Often, we wonder why the Chinese, Indians, Persians, Greeks, and Arabs have traditional herbal medicine, while we Jews seemingly do not. This question echoed and remained open for many generations, occupying even the author. This question marked the beginning of research that became a magical, wonderful, and fascinating journey lasting about fifteen years, culminating in the publication of the Encyclopedia of Talmudic Plants.
This encyclopedia is the first of its kind in the world, making the story of ancient Jewish herbal medicine accessible to readers. Through the plants, readers will feel as if they are on a time journey to vibrant and fascinating past regions, to ancient practical scientific medicine, and to Jewish physicians who left their mark in their ancient lands. This agricultural knowledge and herbal heritage began to develop over about six hundred years from the settlement of the tribes in the Land of Israel and ended with the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, and the exile of the ten tribes in 722 BCE to the vast Assyrian Empire. This ancient herbal science evolved and renewed through the Jewish travels and wanderings in the diaspora for 2,700 years until the modern era.
The encyclopedia contains one hundred and eighty selected botanical entries found in five sections: medicinal plants, spices, incense, the seven species, and fruit trees. Each entry collects and compiles thousands of fragments of information from the Jewish bookshelf and ancient medical writings, revealing surprising prescriptions and ancient recipes for the first time that can help us all adopt principles of nutrition and preventive medicine.
The author, Abraham Dahan, a Chabad Hasid, is an expert lecturer and researcher of Jewish ethnobotany. He served as the head of project teams in the Department of Medicinal Plants, Spices, and Perfumes at the Agricultural Research Organization Volcani Center in Neve Yaar. He embarked on his research journey in 2008 out of personal intellectual curiosity and a great thirst for knowledge, intertwined with his love for nature and the plant world of Israel. Curiosity and thirst for knowledge harmonized in his soul with a deep spiritual experience influenced by the Bible and the Tanya, the book of Chassidism. Under the strong influence of the founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, and Chabad Rebbes, the author envisioned a mission to restore ancient Jewish herbal medicine to the center of the ancient multicultural medicines and to the heart of the Israeli public and academic experience. This vision was realized through the writing of the Encyclopedia of Talmudic Plants, numerous lectures given to diverse audiences, and the establishment of the Talmudic Plants Orchard at Mitzpe Hayamim Farm in the Upper Galilee, where medicinal, spice, and perfume plants are planted and cultivated, offering visitors a sensory learning experience of ancient Jewish medicine.
