Ashkenazi Herbalism: Rediscovering the Herbal Traditions of Eastern European Jews

by Deatra Cohen, Adam Siegel

The definitive guide to the medicinal plant knowledge of Ashkenazi herbal healers--from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.Until now, the herbal traditions of the Ashkenazi people have remained unexplored and shrouded in mystery. Ashkenazi Herbalism rediscovers the forgotten legacy of the Jewish medicinal plant healers who thrived in Eastern Europe's Pale of Settlement, from their beginnings in the Middle Ages through the modern era.Including the first materia medica of 26 plants and herbs essential to Ashkenazi folk medicine, Ashkenazi Herbalism sheds light on the preparations, medicinal profiles, and applications of a rich but previously unknown herbal tradition--one hidden by language barriers, obscured by cultural misunderstandings, and nearly lost to history. Written for new and established practitioners, it offers illustrations, provides information on comparative medicinal practices, and illuminates the important historical and cultural contexts that gave rise to Eastern European Jewish herbalism.Part I introduces a brief history of the Ashkenazim and provides an overview of traditional medicine among Eastern European Jews. Part II offers a comparative overview of healing customs among Jews of the Pale of Settlement, their many native plants, and the remedies applied by local healers to treat a range of illnesses. This materia medica names each plant in Yiddish, English, Latin, and other relevant languages, and the book also details a brief history of medicine; the roles of the ba'alei shem, feldshers, opshprekherins, midwives, and brewers; and the remedy books used by Jewish healers.

Genres: Jewish, Judaism, Nonfiction, History, Health, Nature, Medicine

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[oreveth · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you come across something really juicy in this book that delights your soul, do yourself a favour and rigorously fact-check, immediately. I was often surprised, and not in a good way, following up on the footnotes.

There are weird inaccuracies in the book. For example, the author describes a feldsher titled "Reb" and claims this title signifies piety and great honour. Actually, every adult male in a shtetl gets the title "Reb," which is the equivalent of "Mr." To this day, people's random ancestors, both long- and recently-dead, are often given the title "Reb" in Jewish memorial prayers and other ritual remembrances.

Similarly, she flubs a definition of "pikuah nefesh" as allowing "heresy" in order to channel divine healing. This is really really weird. Pikuah nefesh lets you break most ritual commitments to actively rescue someone from death, but famously, you cannot commit idolatry to do so. (If idolatry is even a relevant concern. It was not shown that idolatry was ever a rabbinic worry vis a vis folk healing).

There are more translation errors of what I feel are pretty common Yiddish and Hebrew terms but there's no need to dogpile.

I feel the author really wanted European Jewish history to mirror popular narratives of herbalism (indeed, at the beginning, she talks about how she mourned not being able to fit her family roots into the expected mould of relationship with plant medicine). To fit the type, you need a mystic yet folksy unbroken tradition oppressed by both religion and medicine. To this end, she describes Jews who went to medical school as "assimilationist," rejecting their ancestral folk medicine.

But here's the thing: she already wrote that Jews and non-Jews had been trading healing strategies since time immemorial. What makes that sharing of knowledge traditional, but the mixing of minds at medical school "assimilationist"? Further, what remedies should we consider "folk," and why? Why the temptation to look at plant medicine as a static, guarded secret, when it was clearly always evolving, excited and interested in new ideas? Looked at that way, the obvious Jewish interest in medical schools was an outgrowth of broader curiosity about fixing body problems: a continuation of the old way, not the superimposition of a "new way."

Another issue with her "old way vs new way" approach is that Jews were overrepresented as trained physicians in pre-modern Europe, all the way back to the Middle Ages. What is most interesting about this is that female Jews were highly visible in the field, especially in ophthalmology. Crickets from the author, who represents medicine as a rather sneering male institution.

Other contradictions abound. She describes how midwives worked without any thanks, and that the "best case" working scenario for them was "without comment" from their clients (p. 34). She imagines them "never once demanding even the tiniest acknowledgement for [their] singular efforts." But then she goes on to quote texts showing how honoured and revered midwives were. Given that the contradiction in question is between textual evidence (the midwife as honoured villager) and her own conjecture, I think the former must be true, but what's the point of the latter? It's all just so weird.

There IS a lot of interesting research here. As another reviewer mentioned, it won't help "lema'aseh": you won't learn how to practice it. But if you're fishing for broader ideas, the sources brought in this book can help. Just, again, fact-check.

