Go to Related Reading
About this book

Avodah Zarah

Babylonian Talmud

About this book
Chapter 28b

from hemorrhoids. Rabbi Ami instructed him, and some say that Rabbi Asi instructed him that he should bring seven seeds of ice plant that are red like a worm and bind them in the collar of a shirt, and then he should wrap a strip of hair around it, and dip the bundle in white naphtha and he should burn it and spread the ashes upon the sores. In the meantime, he should bring the kernel of a bramble [asna] fruit and place its crevice against his own crevice, i.e., the anus. The Gemara remarks: And this matter applies only to the upper crevice, which is located at the outer edge of the anus and can be treated with bramble fruit. What should one do if he is experiencing pain in the lower crevice, located deeper within the rectum? He should bring the fat of a goat that has not yet opened, i.e., given birth, and he should melt it and then he should apply it to the irritated area. And if this is not possible, he should bring three pumpkin leaves that were dried in the shade and he should burn them, and then he should spread the ashes upon the irritated area. And if this is not possible, he should bring snail shells instead. And if this is also not possible, he should bring oil mixed with wax [kira] and he should smear it upon worn flax clothing in summer, or worn cotton clothing in winter, and place it upon the irritated area. Rabbi Abbahu suffered from pain in his ear. Rabbi Yoḥanan instructed him, and some say that other Sages from the study hall instructed him, how to heal it. The Gemara asks: What did they instruct him? They told him to act in a fashion similar to that which Abaye said: My mother told me that the kidney was created only for the ear, i.e., it can be extremely beneficial to the ear. And Rava said: Minyumi the physician said to me: All liquids are harmful to the ear except for the fluid of the kidneys. Therefore, Rabbi Abbahu should bring the kidney of a bald goat [barḥa] and tear it vertically and horizontally and then place it upon dimming coals. And as for those fluids that issue from it, he should apply them to his ear while they are neither cold nor hot, but tepid. The Gemara adds: And if this is not possible, he should bring the fat of a large beetle and melt it and apply it to the ear. And if not, he should fill his ear with oil and prepare seven wicks made of alfalfa [aspasta] and bring dried garlic ends, and tie the ends to the wicks with a strip of hair at one end, and set the wicks aflame. And he should place the other end of each wick in his ear one at a time, and place his ear opposite the flame. Parenthetically, the Gemara notes: And he should be cautious of drafts and avoid them, as they will harm his ear. The Gemara continues: And he should take one wick and remove one wick, i.e., replace each wick as it is consumed until all seven have been used. The Gemara presents another version of this remedy: And if not, he should bring seven wicks of wax tapers and smear them with alfalfa oil, and place one end of each wick in the flame and one end in his ear, and take one wick and remove one wick. And again he should be cautious of drafts. And if this is not possible, he should bring fiber that was dried but not combed and place it in his ear, and then bring his ear opposite the flame. And he should be cautious of drafts. And if not, he should bring the tube of an aged reed that is one hundred years old, i.e., that has been detached from the ground for a century, and salt it with rock salt and then burn it and stick it in his ear. The Gemara adds: And your mnemonic to remember these remedies is this: Moist cures are prescribed for dry afflictions, and dry cures are prescribed for moist afflictions. § The Gemara returns to the issue of medical treatment on Shabbat. Rabba bar Zutra says that Rabbi Ḥanina says: One may raise his ears to their appropriate position, i.e., set his dislocated jaw, on Shabbat. Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda teaches: This applies only if one raises it by hand, but not by means of medicine. There are those who say the opposite: One may raise his ears by means of medicine, but not by hand. What is the reason that one may not manually raise the ear? It is because doing so might injure [zareif ] the ear, which would constitute a violation of Torah law, whereas applying medicine is a violation of rabbinic law. Rav Zutra bar Toviyya says that Rav says: With regard to an eye that rebelled, i.e., which is apt to pop out of its socket, it is permitted to apply blue eye shadow to it on Shabbat. The Sages initially concluded from this that this statement applies only where one had already ground the ingredients yesterday, i.e., on Shabbat eve, but if he planned to grind them on Shabbat, or to bring them through a public domain, it would not be permitted, as this would constitute a desecration of Shabbat by Torah law. To dispel this notion, one of the Sages, named Rabbi Ya’akov, said to them: This matter was explained to me by Rav Yehuda, who said that even if he plans to grind the ingredients on Shabbat and bring it through a public domain, it is permitted. The Gemara relates that Rav Yehuda permitted someone to apply blue eye shadow to the eye on Shabbat. Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda said to the Sages: One who adheres to the ruling of Yehuda desecrates Shabbat. Ultimately, Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda himself suffered pain in his eye. He sent a message to Rav Yehuda, asking: Is it permitted or prohibited for me to treat my eye on Shabbat? Rav Yehuda sent back to him: For everyone else, it is permitted; for you, it is prohibited, as you treated my lenient ruling with disdain. Rav Yehuda continues: But was it of my own accord that I issued this ruling? It is the ruling of Mar Shmuel, as demonstrated in the following incident: There was a certain maidservant who was in the house of Mar Shmuel whose eye became infected on Shabbat. She screamed in pain, but there was no one who attended to her. Eventually, her eye popped out of its socket. The next day, Mar Shmuel went out and taught: With regard to an eye that rebelled, it is permitted to apply blue eye shadow to it on Shabbat. What is the reason for this leniency, seeing as one may desecrate Shabbat only to treat life-threatening afflictions?⁠ The reason is that the tendons [shuraynei] of the eye are dependent upon the valves of the heart. The Gemara asks: What ailment of the eye, for example, is considered life-threatening? Rav Yehuda said: For example, any of the following: Abnormal discharge; the sensation of pricking; blood flow from the eye; excessive tearing; and inflammation; and the onset of infection. This list serves to exclude the final stages of a waning infection that is mostly healed, and the opening of the eye, i.e., treatment administered to improve one’s eyesight, which are not life-threatening and therefore one is not permitted to treat them on Shabbat. Rav Yehuda says: With regard to one who suffers from the sting of a hornet, or the prick of a thorn [silva], or an abscess, or one whose eye pains him, or one overcome by a fever, bathing in a bathhouse is a life-threatening danger for all of these. Additionally, eating radish [ḥamma] is good for a fever [ḥamma], and eating beets [silka] is good for chills [tzina], but the reverse, i.e., eating radish when one has chills or beets when one has a fever, poses a danger. Similarly, eating hot foods is good for the sting of a scorpion, and cold foods are good for a hornet sting, but the reverse poses a danger. Hot water is good for a thorn embedded in one’s skin, and cold water is good

