Ashkenazi Herbalism: Rediscovering the Herbal Traditions of Eastern European Jews

This book contains dis­cov­er­ies about Jew­ish for­mal & folk med­ical practice in the part of the Sovi­et Union that is Ukraine, a sub­ject rarely doc­u­ment­ed in print dur­ing that time or after. Through archival pho­tographs a botan­i­cal field study under­tak­en by the Sovi­et gov­ern­ment (which includ­ed, but nev­er acknowl­edged, Jews), mem­oirs, & inter­views with descen­dants, the authors found doc­u­men­ta­tion that counter mis­con­cep­tions of shtetl back­ward­ness & illit­er­a­cy.

The definitive guide to the medicinal plant knowledge of Ashkenazi herbal healers–from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

Until now, the herbal traditions of the Ashkenazi people have remained unexplored and shrouded in mystery. Ashkenazi Herbalismrediscovers the forgotten legacy of the Jewish medicinal plant healers who thrived in Eastern Europe’s Pale of Settlement, from their beginnings in the Middle Ages through the modern era.

Including the first materia medica of 26 plants and herbs essential to Ashkenazi folk medicine, Ashkenazi Herbalism sheds light on the preparations, medicinal profiles, and applications of a rich but previously unknown herbal tradition–one hidden by language barriers, obscured by cultural misunderstandings, and nearly lost to history. Written for new and established practitioners, it offers illustrations, provides information on comparative medicinal practices, and illuminates the important historical and cultural contexts that gave rise to Eastern European Jewish herbalism.

Part I introduces a brief history of the Ashkenazim and provides an overview of traditional medicine among Eastern European Jews. Part II offers a comparative overview of healing customs among Jews of the Pale of Settlement, their many native plants, and the remedies applied by local healers to treat a range of illnesses. This materia medica names each plant in Yiddish, English, Latin, and other relevant languages, and the book also details a brief history of medicine; the roles of the ba’alei shem, feldshers, opshprekherins, midwives, and brewers; and the remedy books used by Jewish healers.