Final note. "Ashkenazi," "Sephardi," "Mizrahi," etc, are usually used when there is need to distinguish Jewish groups, for example, "Sephardi mikvaot are usually beautiful, but Ashkenazi ones can be pretty run-down." It's startling, and a little unsettling, to see it used without any intention of comparison -- which happens a lot in this book. It's like if someone kept calling your Black friend Bob "Black Bob" and just won't stop. It gets to a point where you wonder, what are you trying to say? Sometimes the fact that the book tunnel-visions on Ashkenazi Jews and Slavic Christians obscures information. Fortune-telling via lead in water is practiced by Iraqi Jews, but is presented as an "Ashkenazi" thing. Why? Why is the author so sure that Jews mix their customs freely with non-Jews, but Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities had no mingling, no lines of cultural exchange, or nothing to say about each other?

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting to love this book. The subject interests me. For me though this was incredibly dry. It was not fun to read. Some previous library patron had dogeared page 35 and apparently hadn’t read on, and I completely understand. My difficulty with the book might have been due to my mood though. I’m struggling to find the “right, page turner” and this was simply not it. It took me a long time to read. This book covers 26 different plants and how they were used medicinally by Ashkenazi Jews in the Pale of Settlement/historically. Interesting map of the Pale’s towns, and I always love maps in books. It does seem thorough though I somehow wanted more. It does seem to be well researched. I did learn some things though I suspect I won’t remember much of what I read. I guess I don’t regret reading it, even though it wasn’t that enjoyable a read for me. For most readers I think this might work better as an owned reference book rather than a book to read cover to cover. I did find myself skimming at times. 2-1/2 stars, rounded up.

[Kristin]

Okay, so I went to the length of skipping to buying this book. And unfortunately I regret it roundly. First, accolades, though--it's possibly the most impressive feat of research compilation ever. I remember trying to research similar subjects in college, and it was hard. So, very, very impressive to have aggregated this much information on these topics. The sad part is that then it's not of any use. Since all there is to go on is vague, list-like, ancient mentions using phraseology for conditions that there's modern debate over the meaning of, it's not like you can use this as a kind of recipe book to actually do the things. It would, I'm certain, be very unsafe if you tried. I can only think of very limited uses for this book. Story research for writers, certainly, since the information is vague enough and arranged in such a way that you could easily nab phrases from it and insert them in a historical or fantasy work to explain away peoples with limited resources healing wounds and diseases before technology. And then just general research, such as if a student was writing a paper on these subjects, isolated from any real world application. The book is extremely dense and encyclopedic rather than any kind of engaging narrative. One thing I feel like is a flaw is that it's in no way limited to the title subject matter. It's not actually Jewish Ashkenazi Eastern European healing traditions-- it's every use of the particular set of plants covered, ever, anywhere, not limited to that tradition. As such, it's a really valuable reference work for the history of plant remedies generally, but it'll be hard to discover that way since it's masquerading under the title. I do like the listings of all the different names for the plants in every language, just for linguistic interest and fun.

[Ilana · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent book and an amazing resource, since no comprehensive studies of Ashkenazi herbal medicine practices existed in prior to its publication. I would have preferred more ethnography and narrative, and was a bit disappointed that fully two thirds of the book comprises the materia medica, which is a wonderful resource but not as interesting a read. Perhaps this book will inspire future writing along those lines.

[Teddy Goetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book summarizes an impressive feat of research and I am so happy that it exists. It's well organized and detailed, though can tend toward a bit dry. I learned a lot and certainly will flip back in the years to come to remind myself what I read about one plant or other as it certainly didn't all stick on this first read. My favorite part was the author's personal aside about raspberries--a sweet surprise.

[Emily Chapman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book SO MUCH more than I did. The opening prelude was promising. I liked the social history and ethnobotany going on in that part and expected the same vibe throughout. Then the book just talked about 26 different plants in such a boring way… and this is coming from someone who LOVES plants. The writing was not engaging at all and greatly lacked focus.

For example, a lot of the plant descriptions didn’t have an Ashkenazi angle at all, which was supposed to be the whole point and what the intro set up. If the writers wanted to talk GENERALLY about plants and their uses around the world throughout history that’s fine, but don’t market it as a specifically Jewish-cultural book?

