And you shall surely heal = [Ṿe-rapo yerape] • Vol 2

Abstract

It is interesting to note that the rabbis compare Torah to medicine in numerous contexts. To take just two examples, in Kiddushin 306, God is depicted as declaring, "I created an evil inclination, and I also created Torah as its antidote." Similarly, the Talmud declares that Torah can be an elixir of life or death (Shabbat 886). What is the significance of these intriguing comparisons? Perhaps Chazal are trying to convey that the connection between Torah and medicine runs far deeper than the surface. Not only do medicine and halakha intersect at so many points, but they are parallel as well: medicine heals the body, while Torah is the panacea of the soul. Indeed, Rambam famously develops this theme in his Shmoneh Perakim, arguing that just as one must turn to medical doctors to heal a physical ailment, so too one must turn to the spiritual doctors, the rabbis, to heal a spiritual ailment. Thus the chosen subject of our journal - the intersection between Torah and medicine - is not coincidental but inheres in each. (from Editor's Preface)