Judaism and Medicine

statue on a square in granada
Photo by Jose Francisco Fernandez Saura on Pexels.com

What does it mean to be healthy? What does it mean to be healed? For over a century now, Western biomedicine has attempted to provide answers to these questions. The scientific method was hailed as the final step in humankind’s search for health, and without a doubt has provided us with a miraculous array of medicines and technologies that have alleviated human suffering and prolonged human lifespans. The reduction of HIV to a chronic disease, the rapid development of vaccines against COVID-19, and the promise of CRISPR gene editing are but a few of the myriad ways in which biomedicine has saved millions of lives, with the promise of saving millions more. In my work as an Infectious Disease physician subspecializing in HIV care, and in working on my Master of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, I see this daily.

However, despite these wonderful successes, something has gone wrong in the relationship between the physician and patient. Once a sacred and esteemed interaction, we have seen the monetization of this relationship by corporate interests. The profession of medicine has metamorphosized into the “healthcare industry,” and physicians have become “providers.” The act of seeking out healing has become warped by the push to see more and more patients in increasingly less time. Many physicians I know long for the ability to incorporate true healing time into their practices but are unable to do so; physicians, for the most part, no longer control their daily routines or their destiny. And, despite our current business healthcare model and billions of dollars in expenditure, people are becoming less healthy.

The Harvard medical anthropologist, Arthur Kleinman, differentiates between the concepts of disease and illness, the former being the preferred purview of Western biomedicine, and the latter the subjective experience of disease by the patient, often overlooked in our system of medical education and practice. Yet, in my experience, it is often by addressing the experience of illness that patients leave an encounter most satisfied (certainly true in HIV care, where cure is not possible, but healing can be accomplished). Whether or not physical cure is possible, tending to the intangible subjective experience of a patient’s grappling with ailment often leads to a profound healing of mind and spirit. The ability of a patient to process their condition within the setting of a meaningful relationship, and often in the context of a meaningful value system, elevates their experience beyond the sick role, frequently enabling them to transcend the experience.

How, then, do we enhance our current biomedical model of practice, to address both disease and illness? I believe that this can be accomplished by the reunification of medicine and spirituality, whether theistic or naturalistic. Specifically, I believe that Judaism and its rich history and connection with medicine, has much to offer here, both for those who identify as Jewish, and for those who believe that they can benefit from the healing wisdom of the Jewish tradition (much as principles of mindfulness and meditation from traditional Buddhism have proven effective in disease management and entered the mainstream). Judaism has a long and storied relationship with medical science, and some of its greatest sages have been both physicians and rabbis (Maimonides and Nachmanides for starters). The fact that the Halakhic principle of pikuach nefesh places the saving of a life in precedence to most of the other mitzvot gives us an idea of the value that Judaism places on a profession such as medicine, whose concern is the same. And it is the Mi Sheberach prayer for the sick that asks not only for a healing of the body but a complete healing – the healing of the body and soul. In studying to become a madrikh within the Humanistic Jewish movement through the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, I can attest to the power of both a cultural and religious Judaism to be effective in this regard.

In light of Judaism’s healing potential and the societal yearning for such holistic care, I have been mulling over the idea of establishing a medical consultative practice, based on the principles of Jewish healing, as a potential solution to the dehumanization of our healthcare encounters. Such a practice would be cognizant of not only the best biomedical options but be based on the vast Jewish tradition of involvement in the healing arts. Such a tradition and value system are represented in the list of Nobel Prize laureates in Physiology or Medicine, where 26% of all winners have been of Jewish background. From this list, it is important to note that neither Western biomedicine nor Judaism are negated by the other, and that Jewish values and beliefs act synergistically with the best of science to create a humanizing and holistically healing experience. I envision such a Jewishly inspired medical philosophy and practice as offering, in consultation with other like-minded physicians, rabbis, Jewish lay leaders, and interfaith organizations, a way for a Jewishly inclined patient to address both the disease and illness aspects of their health condition.

I believe that we have reached a point, here in the 21st Century, where the purely rational and scientific approach to matters of healing no longer completely suffices. Where it would be an incomparable tragedy to destroy the institutions and products of Western biomedicine (as some would propose), there is instead a better option, a “middle way.” By combining the wisdom of Jewish values and teaching to the process of healing, I believe that we can, much as the Mi Sheberach prayer states, achieve a healing of not just the body, but of the soul and mind as well. I propose that a Jewishly centered medical consultative practice can achieve such an end. When humanism and spirituality are brought to the medical encounter, in the Jewish context, those to whom the Jewish way is meaningful and significant will have regained a trust in the medical profession and its related fields. Where we now see an increasing anti-vaccination, anti-medical establishment, and anti-public health movement in the United States, I posit that when patients can experience a true healing and sense of ownership in the context of the medical encounter, trust in our biomedical interventions will also increase. The ancient wisdom of Judaism and its profound connection to medicine and healing can provide an answer.

Be the first to comment

What are your thoughts?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.