This text greatly needed a more critical editor to refine the focus of this book. It felt really unfinished!! This is all said lovingly as a plant lover and outdoor educator married to an Ashkenazi Jew!!

Oh and the book would benefit from photos of the plants, especially in the section describing NINE different types of clover. I needed a visual aid… I mean, COME ON.

[Danni Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of information in this book, but it's really presented more as a reference guide than as a reading book, and might have been more user-friendly as a website than as a book. I did read it, though I'm not sure I retained much of what I read. A particular difficult I observed was that there were often descriptions of what symptoms or conditions the herbs were used for, but it was left vague whether this meant that modern science had, or had not, validated that usage, or whether it is unknown. This made it hard to know what to do with the information I was reading -- was this a historical account of herbalism, or a guide that could be used by contemporary herbalists or even just someone like me trying to treat my own symptoms? Thus, I would only recommend this book as perhaps a starting point of inquiry to get some awareness of the (limited) existing scholarship, but I hope it will inspire work on more useful future resources.

[Lily Weissgold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok this was interesting, I don’t feel it did Jewish history or herbalism particularly well but it’s a nice little collection. Given other reviews, I will not take any of the herbs in this collection without rigorous outside research— likely true of a lot of herbalism texts. Given how dry it is I wish it were more useful.

[Eliana Lazzara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting deep dive into some of the traditional medicines of the Pale of Settlement. The materia medica honestly felt a little slim, but it was made up for by the history of herbalism in different geographic and historical contexts.

[Micebyliz]

I MUST have this book. It's wonderful. Exactly the kind of ethnobotanical research that interests me and that is so vital to understanding life in time that was practically erased.

[Julie Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always find it a great treasure to learn more about my heritage. This book delves into the history of the Ashkenazi people with traditional herbs. I have never even known of this part of my heritage so it is wonderful learning about it so I can understand traditions more.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Herbalism, or herbal medicine, seems a simple enough concept,” the preface begins. What seems to be a simple concept at the surface turns out to be complex and we quickly learn of the rich stories and histories of different communities that have relied on herbal medicine for millennia. Notably, many communities of the Pale Settlement in Eastern Europe relied on Ashkenazi herbalists and doctors, just as many Ashkenazi Jews of the Pale relied on other communities (specifically Traditional Chinese Medicine and Middle Eastern herbalists) as well. The different groups that lived in and traveled around the Pale Settlement had a symbiotic relationship.

During the Jewish Enlightenment, which was inspired by the European Enlightenment, age-old traditions began to fade away. Physicians with Western academic training along with health care reformers from the Jewish middle classes of Eastern Europe, attempted to reshape attitudes about health care. It’s important to note in this review that while there were doctors and hospitals in the years leading to World War I, the doctors still referred to Feldshers, Midwives, and other traditional doctors. The locals still saw and trusted these groups of practitioners because they used traditional remedies that they were familiar with.

By the end of Part I, as the reliance on modern hospitals and doctors grew, we are reminded of the importance of our connection to the natural world is for remembering our ancestors, for healing ourselves, and for the health of future generations. This leads us into Part II where the importance of plants and knowing the medicinal properties come into play, which leads us to Part III and 26 different herbs that are important in traditional medicine.

This is the part of Ashkenazi Herbalism where Cohen’s research experience as a librarian, artist and herbalist shines. This is also the part where Siegel’s translation experience shines and together they weave beautiful tales. Starting with aloe and ending with viola, there are translations for Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Polish, German, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian, for each culture that would work with the plant. It was helpful to see, to get into the mind of the healer that would use one of these languages in their work. I also loved the stories and traditions that accompanied each plant.

Ashkenazi Herbalism was indeed detective work and all this research was beautifully written, and it wasn’t overly technical. This book could be read by novices and it did a wonderful job introducing herbalism. However, I feel like Part I could have been broken down into parts like the plants were. Part I was a long read and while it was interesting, it was dense when broken up with bolded sections. However, breaking down that part might not have made sense. It was wordy and possibly for a good reason.

In this day and age, herbalism and traditional medicine still has a place in our lives. We could see this during the Pandemic especially. While we still relied on doctors and we still need to rely on doctors, people also trust the ancient wisdom for when modern medicine can’t answer everything. Ashkenazi Herbalism is for those who are interested in the history of traditional medicine in Eastern Europe, how Jewish thought impacted their community and the communities around them. This book also makes the case for trusting this wisdom and maybe asking these questions of our ancestors.

