Plague and Pandemic in Jewish History

An overview of the history of contagion, approaches to disease among Jews in the biblical, medieval and modern period, with some commentary on the current public health condition.
Interested in studying more deeply? Join our learning community of students, researchers and colleagues: / @henryabramsonphd

[@jsoth2675]

Coming from a non jewish viewer your content is great. Thanks for your hard work.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Thanks for the kind word!

[@joshuturier3380]

Coming from the same place, I’ll second that: Henry Abramson is the best!

[@nathanielcastillo6340]

Yes sir! Knowledge is power!

[@victoriahhigman9611]

Dr Abramson I love your lectures. We are no longer in lockdown but this is so interesting. You have helped me join my Jewish community who graciously accept inquiring Christian’s. Keep going forever

[@prechagirl]

As a Christian I found this very interesting and insightful. Thank you

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Enjoy in good health!

[@LisaRichards_123]

I know my comment is more about the Halacha pertaining to epidemics, but I feel it is important to consider. One of the things that I grew up with as a Jew is the importance of the value of life, Chai. It is something that my rabbis have commented on in the past, and my longtime rebbetzin. Some examples of the importance of life are found in the fact that if you are pregnant or sick, you can eat on Yom Kippur, because that you live supersedes the Mitzvah. We remember the line from Schindler’s List, “whoever saves one life, it is considered as if he has saved an entire world.” We also know the line from scripture, “Choose life.” I am shocked and horrified by the blatant disregard for human life that has been exhibited in the midst of the current coronavirus pandemic. When I hear statements like, “It only kills older people,” as if old people’s lives don’t matter (and never mind the statement about only old people dying isn’t true), I am stunned and horrified. That people actually protest wearing a mask, or staying inside to save a life, feels abhorrent to me as a Jew. Seeing the blatant disregard for the fact that over 83,000 American lives have been lost, has definitely made me even more appreciative of the importance of the faith in which I was raised.

[@tamarfischer283]

The line about saving one life may be quoted in Schindler's list but it originates from the talmud sanhendrin 37a

[@LisaRichards_123]

Tamar Fischer Exactly! But most people know it from the movie.

[@iwantthetruthandnothingbut6521]

Were you worried about the 80,000 that died from the flu just last winter alone in the United States?? Were you worried about the 60,000 that died from diabetes?? They're only using covid-19. to scare us into submission, and to totally usurp the world's economy and start their new world order that they have been talkin about for 100 years. I'm surprised so many still don't get it.

[@deborahfreedman333]

@@iwantthetruthandnothingbut6521 First, we had a flu season that lasted much longer than usual last winter, which is why many epidemiologists think many of the deaths attributed to flu, that did not test positive for influenza, were really due to Covid-19, so that figure for flu deaths is far too high. Secondly, 113,558 who were actually tested, and showed positive for Covid-19, died in the last three months. This number is artificailly low, due to lack of testing. This pandemic has nothing to do with a new world order, or whatever racist nonsense you are espousing, but an emergent disease.

[@tamarfischer283]

The coronavirus situation highlighted for me how careful we have to be of passing on contagious diseases which may be deadly to others. This virus is more dangerous and more easily transmitted but yes. We should worry about the flue and how many people it is killing

[@Litmurrio]

Apreciated Mr. Abramson: I've just discovered your lectures on Sephardic history. Being an spaniard, it's at the same time a pride and a shame to return to these topics, you know, but your enthusiasm and erudition are enchanting. I missed a video on the jewish influence on the spanish classical literarure: jarchas, shem Tov of Carrión, la Celestina, Sta Teresa of Ávila (influenced by the hekhalot mysticism), Lazarillo de Tormes or even Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote. P.D: I bought your book on the kabbalah of forgiveness

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Hope you enjoyed the book!

[@robertomorales8286]

I am from Puerto Rico.Now living in Russia.I am a fanatic of your conferences......The right wing evangelical trumpits are using out context from thr Tanakh Psalm 9<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="66">1:6</a> has magic protection against the coronavirus.They are like gnostics christiabs of north Africa that believed in magic spells and encantations.The evangelical trumpist are also saying that if you paint with animal blood the door of your house,just like in Exodus,you will be protected by God against the coronavirus.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Same to you!

[@LisaRichards_123]

I have a very detailed book about amulets from Spain, yo ward off the evil eye. I was told by a Yeshiva teacher that these were fairly common. Given the fear that these people had to live with, we can understand why they became popular.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Yup

[@eliyahulakes7786]

Thanks again Professor! Always informative with a dash of well needed humor these days.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

My pleasure!

[@MarcMayhem343]

Dr Abramson is the best

[@MarcMayhem343]

his lectures are straight forward - but advanced enough to lead you to do your own additional research and learn more .

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Ty!

[@donovanwint1277]

Thank GOD for the Hebrew People, they have contributed so much to Humanity, and have been blessed with accomplishing so much for themselves and the world at large. A world that has not been very accommodating, respectful or even thankful for what they have Blessed the world with. GOD has been and will always be with them, even through their worst days.

