept already during the time of the Gemara! In fact, there is a book Mavo She’arim which describes how Dr. Pasteur read a French translation of the Talmud and came across a passage in Masechet Yoma (84), where the Gemara states that a person who is bitten by a rabid dog can save himself by partaking of that dog’s liver. It was this passage that led Dr. Pasteur to the idea of immunization, forming the basis of his work in rabies treatment which has since saved millions of lives. It all began from the scien- tific knowledge of the Rabbis in the Talmud! Allusions to Historical Events in the Torah Beyond scientific knowledge, the Torah contains within it allu- sions to detailed historical data, as well. Rabbi Chayim of Volozhin (Lithuania, 1749-1821), in his famous work Nefesh Ha’chayim, cites the comment of his teacher, the Gaon of Vilna, that every event that happened to every individual that ever lived or will live, down to the very last detail, has some allusion in the Torah. Somewhere in the Torah – I don’t know where – there is some reference to the fact that you are reading this article right now! The famous story is told of the Ramban (Nachmanides, Spain- Israel, 1194-1270), who had a student named Avner who left the path of Jewish observance and became a prominent member of the Spanish royal court. One year on Yom Kippur the apostate sum- moned his Rabbi to the palace, and before the Ramban’s eyes, cooked and ate pig meat. The Ramban asked him why he decided to abandon Jewish practice, and the student explained that he had done so because the Ramban had once told him that every incident in world history is alluded to in the single Biblical section of Ha’azinu. The student could not accept this bold assertion, and he therefore left Judaism. He challenged the Ramban to tell him where in Parashat Ha’azinu the Torah makes an allusion to him, Avner. The Ramban prayed to Gd to provide him with the answer, and after several moments he recited to his former disciple the verse in Ha’azinu, “Amarti af’eihem ashbita mei’enosh zichram” – “I had said, ‘I will annihilate them, I will obliterate their memory from mankind’” (Devarim 32:26). The third letters of the first four words in this verse spell the name “Avner” (the reish in amarti, the alef in Dedicated for the yeshua of the Jews in the land of Israel Dr. Pasteur read a French translation of the Talmud and came across a passage in Masechet Yoma... that led [him] to the idea of immunization...