[Carly O'Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent piece of scholarship and must read for Ashkenazi Jewish herbalists looking to get in touch with their roots.
Note that this is not a recipe book or how-to guide and does not purport to be. It will not tell you how to make a healing salve for wounds out of comfrey, merely that our ancestors did it. However, it is still a very important work that fills in the gap in our knowledge about what sort of plants the folk healers in the 20th century Pale of Settlement would have been using and lays the groundwork for further research. It can serve as inspiration to modern Jewish herbalists as to what plants to deepen our relationship with, and we can then turn to other resource for specifics on how to work with those plants.
As the authors explain, this information was buried for so long because of four erasures:
1. The patriarchal historical erasure of women's knowledge.
2. Soviet era plant researchers declining to note when their findings came from Jewish communities or not.
3. Overemphasis of the scholarly aspects of shtetl life as opposed to folkways.
4. The cultural, physical, and generational destruction of the Holocaust.
The plants covered in this book are: aloe, birthwort, wormwood, celandine, chicory, houndstongue, branching larkspur, horsetail, dropwort, strawberry, St. John's wort, garden tree-mallow, pepperwort, nutmeg, European white water lily, peony, broad-leaved plantain, knotweed, silverweed, European oak, raspberry, goldmoss stonecrop, comfrey, clover, nettle, and violet (all identified and organized by their Latin nomenclature).
Additional chapters explain how the research was conducted and what the folk medicine system of Eastern Europe looked like at that time.

[Maud Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

really incredible book that further reveals the rich, overlooked histories of Eastern European Jewry, delving into our communal relationships with the landscape, spirituality, and healing, even local east European villagers, of which has been lost as we’ve migrated elsewhere and assimilated into a global capitalist society!

the culture of foraging has been long lost in some western societies. it’s a beautiful way to reconnect with both culture and landscape , thus ourselves . as a Jew myself , curious about my Eastern European culture and a keen forager, I admired this book highly and will keep it with me for life. very glad someone took the initiative to research this. very looking forward at further developments of knowledge in this field (e.g the origins of the medicines), which the book highlights.

the materia medica part is absolutely superb- let that be the entire book!
the introduction , although sets the context, was very dry, all over the place, and hard to get through. few photos, very descriptive, felt disorganised. I understand the importance of it though, and the stress of writing it- effectively compiling all that we know so far!! i would love to know more about certain facets of the information found such as what Jewish amulets are made of , but understandable that a lot of information isn’t found + is quite patchy.

i additionally liked certain moments in the intro , such as the understated role of women, midwives, the interviews of those who moved to Florida (how we transitioned away from our east European traditions), and how Jews are sharing cultural proclivities with Kabbalah peoples and local east Europeans.

[Benjamin Felser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been wanting to read this book for YEARS and did not disappoint. What a beautiful place to delve more into Ashkenazi Jewish roots in herbalism. The intro was a lovely incredibly well communicated history of herbalists and medicine in Jewish communities of the Pale (pre-WWII Eastern Europe) including allusions to Jewish shamanism, and the occult world of women shamans, herbalists and midwives (with much overlap.) We learn about cleansing wax rituals, the use of orange peals as an Ashkenazi version of sage for purifying spaces, the cooption delegitimization of more “folk” practices by Jews attempting to assimilate in the late 19th and 20th centuries and more.

Cohen focuses on 26 key herbs in the Ashkenazi apothecary, with lovely comparisons between Ashkenazi uses, historic uses around the world, contemporary European uses and historic 20th century uses. I just wish the appendix was longer and included more definitions of key medical terms and herbal remedy terms. I also wish that the more ritualistic side of things were included in addition to the plants. For example, how and why people used orange peels for cleansing, or the relationships between certain herbs and their spiritual use and signficance.

Definitely recommend this book anyone looking to dive into their Ashkenazi roots, and will be hitting up the herb store with this book in mind soon.

[Lenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A feat of research (though there are some inconsistencies that other reviewers have mentioned), about a topic I'm intensely interested by. While the subject matter is fascinating, uncovering Ashkenazi folk healing practices and midwifery with a depth I've never seen elsewhere, the way it's presented is pretty dry, like a research paper. The narratives from primary sources were compelling, but sparse. And two thirds of the book is the "materia medica," though it's not a useful guide to actually put into practice. I would have loved it if each herb had a two page spread, the ancient and medieval uses on the left side and ways to use them today (if one can), either in the kitchen, with teas, etc.