[@taliadavid858]

Rabbi Yoseph Zundel Salant (R. Israel Salanter’s Rabbi) is my saba raba & most of his male descendants in my family are, in fact, all doctors.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Interesting

[@roysacks1788]

What impact did the Spanish Flu of 1918 have on Jewish History?

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Lots, particularly in terms of support for suffering in Eastern Europe at the end of the World War I.

[@briankelly5828]

Thanks for this. Tobit in the Apocrypha had a dog that accompanied him on his journey . Do modern Jews pay any attention to books like Tobit and Judith?

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Not really, it's not part of the Jewish biblical canon. Scholars are more familiar with Tobit.

[@zafirjoe18]

Thanks for the lecture. Is there any historical data about the effect of the Justinian plague on his Jewish subjects ? It was at this time that we get the piutim because of the anti Jewish decrees.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Could only include so much

[@ussliberty4631]

Interesting

[@Hellbender8574]

Thank you for another fascinating lecture. Stay well, happy Shavuot.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Thanks, you too!

[@LisaRichards_123]

Thank you for a great lecture wow. I wrote my comment about Halachah before hearing any of this! That is a really great piece of text those guys wrote in Florida.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

You are very welcome

[@yourthought2333]

Great class, a good reiteration of schlomo emelek's wisdom of there being nothing new under the sun.😉

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ayidala7]

That's a beautiful broad but focused look at our history

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

"broad but focused." Hmm.

[@gavifox8260]

Need I point out that religious Jews were singled out during 2018-2019 for "endangering the children of New York" by refusing to vaccinate their children against measles. The city threatened to shut down Jewish schools unless they refused to admit children whose parents did not prove they had been vaccinated. I live in Denver where all formal Minyonim have been shut down. Fortunately I have been able to attend an informal Minyon attended mostly by Russian and Bucharan Jews who grew up resisting police state measures to suppress Yiddishkeit.

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Satmar refused..not the majority of Frum Yidden.

[@yael5212]

@@MitzvosGolem1 do more research. Had nothing to do with Satmer. All my satmer relatives (im not) in willi have vaccinated. There are Anti-Vaxxers everywhere, the issue in Williamsburg (and some other communities as well) was that .. the education institutions didn't force parents, and allowed unvaccinated children to come to school. (while they did strongly encourage them to listen to the medical pros)

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Interesting

[@lsdlrf]

Thank you so much for such an informative talk . I wonder if unfortunately, we will begin to hear about people commenting that President Trump is a Rabbi ! We are living in “strange times.”

[@briankelly5828]

Fake News! ..... But if he was a Rabbi, he would be the best, of course, a stable genius.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Rabbi Ya'akov Trump. No relation.

[@arilawson6092]

Greetings, Dr. Abramson. Thank you for yet another wonderful video. A few comments: (<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1185">19:45</a>) The word bubo is of very ancient origin and is actually used in the Torah to describe the sixth plague of Egypt. Exodus <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="549">9:9</a>,10 reads, "upon man and upon beast [the dust] will become boils, erupting as bubos (אֲבַעְבֻּעֹת)...and there were boils, bubos (אֲבַעְבֻּעֹת) erupting on man and on beast." The root (בעבע) is used numerous times in Rabbinic literature as well, in various contexts. (<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1840">30:40</a>) Numerous Jews were imprisoned in Savoy in 1348 and forced, under torture, to confess their participation in poisoning wells. The poison named in these confessions is basilisk venom. The absurdity of testifying to a fictitious creature highlights the falsity of these claims against Jews. The extent of the tragedy in the wake of these accusations and forced confessions is completely sickening. According to Dorsey Armstrong (Purdue Univ.), there were pogroms in as many as 340 towns in German speaking countries alone, before the plague even reached those towns, and 80 Jewish communities were erased from the map completely. The survivors of these massacres then had to face the plague itself, which inevitably followed shortly afterward. (<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1920">32:00</a>) Blaming Jews for causing plagues did not begin in the 14th century. Hecataeus of Abdera, who lived around 300 BCE, describes the Jewish Exodus from Egypt as follows, "When in ancient times a pestilence arose in Egypt, the common people ascribed their troubles to...strangers dwelling in their midst, practicing different religion...the natives of the land decided that unless they removed the foreigners, their troubles would never cease. Thus the aliens were driven from the country...into what is now called Judea...the colony was headed by a man called Moses" (Quoted by Diodorus Siculus in the Bibliotetheca of Photius). Diodorus Siculus himself goes on to describe the Jews as a band of lepers who were banished from Egypt. A bit later, Lysimachus (sometime before the 1st cen. CE) describes the Jews as carriers of leprosy and scurvy. Similar descriptions are also found in the writings of Apion and Chaeremon (both first cen. CE).

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Very interesting

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Salk.. Sabin..

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Yup

[@leonzacharowicz2250]

Did anyone notice the "Chinese restaurant" comment? LOL

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

I tried to slip it in quietly.

[@user-hw9iv2dq6q]

I don't love Judaism I love people who believe Judaism. 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@jameson6930]

You look like Max Hedron.

[@taliadavid858]

You just aged yourself 🤣😁

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Hmm