Community Magazine February 2019

SHEVAT-ADAR I 5779 FEBRUARY 2019 93 EFRAIM HARARI The Jewish World of Wonders Productions can be contacted at: JWorldofWonders@hotmail.com PELEH THE BOY WONDER IS PRESENTED BY: The Rest of the Story Behind the Rabies Vaccination… Rabbi Yisrael Michael Rabinowitz, a friend of Louis Pasteur, claimed that the basis of Pasteur’s revolutionary research for the rabies vaccination was the Gemara! While living in Paris, Rabbi Rabinowitz began translating the Gemara into French. Pasteur saw a copy of Seder Mo’ed, and his interest was piqued when he read the following statement: If someone is bitten by a mad dog [affected with rabies], he should be fed the lobe of that dog’s liver. (Yoma 84b) Pasteur was amazed at this healing method, which used part of the infected animal itself. He concluded that the Sages knew that an infected body produces antibodies, which attack an invading infection. Pasteur immediately began a series of experiments – which resulted in the rabies vaccine. Two of the vaccines Pasteur developed were for anthrax and rabies. Anthrax is an infectious and often fatal disease affecting cattle and sheep. Pasteur proved that if microbes are weakened in a laboratory and then placed in an animal's body, the animal develops an immunity to the microbe and will therefore not develop the disease caused by that specific microbe. In 1885, Pasteur created the vaccine for rabies. Rabies is a highly contagious, infectious disease which attacks the central nervous system and is often fatal. It enters the body through the bite of a rabies-infected animal or through infected saliva entering an existing wound. Pasteur spent countless hours in his laboratory experimenting with the saliva of animals suffering from rabies. On July 6, 1885 a rabid dog bit a boy named Joseph Meister. The boy's parents begged Pasteur to save their son. Pasteur hesitated to use his new vaccine on a human being, but he finally agreed. After several weeks of treatment, the vaccine proved successful. Since then, millions have been saved by this treatment. Louis Pasteur PASTEURIZATION In the early 1860's, Pasteur realized that wine turns bitter because of germs that enter the wine while it is being made. He proved that applying a controlled amount of heat could kill the germs without changing the flavor of the wine. This use of heat as a means to kill germs became known as pasteurization , after Pasteur. Pasteur also used this method to preserve milk, beer, and food. IF YOU HAVE a QUESTION for PELEH the BOY WONDER, send it to: Ask@Communitym.com Beware! The most common animals to be infected with rabies in the United States include raccoons, skunks, and foxes.