In these days, when sanitation claims a large share of attention,
and when questions relating to the public health are canvassed and
discussed on all sides, it may be of service to ask what lessons are to
be learned from the diet, habits, and customs of the Jews. It is not
generally known that their health and longevity are superior to those
of other races, a fact which has been noted by careful observers from
early times in this and other countries. An experiment, extending over
thousands of years, has been made as to the sanitary value of certain
laws in the Mosaic code. The test has been applied in the most rigid
way, and if it had failed at any period in their eventful history,
their name alone, like that of the Assyrian and Babylonian, would
have remained to testify to their existence as a nation. The three
deadly enemies of mankind—war, famine, and pestilence—have at times
been let loose upon them. They have stood firm as a rock against the
crushing power of oppression, when exercised at the call of political
or religious antipathy. They have been pursued with relentless
persecution, from city to city, and from one country to another, in the
name of our holy religion. Restricted as to their trade, singled out
to bear the burden of special taxation, confined in the most miserable
and unhealthy quarters of the towns where they were permitted to dwell,
living in the constant fear of robbery without redress, of violence
without succor, of poverty without relief, of assaults against their
persons, honor, and religion without hope of protection; in spite of
woe after woe coming upon them, like the waves of a pitiless sea, they
have not been broken to pieces and swallowed up, leaving not a wreck
behind. No other race has had the fiery trials that they have gone
through, yet, like the three Hebrew youths in the furnace, the smell of
fire is not found on them. To-day their bodily vigor is unequalled, and
their moral and mental qualities are unsurpassed.
How has it happened that, after being compassed about for centuries
with so many troubles, they have at the present time all the requisites
that go to form a great nation, and are, in numbers, energy, and
resources, on a level with their forefathers in the grandest period of
their history? It is not enough to say that all this has come to pass
according to the will of God, and that their continued existence is
owing to His intervention on their behalf. No doubt it is a miracle in
the sense that it is contrary to all human experience, for no other
nation has lived through such perilous times of hardship and privation.
But as it was in the wilderness so it has been in all their wanderings
down the stream of time; the miracle was supplemented by the use of
means, without which God’s purpose regarding them would have failed.
The blessing of long life and health, promised to them by the mouth
of Moses, has not been withheld. Several texts might be quoted, but
one will suffice. In Deuteronomy iv. 40, we read, “Thou shall keep
therefore his statutes, and his commandments, that it may go well with
thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong
thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.”
With a promise so rich with blessing, conditional on their obedience,
they have through all the ages been monuments of God’s faithfulness,
and are to this day in the enjoyment of its advantages.
The following statistics, for which I am indebted to the kindness of
Dr. A. Cohen, who has collected them from different sources, will serve
to prove their superiority in respect of health and longevity. In the
town of Fürth, according to Mayer, the average duration of life amongst
the Christians was 26 years, and amongst the Jews 37 years. During
the first five years of childhood the Christian death-rate was 14 per
cent. and the Jewish was 10 per cent. The same proportion of deaths, it
is said, exists in London. Neufville has found that in Frankfort the
Jews live eleven years longer than the Christians, and that of those
who reach the age of 70 years 13 are Christians and 27 are Jews. In
Prussia, from 1822 to 1840, it has been ascertained that the Jewish
population increased by 3½ per cent. more than the Christian, there
being 1 birth in 28 of the Jews to 1 in 25 of the Christians, and 1
death in 40 of the Jews to 1 in 34 of the Christians.
These data are sufficient to verify the statement that the Jews are
endowed with better health and greater longevity than Christians. It
will therefore be inferred that some peculiarity exists which gives
them more power of resisting disease, and renders them less susceptible
to its influence. In virtue of this property their constitution
readily accommodates itself to the demands of a climate which may be
too severe for other non-indigenous races. Take as an example the
statistics of the town of Algiers in 1856. Crebassa gives the following
particulars—Of Europeans there were 1,234 births and 1,553 deaths;
of Mussulmans 331 births and 514 deaths; of Jews 211 births and 187
deaths. These numbers afford a remarkable illustration of the “survival
of the fittest.”
