Gittin 70a (ע.) — the Talmud in English

or

he will drink

grape

vines trained over

palm trees

immersed

in water.

For a skin eruption

[ringworm] [skin disease]—

he should take seven large cedar kernels

[he should take seven large kernels],

and roast them on a new hoe blade

[he should roast them on the iron of a threshing hoe],

and extract oil from them

[and extract oil from them],

and rub it on

[and apply the oil to the affected skin].

Rav Shimi bar Ashi prepared it

[prepared it for him]

for that gentile

this remedy

for the other thing

[for the leprosy] that he had,

and he was cured

[and the gentile was cured].

Shmuel said: One who is struck with a Persian spear

[one who was struck with a Persian spear], which is smeared with a lethal poison—

he will not live

[he will not live] from this wound; rather, he will certainly die.

But

in the meantime

[in the interim], before he dies,

they should feed him fatty meat roasted over coals and undiluted wine

[they should feed him fatty meat roasted over coals and undiluted wine], so that

perhaps he will live a little

[perhaps he will live a little],

and give instructions concerning his property

[and have enough time to instruct his household concerning his property] before he dies.

Rav Idi bar Avin said: One who swallows a hornet

[one who swallowed a hornet],

he will not live

[he will not live]. But

in the meantime

[in the interim], before he dies,

they should give him a quarter-log of strong vinegar

[they should give him a quarter-log of strong vinegar], so that

perhaps he will live a little

[perhaps he will live a little],

and give instructions concerning his property

[and have enough time to instruct his household concerning his property] before he dies.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

A person who

ate

ox meat with turnips, and spent the night in the

light of the

moon on the fourteenth or fifteenth of Tammuz—

he will be seized by ahilu,

a type of fever called ahilu will overcome him.

A tanna

in a beraita taught:

and

likewise,

one who fills his belly

more than necessary

with anything

that is good for him and sweet to his palate—

he will be seized

[it will overcome him] by this disease called

ahilu.

Rav Pappa said: Even

if he filled his belly

with dates,

the disease ahilu will overcome him.

And we raise an objection:

Isn’t it obvious!

For Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that the disease overcomes one who eats too much of “anything” sweet, and this includes eating dates, which are sweet.

And we answer:

It might enter your mind to say

[I might have thought to say] that

since the Master said: Dates

are so beneficial to the body—

they satiate, warm, loosen the bowels, strengthen, and do not pamper

[they satiate, warm, loosen the bowels, and give strength, but do not pamper the heart and make it fastidious]—even though they are sweet,

say no

[we might say that] it is not harmful to eat too many of them, since they are so beneficial. Therefore,

he teaches us

that Rav Pappa teaches that even dates are harmful when one eats too many of them.

The Gemara explains:

What

[what is] the disease

“ahilu”?

Rabbi Elazar said: A fire of the bones.

We inquire:

What is a fire of the bones?

Abaye said: A fire of the bones

[in the bones], as the bones burn him.

What is its remedy

[what is the remedy for this disease]?

Abaye said: My mother said to me:

All potions

three

days],

and

some are

seven, and

some are

twelve

days.

And this

[and this one], the potion for curing the disease “ahilu,” must be taken

until he recovers

[until he is cured].

She also said to me:

All potions

[all potions] taken for healing must be taken

on an empty stomach

[on an empty stomach], and one should not eat before drinking them.

But this one

[whereas this one], the potion for ahilu, must be taken

after he has eaten and drunk

[after he has eaten and drunk],

and entered

[and entered]

the lavatory, and emerged

[and emerged],

and washed his hands

[and washed his hands].

And they bring him a fistful of lentil flour paste

[and they bring him a fistful of a food called shetita, made from lentil flour and salt],

and a fistful of aged wine

[and a fistful of aged wine].

And he should knead them together and eat them

[and he should knead them together and eat them].

And he should wrap himself in his sheet

[and wrap himself in his sheet] so that his body will become warm and perspire,

and sleep

[and sleep].

And no one should awaken him until he rises on his own

[and they should not awaken him until he rises on his own], because the perspiration is beneficial for him.

And when he rises, he should remove the sheet from himself

[and when he rises, he should remove his sheet from himself].

And if not

he removes the sheet from himself—

it returns upon him

[the disease returns upon him].

Elijah said to Rabbi Natan: Eat

until

one-third

of your stomach is full,

, and drink

until your stomach is full

one-third

more,

and leave one-third

of your stomach empty. Then, even

when you become angry,

and your stomach expands from anger,

it will still be at its full capacity.

Your stomach will remain intact and will not burst.

But if you fill your entire stomach through eating and drinking, then when you become angry and the stomach expands, it may burst.

Rabbi Hiyya taught: One who wishes not to come to intestinal illness should accustom himself to dipping,

he should always dip his food in vinegar, or his bread in wine, both in

summer and

in

winter.

He also said:

As for a meal from which you derive pleasure

[from which you have enjoyment],

withdraw your hand from it

so that you do not eat excessively, because excessive eating harms the body.

And do not restrain yourself when you need to relieve yourself.

Mar Ukva said: One who drinks poor white wine

[one who drinks inferior white wine]—

he will be seized by weakness

[weakness will overcome him].

Rav Hisda said: There are sixty types of wine

[there are sixty types of wine]:

The finest of them all

[the finest of all] is wine

that is red and fragrant

[red and possessing a very pleasant aroma].