Texts in conversation

Compare John 9:16 and Avodah Zarah 28b

New Testament · Rabbinic

Share:

Summary

The gospel of John describes a debate about Sabbath rules that resembles later Rabbinic debates such as in Avodah Zarah. Jesus heals a person’s eyes on the Sabbath, and Rabbinic tradition also allows care for the eyes on the Sabbath.

Passages

John 9:16

New Testament
13 They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. 14 (Now the day on which Jesus made the mud and caused him to see was a Sabbath.) 15 So the Pharisees asked him again how he had gained his sight. He replied, “He put mud on my eyes and I washed, and now I am able to see.” 16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, “This man is not from God because he does not observe the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division among them. 17 So again they asked the man who used to be blind, “What do you say about him, since he caused you to see?” “He is a prophet,” the man replied.
90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

Avodah Zarah 28b

Rabbinic · Babylonian Talmud
Rav Yehuda continues: But was it of my own accord that I issued this ruling? It is the ruling of Mar Shmuel, as demonstrated in the following incident: There was a certain maidservant who was in the house of Mar Shmuel whose eye became infected on Shabbat. She screamed in pain, but there was no one who attended to her. Eventually, her eye popped out of its socket. The next day, Mar Shmuel went out and taught: With regard to an eye that rebelled, it is permitted to apply blue eye shadow to it on Shabbat. What is the reason for this leniency, seeing as one may desecrate Shabbat only to treat life-threatening afflictions? The reason is that the tendons [shuraynei] of the eye are dependent upon the valves of the heart. The Gemara asks: What ailment of the eye, for example, is considered life-threatening? Rav Yehuda said: For example, any of the following: Abnormal discharge; the sensation of pricking; blood flow from the eye; excessive tearing; and inflammation; and the onset of infection. This list serves to exclude the final stages of a waning infection that is mostly healed, and the opening of the eye, i.e., treatment administered to improve one’s eyesight, which are not life-threatening and therefore one is not permitted to treat them on Shabbat. Rav Yehuda says: With regard to one who suffers from the sting of a hornet, or the prick of a thorn [silva], or an abscess, or one whose eye pains him, or one overcome by a fever, bathing in a bathhouse is a life-threatening danger for all of these. Additionally, eating radish [ḥamma] is good for a fever [ḥamma], and eating beets [silka] is good for chills [tzina], but the reverse, i.e., eating radish when one has chills or beets when one has a fever, poses a danger. Similarly, eating hot foods is good for the sting of a scorpion, and cold foods are good for a hornet sting, but the reverse poses a danger. Hot water is good for a thorn embedded in one’s skin, and cold water is good
450–550 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Avodah Zarah

References

"... The Tannaim (sages of first- to third-century Palestine) would have been exposed to and part of the “visually voracious” Roman world; some of their writings evidence critiques of this world that are similar to those in Christian apologetic texts. Greco-Jewish and rabbinic texts point to a similar simultaneous deployment and critique of visuality, often put in highly gendered terms, in order to advocate for a restrained sexuality. The eye is thus presented as a stumbling block to this restraint, very much in need of training ... As we move to later sources, we find rabbis thinking about specula and catatropics, considering divine visibility, discussing optical illusions (ah. izat ‘enayim) and distortion, and considering telescopic vision along with a surprising variety of eye diseases and treatments. Palestinian and Babylonian sources alike document a variety of traditions regarding the eye and its diseases. Mar Samuel is a figure around whom medical traditions conglomerate, including a fair amount on eye treatments. He is said to have regarded eye treatment as imperative and even worth doing in violation of the Sabbath because of his theory that the veins of the eyes are connected to the heart. (b. Avodah Zarah 28b) Palestinian rabbis consider humans to be like angels but unlike animals because they have peripheral vision. The evil eye presents a concern for Palestinian and Babylonian rabbis alike ..."
Rachel Neis, The Sense of Sight in Rabbinic Culture: Jewish Ways of Seeing in Late Antiquity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 39–40.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Tags

Your feedback

John 9:16 and Avodah Zarah 28b

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library