Their unusual freedom from disease of particular kinds has been
often noticed, and amounts nearly to immunity from certain prevalent
maladies, such as those of the scrofulous and tuberculous type,
which are answerable for about a fifth of the total mortality. Their
comparative safety in the midst of destructive epidemics has often
been the subject of comment, and was formerly used as evidence against
them, on the malicious charge of disseminating disease. At the present
day, and in consonance with the spirit of the age, the matter has
come within the scope of the scientific inquirer, with the view of
ascertaining the cause of this exceptional condition.
A peculiarity of this sort must lie in the nature of things in the
distinctive character of their food, habits, and customs. Their more
or less strict adherence to the requirements of the Mosaic law, and
to the interpretation of it given in the Talmud, are familiar to all
who come in contact with them. To this code we must therefore look for
an explanation of the facts under review; and here it may be stated
that no prominence is given to one set of laws over another. They all
begin with the formula, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,” thus
making no difference in point of importance between the laws of worship
and those of health. These latter, therefore, carried with them the
sanctions of religion, and were as much a matter of obligation as any
other religious duty. It will thus be easily seen how the interweaving
of the several laws relating to health and worship had the effect
of giving equal permanence to both, so that as long as the one was
observed the other would be in force. Though many of the details might
appear arbitrary, a fuller knowledge of sanitary science has revealed
a meaning not recorded in the sacred text. Moses, who was versed in
all the learning of the Egyptians, was evidently acquainted with the
laws of health, which he embodied in his code under divine direction.
Those who are firm believers in the inspiration of the Scriptures will
have no difficulty in believing that principles, given by God for the
preservation of the health of the Israelite in olden times, and to
which he is still obedient with great apparent benefit, are likely to
be beneficial in their effect on the general community. Truths of this
kind are like the laws of nature, universally applicable. They never
grow old by lapse of time or effete by force of circumstances.
This part of the Mosaic code is mainly concerned with details relating
to food, cleanliness, the prevention of disease, and the disinfection
of diseased persons and things. The Jews observe in eating flesh-food
the great primary law, which was given to Noah after the Flood (Gen.
ix. 4): “But the flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood
thereof, shall ye not eat,” It was enforced in the Mosaic dispensation
(Lev. xvii. 10), under the penalty of being cut off for disobedience,
and in the Christian era was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem
(Acts xv. 20), when the Apostle James, as president, gave sentence that
the Gentiles who are turned to God should abstain from blood. To this
day the animal (whether beast or bird) is killed with a sharp knife in
such a way that the large blood vessels in the neck discharge the blood
most freely, and so drain the flesh to the utmost extent possible, and
as an additional precaution the veins, which in certain places are
difficult to empty, are removed before the part can be used as food; so
that it would appear every needful measure is adopted to prevent the
ingestion of the forbidden fluid. On this account game that is shot is
not eaten by the orthodox Jew, as the blood is retained by that mode of
death.
Before the slain animal is pronounced kosher, or fit for food, a
careful search is made by experts for any evidence of disease. These
men have to satisfy the Shechita Board, which takes cognisance of these
matters, that they have a competent knowledge of morbid structures
before being authorised to affix the official seal, without which no
meat is considered wholesome. That this practice is far from being
unnecessary may be gathered from the fact that in a recent half-yearly
report presented to the board the following particulars occur:—Oxen
slain, 12,473, kosher, 7,649; calves slain, 2,146, kosher, 1,569;
sheep slain, 23,022, kosher, 14,580. These numbers show that out of 37
beasts slain 14 were rejected as unsound, and not allowed to be eaten
by the Jew. The less-favored Christian, not being under such dietary
restrictions, would have no hesitation in buying and consuming this
condemned meat. It is even alleged that a larger proportion of diseased
animals than is here stated is exposed for sale in the Metropolitan
Meat Market, and used as food by purchasers of all classes. Whether
this be so or not, the fact remains that the Jewish portion of the
community have the sole benefit of arrangements specially designed
for the maintenance of health. This state of things demands urgent
attention, and has surely a claim prior to many other subjects which
occupy the time of our legislators.
The Mosaic law, in forbidding the use of blood as food, gives as the
reason that the blood is the life. It follows, therefore, if the animal
be unhealthy its blood may be regarded as unhealthy. But as the blood
may be diseased without external or even internal evidence such as is
open to common observation, the total prohibition of it obviates the
risk that might otherwise be incurred.
