Reply To: Is Learning Science Spiritually Dangerous?

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sammygol
Member

If Chazal truly had a perfect, Torah-derived knowledge of sciences, let us examine some medical matters.

Starting with Rabbon Yochanan Ben Zakai, who requested a Roman physician, no less, to treat Rabbi Tzadok, instead of doing it himself? Why had those Amoroim who practiced medicine limit themselves to “complex” bloodletting, instead of using the exact treatment alluded to in the Torah? They MUST have known about bacterial and viral causes of disease, and which molds to use against the former! Why had Rambam relied on Galen and Avicenna, whom he quoted all the time, when they were both right AND wrong, rather that relying on strict Torah knowledge? How come the Gemara prohibits a Jew from dwelling in a city that lacks a physician? Shouldn’t a Rav, especially of the Tannaic or Amoraic caliber suffice?

How come Roshey Yeshiva, Rebbes, Rabbanim of yesteryear traveled to Berlin, Vienna, and Zurich for treatments and surgeries, and paid huge sums to have some uncircumcised “professor” examine them and prescribe a useless potion? Why have the poskim personally inquired of gentile physicians regarding surgeries and other methods of treatment before issuing a p’sak regarding its permissibility?

Someone brought Rabbi Firer into this thread. Well, why does he consult medical books and doctors rather than the immensely great Talmidei Chachomim in B’nei Brak? Why did Rav Moshe, and now Rav Elyashiv have a trained physician that can be consulted on medical matters? Have they lost their ability to derive the proper cures from the Torah, or was the mesorah lost. If the former, when did that happen, and if the latter, if we are to trust their mesorah in halacha, why was this particular, and IMPORTANT part of it forgotten or left untransmitted?

Lastly, when it comes to their OWN health, they prefer using top notch medical facilities and obtain access to the very best specialists, instead of asking their chavrusos to cure them. WHY????