Reichman E
BDD. 1997 Summer(5):33-40.
The advances in modern medicine have spawned a myriad of ethical and halakhic dilemmas. Modern day poskim (rabbinic authorities) address these issues by relying heavily on the works of their predecessors, works that often refer to contemporaneous medical theories and practice. While the principles of Halakhah have remained unchanged since the giving of the Torah, the principles of medical theory and practice have changed radically over the centuries. Therefore, when approaching any pre-20th-century medical halakhic text, it is imperative to realize that the medical theories and practices discussed therein can only be understood in their proper historical context. This essay analyzes two rabbinic sources from the 18th century which discuss a particular disease and its treatment. The contemporaneous history of this disease is presented for the purpose of clarifying the ambiguities of the text and preventing possible anachronistic interpretations and halakhic misapplications.
现代医学的进步引发了无数伦理和犹太教法方面的困境。当代的拉比权威（犹太律法权威）在很大程度上依靠其前辈的著作来处理这些问题，而这些著作常常提及同时期的医学理论和实践。虽然自《托拉》颁布以来，犹太教法的原则一直未变，但几个世纪以来，医学理论和实践的原则却发生了根本性的变化。因此，在研读任何20世纪以前的医学犹太教法文本时，必须认识到其中所讨论的医学理论和实践只能在其恰当的历史背景中去理解。本文分析了18世纪两部拉比文献，它们讨论了一种特定疾病及其治疗方法。为了澄清文本的模糊之处并防止可能出现的时代错误解读和犹太教法的错误应用，文中呈现了这种疾病的同期历史。
