Avodah Zarah 28b (כח:) — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Yaakov felt

pain

in the pike'a

in the anus.

Uri

instructed

Rabbi Ami; and some say

and there are those who say that

Rabbi Asi instructed him

how he should be cured of it:

Let him bring seven worm-red seeds of ahala,

that is, seven red seeds resembling a worm, from the plant called ahala, which is used for laundry.

And let him bundle them

these seeds

in a piece of cloth at the collar,

the piece of cloth that is cut when the collar of a garment is opened,

and let him wrap around it a strip of animal hair,

wrapping a strip of animal hair around it,

and let him dip it in white nitefa,

and dip it in white nitefa [a type of perfume],

and let him burn it,

burning all of these items.

And

the ash that results

he should scatter over it,

scattering it over the site of the pain.

In the meantime,

while he is preparing this remedy, as he searches for these ingredients,

let him bring a seed of the asna,

a seed found inside the fruit of the sneh,

and let him place the pike'a opposite the pike'a,

placing a fissure in the seed opposite the fissure of the wound in his body, i.e., at the opening of the anus.

And this statement applies

this remedy of the ash only

to an upper pike'a,

where the ash can be scattered over the outer side of the opening.

But

with regard to a lower pike'a,

the lower part of the opening, on its inner side,

what

should he do with it?

Let him bring the fat of a young goat that has not opened,

the milk [or fat] of a young goat that has not opened, meaning that it has not given birth,

and let him melt it,

melting the fat with heat,

and let him pour it into it,

pouring it into the opening and applying it to that place.

And if

if

not

he is unable to perform the remedy mentioned,

let him bring

bring

three leaves,

three leaves of

kera,

a pumpkin,

that had dried in the shade,

that dried in the shade,

and let him burn them

burning them,

and let him scatter

it

scattering it over that place.

And if

if this remedy too

not

is within his ability,

let him bring

bring

the shavings of a helazoni,

a type of snail.

And if

if

not, let him bring

bring

kira oil,

a mixture of olive oil and wax.

And in the summer let him use worn linen garments

in the summer.

And during the summer he should wear light garments of worn linen, so that his body will not become excessively hot,

and cotton garments

in the winter.

And in the winter he should cover himself with warm cotton garments, so that his body will not become chilled.

The Gemara continues with these medical matters:

Rabbi Abbahu felt

pain

in his ear.

in his ear.

He was instructed

he was instructed

by Rabbi Yohanan; and some say

and some say that he was instructed

in the study hall,

in the beit-midrash.

What did he instruct him,

what did he instruct him to do?

It was like that which Abיי said: My mother said to me

my nurse:

The kidneys were created not

the kidney was not created

except for the ear,

but to heal the ear!

And Rava said: Minyomi the physician said to me,

the physician:

All liquids are harmful to the ear.

All liquids harm the ear,

except

except

for the water of the kidney,

the liquid from a kidney.

And how is this remedy using kidney water performed?

Let him bring a kidney

a kidney

of a hairless goat,

from a bald goat, which does not have as much hair as a sheep,

and let him tear it,

tearing the kidney lengthwise and widthwise in the form of

warp and woof, and let him place it

placing it

on glowing coals.

on glowing coals.

And those waters

those liquids

that emerge from it,

which emerge from the kidney,

let him pour them into his ear,

placing them in his ear when they are

neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm.

neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm.

And if not,

if he cannot do this,

let him bring

bring

the fat of a large beetle,

the fat of a large beetle,

and let him melt it,

melting it,

and let him pour it in,

pouring it into the ear.

And if not —

let him fill his ear with oil,

filling his ear with oil,

and let him prepare seven alfalfa wicks,

making seven wicks from the long leaves of alfalfa [green fodder of wheat].

And let him bring a leaf-stalk of garlic,

taking the leaves that hold and surround the garlic,

and let him place a strip of hair at one end,

placing a strip of hair from the garlic leaves at one end of the wick,

and let him kindle a fire with it,

using the strip of hair from the garlic to ignite the fire in these wicks,

and the other end

the other end of the heated wick

he should place in the ear.

he should place in his ear.

And let him place his ear opposite the fire,

placing his ear facing the fire,

and let him beware of the wind,

being careful that wind does not reach his ear while he warms it with the fire.

And let him remove one and put down another,

and whenever he removes one wick from the ear, he should put another in its place, until all seven have been used.

Alternatively,

there is another way:

And if not —

let him bring seven wicks in a bundle,

taking seven wicks,

and anoint them with alfalfa oil,

anointing them with the oil extracted from alfalfa,

and let him bring one end to the fire,

placing one end in the fire,

and

the other

end

he should place

in his ear.

in his ear.

And let him remove one

he should remove one,

and put down another

and put another in its place,

and let him beware of the wind,

being careful that wind does not reach his ear.

And if not,

if he does not do this,

let him bring colored wool

colored wool

that has not been beaten,

which has not been beaten and fluffed,

and place it in it,

placing it in his ear,

and bring his ear close to the fire

bringing his ear opposite the fire.

And beware of the wind!

He should be careful of the wind.

And if not,

if he does not do this either,

let him bring a tube of an ancient reed, a hundred years old,

taking a tube of reed that was uprooted after one hundred years,

salt it with coarse rock salt,

salting it with coarse salt resembling marble,

and burn it

burning it,

and let it adhere

and causing it to adhere to his ear.

And your mnemonic is:

the sign for all remedies that are effective for the ear:

Moist —

for dryness,

a moist remedy, such as kidney water and the like, is beneficial for a dry ear that is diseased and does not discharge mucus.