Modern science has discovered in the circulation of diseased animals
microscopic organisms of different forms, each characteristic of some
particular disease. They are parasitic in their nature, growing and
multiplying in the living being, though they are capable of preserving
their vitality outside the body. Some, like the bacillus, which is
supposed to cause tuberculosis, may even be dried without losing their
vital properties, and on entering the system be able to produce the
disease proper to them. Others will develop in dead organic substances,
but increase more abundantly in living structures. They are very
plentiful in the atmosphere of certain localities, and settling on
exposed wounded surfaces, or finding their way into the lungs and
effecting a lodgment in the blood and tissues, they generate, each
after its kind, specific infective diseases. When the blood becomes
impregnated by any special organism, a drop may suffice to propagate
the disease by inoculation in another animal. The mode of entrance
of these morbid germs may be by inhalation, by inoculation, and by
the ingestion of poisonous particles with the food. Any person living
in unhygienic circumstances, and whose system is from any cause in a
condition suited for the reception of these organisms, cannot safely
eat meat which may contain them in the blood. In the splenic fever of
cattle, for instance, which is communicable to man, these germs are
exceedingly numerous, and the same may be said of the other specific
febrile diseases. Eventually there is a deposit of morbid material in
the tissues, where the process of development goes on till a great
change in the once healthy structures is effected.
With the light derived from recent investigation we are able to
understand the wisdom and foresight of the Mosaic injunction as well
as appreciate its supreme importance. The Jew, like the Christian,
is exposed to the inroads of disease when he breathes an infected
atmosphere and eats tainted food, provided he is susceptible at the
time to the morbific influence, but he is protected by a dietary rule
at the point where the Christian is in danger. The Jew who conforms
to the law of Moses in this particular must have a better chance of
escaping the ravages of epidemics than those who are not bound by these
restrictions. This hygienic maxim goes far to explain the comparative
freedom of the Jewish race from the large class of blood diseases.
The examination of the carcass is also necessary with the view of
determining the sound or unsound condition of the meat. At one time
it was doubted that the complaints from which animals suffer could
be communicated by eating their flesh, but the evidence of eminent
authorities has definitely settled the question. Such bovine diseases
as the several varieties of anthrax, the foot and mouth disease, and
especially tuberculosis, are now believed to be transmissible through
ingested meat. It has been proved that the pig fed with tuberculous
flesh becomes itself tuberculous, and the inference is fair that
man might acquire the disease if subjected to the same ordeal. This
last disease is very common amongst animals, and is now recognised
as identical with that which is so fatal to the human race. It is
considered highly probable that the widespread mortality caused by this
malady is due in a great degree to the consumption of the milk and meat
of tuberculous animals. That the milk supply should be contaminated is
a very serious affair for the young, who are chiefly fed on it. The
regular inspection of all dairies by skilled officials is imperatively
necessary to ward off a terrible and growing evil; just as a similar
inspection of slaughter-houses is demanded in the interests of the
meat-eating portion of the community.
Temperance is a noteworthy feature in the habits of the Jews. Their
moderation in the use of alcoholic drinks is deserving of the highest
commendation. Very rarely are they rendered unfit for business by
over-indulgence in this debasing vice. In no class of Jewish society is
excessive drinking practised. The poorest, in their persons, families,
and homes, present a marked contrast to their Christian neighbors in
the same social position. The stamp on the drunkard’s face is very
seldom seen on the countenance of a Jew. He is not to be found at the
bar of a public-house, or hanging idly about its doors with drunken
associates. His house is more attractive by reason of the thrift that
forms the groundwork of his character. Domestic broils, so common an
incident in the life of the hard-drinking poor, are most unusual. When
work is entrusted to him insobriety does not interfere with the due
and proper performance of it, hence his industry meets with its reward
in the improvement of his circumstances. This habit of temperance amid
abounding drunkenness, more or less excessive, is probably one of the
causes of the protection afforded to him during the prevalence of
some epidemic diseases, such as typhus, cholera, and other infectious
fevers. His comparative freedom from the ravages of these terrible
complaints has been chronicled by observers, both mediæval and modern,
and is now a subject of common remark. The latest instance of this
immunity is furnished by the records of the deaths from cholera in the
south of France, where it is affirmed that out of a considerable Jewish
population in the infected districts only seven fell victims to the
disease, a fact which ought to receive more than a passing notice in
the interests of humanity.