The inferior one of them all

[the worst of all] is

poor white wine

[inferior white wine].

Rav Yehuda said: One who sits by a fire on the mornings of Nisan

[one who sits by a fire during the mornings of the month of Nisan],

rubs himself with oil, and goes out and sits in the sun

[and rubs himself with oil and goes out and sits in the sun]—

he will be seized by weakness

[weakness will overcome him].

The Sages taught

in a beraita: A person who

had blood let and

afterward

engaged in intercourse—

there will be

[there will be]

for him

from this intercourse

weak sons

[weak children].

And if

both had blood let and engaged in intercourse—

there will be

[there will be]

for them sons afflicted with ra’atan

[extremely weak], because they have a creeping creature in the brain.

Rav Pappa said: We said

[we said] this—that he will have weak sons—

only

when

he tasted nothing

[anything] after having blood let,

but

if

he tasted something

[anything],

we have no concern

[we have no concern] about this matter.

Rabba bar Rav Huna said: One who comes from a journey and engages in intercourse—

there will be

[there will be]

for him weak sons

[weak children].

The Sages taught

in a beraita:

One who comes from the lavatory should not engage in intercourse until he waits the measure

of walking

half a mil, because the demon of the lavatory accompanies him.

And if he engages in intercourse—

he will have sons afflicted with epilepsy

[who suffer from the falling sickness].

The Sages taught

in a beraita:

One who engages in intercourse while standing—

he will be seized by a cramp

[a muscular contraction].

And one who engages in intercourse

while sitting—

he will be seized by alarya

[yawning].

But one who engages in intercourse when

she is above and he is below—

he will be seized

by the disease

delarya.

What is “delarya”?

The Gemara does not explain what the disease is, but instead gives its remedy:

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The potion

for

delarya—

“dardara”

is its name.

What is “dardara”?

Abaye said: Wild saffron

[saffron that grows in a plant enclosure].

Rav Pappa—

he chewed it and swallowed it

[he chewed it with his teeth and swallowed it].

Rav Pappi chewed it and spat it out

[he chewed it with his teeth and spat it out] after chewing it.

Abaye said: One who is not expert in marital relations,

who lacks the strength for intercourse—

let him take three kav of wild saffron

[let him take three vessels, each holding three revi’it, filled with saffron that grows in soil fertilized with sheep manure].

And let him pound them finely

[and pound them finely],

and cook them in wine and drink

[and cook them in wine and drink them].

Rabbi Yohanan said:

The wild saffron in this potion,

they are precisely what

the ones that

restored me to my youth

in marital relations.

Three things weaken a person’s strength, and these are:

A.

fear—

anxiety over something in the future, such as livelihood or an enemy who is destined to come. B. The exertion of

travel.

C.

Sin.

Fear—

as it is written: “My heart spins; my strength has left me”

[Psalms 38:11].

Travel—

as it is written: “He weakened my strength on the way”

[Psalms 102:24].

Sin—

as it is written: “My strength has failed because of my iniquity”

[Psalms 31:11].

Three things shatter

[break]

a person’s body. And these are:

A.

He ate while standing.

B.

He drank while standing.

C.

He engaged in intercourse while standing.

There are

five

things that, if one does them,

are closer

to bringing him

to death than to life, and these are:

A.

He ate and stood up.

B.

He drank and stood up.

C.

He had blood let and stood up.

D.

He slept and stood up.

E.

He engaged in intercourse and stood up.

There are

six

things, such that one who

does all of them

one after the other—

dies immediately

from the extreme weakness,

and these are:

A.

He came from a journey and became exhausted.

B.

He had blood let.

C.

And he entered the bathhouse.

D.

And he drank and became drunk.

E.

And he slept on the ground.

F.

And he engaged in intercourse.

Rabbi Yohanan said: This is so only when he performed them in order

and only then does he die.

Abaye said:

If he performed them all

in order—he

dies,

but if he performed them all

out of order—he

becomes weak

[he becomes weakened].

And we raise an objection:

Is that so

[is it not so] that he dies only if he performs all of them?

But

[but there was] a woman named

Me’urat, who did

[performed]

for her slave

[for her slave] only

three of them

[three of them],

and he died!

And we answer:

That one was emaciated

[that slave was weak], and therefore he died after performing three of them; but an ordinary person dies only if he performs all of them in order.

Eight

things—

most of them

[if one engages in them excessively],

are difficult

for him;

a small amount of them

[if one engages in them sparingly],

is beneficial

for him.

And these are:

A.

Travel

—to travel on roads. B.

Marital relations

—intercourse.

C.

Wealth

—a small amount is beneficial, while a great deal is difficult, since it causes him to neglect Torah study and makes his heart haughty. D.

Work.

E.

Wine

and F.

sleep.

G.

Hot water

—for bathing and drinking. H.

Bloodletting.

Eight

things

reduce the semen, and these are:

A.

Salt,

B.

hunger.

C.

A skin eruption

—leprosy. D.

Crying.

E.

Sleeping on the ground.

F.

Coriander

[coriander]. G.

Hops out of season.

H.

Bloodletting

performed on the body

below

—reduces the semen

twofold

more than all the others.

A tanna taught: Just as bloodletting

performed on the body

below

is difficult for the body because it reduces the semen

twofold

more than the other things,

so it is beneficial

for the body when bloodletting is performed

above

on the body, as it increases it

twofold.