daf bit: Gittin 69

[cellio]

The mishna teaches that if a man is seized with delerium his instruction to write a get is disregarded. The gemara asks what delerium is. From this begins a discussion (several pages in length) of various medical conditions and their cures. Some examples from today's daf:

• For cataracts, take a scorpion with seven colors of stripe, dry, mix with stibium, and drop in the eyes. (Careful not to use too much!)
• For night-blindness there is a complex ritual involving tying one's leg to a dog, processing through the streets with children calling out, and feeding the dog from different houses.
• For toothache, crush garlic, put it on the thumbnail (on the side corresponding to the tooth), and wrap it in dough, but do not let it touch his flesh lest it cause leprosy.
• For stomach pain, drink 100 grains of long pepper in wine daily for three days.

(67b mishna, 69a-b gemara)

(I suggest that this last one will at least alter your stomach-ache. :-) As for the scorpion... err, what?)

Comments

[ticklethepear.livejournal.com]

I'm just curious - in Jewish tradition is there a concept of "the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law"? For example Mormons have the Word of Wisdom which forbids "hot drinks" not caffeine, so soda is a gray area. Mormons who drink Coke (including myself) say that it is the addictive quality (the spirit of the law) that is forbidden rather than the actual drink itself (the letter of the law) since Coke is not a "hot drink."

[caryabend.livejournal.com]

I don't follow. You indicate that the spirit forbids "addictive qualities." Wouldn't that still preclude caffeine?

[ticklethepear.livejournal.com]

The revelation specifies "hot drinks" which at the time (1833) meant coffee and tea, and not caffeine per se as an individual ingredient. So in theory foods and drinks that include caffeine, like Coke and chocolate, are acceptable as long as one is not addicted to them.

[caryabend.livejournal.com]

"...as long as one is not addicted to them."

This is a slippery slope that ends with, "But I can quit at any time!"

Thanks for the clarifications below. Very instructive.

[ticklethepear.livejournal.com]

Ah, human nature!

[ticklethepear.livejournal.com]

This explains it a lot better than I can!
http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Word_of_Wisdom_Caffeine_and_Hypocrisy.html

[cellio]

I'm just curious - in Jewish tradition is there a concept of "the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law"?

They both matter. For example, the reason we put those little scroll cases on our doorposts is that the torah says "write these words on your doorpost", and the scroll contains those words. But, we don't actually write on the doorpost directly; there's some rabbinic interpretation going on. Similarly, the torah says "don't place a stumbling-block before the blind", which is understood to not just be about those with vision problems.

Sometimes the "letter" is not clear and the rabbis had to interpret. For example, "keep Shabbat" -- ok, fine, but exactly what does that mean?

And sometimes the "spirit" isn't so clear either, but we do it anyway. I'm not really sure what God has against wool-linen blends, but ok.

[ticklethepear.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness chocolate isn't on the blacklist!