Another point that may be mentioned is the provision made by the Jewish
Board of Guardians for the indigent poor. It has been said that no
known Jew is allowed to die in a workhouse. When poverty, or sickness
involving the loss of his livelihood, occurs, charity steps in and
bestows the help which places him above want, and tides him over his
bodily or pecuniary distress. The mother is also seasonably provided
with medical and other comforts when her pressing need is greatest. In
this way they are saved from the diseases incidental to lack of food,
and after an attack of illness are sooner restored to health than the
majority of the poor, who linger on in a state of convalescence little
better than the ailment itself, and often sink into permanent bad
health from the scanty supply of the necessary nourishment which their
exhausted frames require.
In enumerating the causes which have made the Jewish people so strong
and vigorous, particular mention must be made of their observance of
the Sabbath. This day was appointed for the double purpose of securing
a set portion of time for the worship of God, and of affording rest
to the body wearied with its six days’ labors. The secularising of
this holy day in the history of the French nation has demonstrated
the need of a day of rest and the wisdom of its institution by a
merciful Creator, even before there was a man to till the ground.
Obedience to this primeval law, renewed amid the thunders of Sinai,
and repeated on many subsequent occasions by Moses and the prophets,
is still held by the Jews to be as strictly binding on them as any
other religious obligation. Of the physical blessings derivable from
keeping the Sabbath day they have had the benefit for many long
centuries when other nations were sunk in heathenism and ignorant of
the divine ordinance made to lighten their labors and recruit their
strength. In Christian countries where the Sunday is kept sacred, or
observed as a holiday, another day of rest in addition to their own
Sabbath is obtained, thus fortifying them against the crushing toil and
nervous strain of modern life. The loss accruing from this enforced
abstinence from business worries is more than counter-balanced by the
gain in nerve power with which periodical cessation from any harassing
employment is compensated. This is doubtless one of the factors which
have helped to invigorate both mind and body, and to develop in them
those high qualities for which they are justly distinguished.
To sum up—the longevity of the Jew is an acknowledged fact. In his
surroundings he is on a par with his Christian neighbor. If the
locality in which he dwells is unhealthy, he also suffers, but to a
less degree. If the climate is ungenial, its influence tells on him
too, but with less injurious effect. His vigorous health enables him to
resist the onset of disease to which others succumb. These advantages
are for the most part owing to his food, his temperate habits, and the
care taken of him in sickness and poverty. No doubt he is specially
fortunate in inheriting a constitution which has been built up by
attention, for many centuries, to hygienic details. His meat is drained
of blood, so that by that means morbid germs are not likely to be
conveyed into his system. It is also most carefully inspected so as
to prevent the consumption of what is unsound, hence his comparative
immunity from scrofulous and tuberculous forms of disease.
How can the benefits which the Jews enjoy be shared by other races? In
regard to food, whatever prejudice may stand in the way of draining the
blood from the animal, it ought surely to be done when there is the
least suspicion of unhealthy symptoms; but there can be no doubt about
the urgent necessity for a strict supervision of our meat markets, so
as to prevent the sale of diseased food. Legislation ought to make
such regulations as will render impossible the continuance of an evil
which, by oversight or otherwise, is dangerous to the general health.
Temperance is a virtue within the reach of everybody, and is now widely
practised by all classes, and the gain in improved health will soon be
apparent in the lessening of ailments due to drunkenness. Charity is as
much the duty of the Christian as of the Jew, and it is a dishonor to
the Master whom the former professes to serve if he shuts up his bowels
of compassion when the poor, who have always claims upon him, call in
vain for the needed help. They ought never to be allowed to languish in
sickness and poverty till the friendly hand of death brings a grateful
relief to all their troubles.
The Bible is regarded by some scientists as an old-fashioned book;
but its teaching in relation to hygiene, even they will confess, has
not become antiquated. It must be credited with having anticipated
and recorded for our instruction and profit doctrines which are now
accepted as beyond dispute in this department of knowledge. In the
Mosaic law are preserved sanitary rules, the habitual observance of
which by the Jew, from generation to generation, has made him superior
to all other races in respect of health and longevity.—_Leisure Hour._