That clearly wasn't the authors' goals, but it's kind of a shame to feel like two thirds of the book would go in one ear and out the other, and that it would mostly live on a bookshelf, instead of my kitchen. As someone who also sees her ancestors in this text, it was frustrating for any real application to be held at arm's length. Even if most recipes for herbal teas and infusions can be found elsewhere, it would have felt more meaningful to use a Jewish source for it.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there were more to this book. About 55 pages are reading material, the other 200 pages are cataloguing plants with their names in various languages, physical descriptions, and medicinal descriptions.

I bought this book (and its co-title, Woven Roots), for my interest in Jewish history, and culinary history. I'm not sure if Ashkenazi Herbalism scratches the itch for either! Its just not revelatory enough.

However, I found the book well-written, dry and factual (I like that, not a diss), and it is definitely a launching point for further research into the topic of Eastern European folk herbalism. I am glad someone is attempting to uncover the erased history of not just Jewish healers, but Jewish women healers as well.

I'm hoping to connect some dots further with Woven Roots. Stay tuned for an update to this review, when I complete that book.

[Franchesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning with a history of Ashkenazi folk healers and followed by descriptions of 26 commonly known herbs, including early remedies, contemporary actions and use, medicinal plant parts used and their role in Ashkenazi herbalism and European herbalism in the early twentieth century. Over time these practices are becoming lost and forgotten, but with meticulous research this book is a starting point to keeping these folk remedies and traditions alive. An interesting and educational read that has prompted me to do more research of my own and add more herbs to my garden come spring.

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway!

[Chava · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet again, I appreciate all the research that went into the book. I enjoyed learning about the different healers in the Pale of Settlement, and some of the herbs and other plants they used.

I was also sad on a number of points:
1. the author admits she knows next to nothing about Judaism (I hoped she learned something and continues to learn about her rich heritage)
2. the "quadruple erasure" of traditional plant and healing knowledge, one of which is the Holocaust.

Other Goodreads reviewers have pointed out inaccuracies (for me, not egregious enough to negate the good parts of the book) and the dryness of the text (I did not find it dry, but it was straightforward).

[Lethe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted so desperately to love this book. I don't mind its admittedly dry and academic approach, but it's the incorrect information I can not get around. A few basic google searches and checks with my Jewish in-laws made it very clear to me that there was quite a bit of misinformation about even the basic information on Judaism as an ethenoreligion. That got this book put on my dnf list. If readers do end up reading this book, it's necessary to rigoursly fact-check everything.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure this book is not for someone like me, who has no real experience with herbalism, but I appreciated it nonetheless! As someone with Ashkenazi heritage, the history section was fascinating and informative. I wish the section that goes into the herbs and plants themselves had more pictures and were in color, so maybe a newb and visual learner like myself could retain a bit more information about the plants and their identification.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mini encyclopedia of medicinal herbs. It's not a novel, but rather a small textbook that details the way herbs aid and how one should use them, while providing in depth research of how they have historically been used and why. You'll learn a lot about the herbal remedies as well as the culture and history.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

The preface discussion of the lack of source material alone made this worthwhile. Unfortunately I lack sufficient background in East Central European botany, or herbalism generally, or historiography to do a critique of the work but look forward to the comments of others. Interestingly, the materia medica listed does not include Allium sativum, nor any of the alliums.

[Tamar · Rating 1 out of 5]

The “herbalism” of this book might be the world’s best treatment of folk remedies, for all I know, but the “Ashkenazic” side to it wrecked the authors’ credibility. While I’m no scholar, I know enough about historical and contemporary Ashkenazic culture to spot the blatant factual inaccuracies, forced narratives, and just plain weird attempts at contextualization.

[Martin Zorde · Rating 3 out of 5]

as an ethnobotanical work I like this for it's history. I do wonder how different the non Jewish local population differences as I think the available plants have more of an impact than who is using them.

[Pam G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating information. Easy and quick read

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent research beautifully presented and well organized. It was such a gift to be an amateur herbalist and able to read research around the herbal traditions of my ancestors. Thank you

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a thorough guide, albeit one that can be hard to separate new concepts from old ones.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

LIFECHANGING. WOW. in love w this book that came for me just when i needed it.

[Madame Pamita · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorite books - beautifully researched and written.