And dryness —

for moisture.

A dry remedy, such as the ancient reed mentioned, is beneficial for a diseased, moist ear that discharges mucus.

The Gemara now returns to medical matters relating to Shabbat:

Rabba bar Zutra said that Rabbi Hanina said: One may raise the ears on Shabbat.

Sometimes the tendons of the ears descend, and the jaw becomes dislocated [and the lower jaw leaves its place], and this condition is considered dangerous, so it is permitted to correct it on Shabbat.

Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda taught:

The permission to raise them on Shabbat applies only when one raises them

by hand. But not with a drug.

Since they can be raised by hand, it is prohibited to raise them with a drug, just as it is prohibited to use any remedy, due to the rabbinic decree concerning medicinal ingredients.

Some say

however, there are those who say that they may be raised only

with a drug —

but not by hand.

What is the reason

for using a drug rather than the hand? — Because by hand

one may injure oneself.

He may wound himself and create a bruise. In doing so he would violate Shabbat more seriously than by applying the drug, which is prohibited only by rabbinic decree. When the procedure is performed by applying a drug to that place, there is no concern that he will create a wound.

Rav Zutra bar Tuvya said that Rav said: With regard to an eye that rebelled,

which has left its place [and is called “rebellious,” just as a person who rebels is called one who leaves his place],

it is permitted to apply blue eye salve

putting blue medicine in it and returning it to its place

on Shabbat

through this treatment.

They understood from his statement

they understood his words to mean that

this applies

this permission to apply the medicine and blue salve on Shabbat

when the medicinal ingredients were already ground

only when the ingredients had already been prepared and were present

from the previous day. But if he grinds

to grind and prepare them

on Shabbat, and brings them

to bring them here

through a public domain —

in such a manner

it is not

permitted, since this is not a danger to life, but only a danger of blindness.

One of the Sages said to him,

one of the scholars,

whose name was Rabbi Yaakov: For me it was explained

this matter was explained to me

by Rav Yehuda: Even grinding,

grinding the ingredients on Shabbat,

and bringing them

transporting them

through a public domain —

is permitted.

Rav Yehuda permitted applying blue salve to the eye

he permitted applying blue salve to an eye that had rebelled

on Shabbat.

He said to them,

Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda instructed

the Sages

the scholars:

Whoever obeys Yehuda —

has desecrated Shabbat!

Anyone who listens to and obeys Yehuda is desecrating Shabbat!

Ultimately, he felt

Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda himself

it in his eye.

in his own eye.

He sent to him

to ask Rav Yehuda: Is it

permitted

for me to apply blue salve to the eye on Shabbat,

or is it prohibited?

He sent him

Rabbi Yehuda sent him his reply:

It is permitted for everyone,

it is permitted; however,

for you,

for you

it is prohibited,

because you prohibited it and challenged my ruling, and you should not have done so, since

is it my own ruling,

did I permit this on my own? The halakha I stated is

that of Master Shmuel,

from whom I received the permission to permit it:

There was that maidservant

an incident involving a maidservant

who was in the house of Master Shmuel,

who was in his household,

whose eye became inflamed

it was afflicted with fever in the eye [inflammation]

on Shabbat.

She cried out

the maidservant cried throughout the entire Shabbat,

and no one paid attention to her,

and no one paid attention to her cries; and because of her illness

her eye burst,

her eye came out.

The next day, he went out

he went out

and Master Shmuel taught

before the students:

An eye that rebelled —

it is permitted to apply blue salve to it on Shabbat.

What is the reason,

why is this permitted, given that it is not a danger to life? — It is because

the sight of the eye

the light of vision

depends on the pupil of the heart;

on the arteries and chambers of the heart

they depend

[it depends], and therefore there is concern that the eye disease may affect the heart and become life-threatening.

The Gemara asks:

For example, what

which eye ailment permits desecrating Shabbat?

Rav Yehuda said:

A.

For example,

when

mucus

discharges from the eye.

B.

When it emits —

he feels a sharp, stabbing pain in his eyes.

C.

Blood —

his eyes discharge blood.

D.

Tears —

his eyes water more than usual.

E.

And fever —

his eyes are feverish.

F.

And the beginning of illness —

he feels that an eye disease is beginning.

To exclude the end of the illness,

when the illness is already ending and healing, although there is still a slight fever,

and sharpening of the eye,

when one applies blue salve to improve one’s vision — this is not permitted on Shabbat.

The Gemara continues with medical matters unrelated to the laws of Shabbat.

Rav Yehuda said: A hornet,

a hornet sting,

and a thorn that entered,

when a thorn became embedded in his flesh,

and an abscess,

when he has a swelling filled with pus,

and when his eye hurts

him,

when he feels pain in his eye,

and fever comes upon it,

his eye becomes inflamed and hot —

all of these

all these ailments

in the bathhouse

are dangerous,

it is dangerous to enter the bathhouse while suffering from them!

And this is the general rule concerning taking remedies:

Heat,

eating radish is beneficial

for

one who suffers from

heat. And spinach

eating spinach is beneficial

for cold,

for a chill.

And the reverse,

using these remedies in place of one another, such as radish for a chill,

is dangerous!

because radish increases cold, whereas spinach increases heat.

Hot things

hot substances are beneficial

for a scorpion

for a scorpion sting,

and cold things

cold substances

for a hornet,

for a hornet sting.

And the reverse,

switching these remedies for one another

is dangerous!

Hot things

hot water are beneficial

for a thorn,

to heal an embedded thorn by soaking the affected area in it.