Talmud - Shabbat 110b שבת ק״י ב׳

vessels full of Persian onions, and boil them in wine, and give it to her to drink. And we say to her: Stop emitting your discharge. And if that is not effective, seat her at a crossroads, and she should take a cup of wine in her hand, and let a person come from behind her and frighten her and say to her: Stop emitting your discharge. And if this is also not effective, bring her a fistful [buna] of cumin, and a fistful of saffron, and a fistful of fenugreek, and cook them in wine, and give it to her to drink, and say to her: Stop emitting your discharge. And if this is not effective, let one bring sixty barrel seals, soak them, and then spread it on her and say to her: Stop emitting your discharge. And if this is also does not effective, let one bring pashtina, a type of grass, boil it in wine, and then spread it on her and say to her: Stop emitting your discharge. And if this is not effective, let one bring a thistle that grows on Roman thorns and burn it, and place its ashes in rags from linen clothing in the summer and in rags from cotton clothing in the winter.

And if this is not effective, let one dig seven pits and burn young grape shoots in them from vines that are orla, and place a cup of wine in her hand and raise her up from that pit and sit her in another pit, and raise her from that pit and sit her in this pit, and raise her from that pit and sit her in this other pit. And each and every time say to her: Stop emitting your discharge. And if this is not effective, let one bring fine flour and place it on the bottom half of her body and say to her: Stop emitting your discharge. And if this is not effective, let one bring an ostrich egg and burn it, and place its ashes in linen rags during the summer, and in cotton rags during the winter. And if this is also not effective, let one open a barrel of wine for her, and let her drink it. And if this is not effective, let one hold a barley grain that is found in the dung of a white donkey. If she holds it for one day her discharge will cease for two days; and if she holds it for two days it will cease for three days, and if she holds it for three days it will cease forever.

The Gemara states: For jaundice, one should drink two of the three ingredients mentioned together with beer, and one becomes sterile from it. The Gemara continues to discuss this remedy: And if one does not have these ingredients, i.e., Alexandrian gum, saffron, and alum, or if the remedy did not work, let one bring the head of a salted shibuta fish and boil it in beer and drink it. And if this is not effective, let one bring grasshopper brine and drink it. And if one does not have grasshopper brine, let one bring brine of small birds, and enter the bathhouse, and smear himself with it. And if there is no bathhouse, have him stand between the oven and the wall and sweat out his disease. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One who seeks to warm this patient up should wrap him tightly in his sheet. Rav Aḥa bar Yosef was sick with this disease, and Rav Kahana performed this remedy for him and he was healed.

The Gemara continues: And if this remedy is not effective, let one bring three vessels of Persian dates, and three vessels of dripping wax [kira], and three vessels of red aloe, and boil them in beer and drink it. And if this remedy is not effective, let one bring a donkey foal, and shave the middle of its head, and let blood from the donkey’s forehead, and place it on his own head. And he should take care not to let the blood enter his eyes lest it blind him. And if this is not effective, let one bring a pickled ram’s head and boil it in beer and drink it. And if this is not effective, let him bring a striped something else, i.e., a pig, and tear it open and place it on his heart. And if this is not effective, let him bring leeks from the middle of the row, which are very sharp.

It is reported that a certain Arab was sick with jaundice. He said to the gardener: Take my cloak and give me a row of leeks in exchange. The gardener gave him the row and he ate it. The Arab said to the gardener: Lend me your cloak and I will sleep in it for a short while. The gardener gave it to him and he wrapped himself in it and slept. When he got hot and stood up pieces fell from the cloak bit by bit because the cloak had become very hot from the Arab’s sweat. The Arab tricked the gardener, who ultimately received nothing.

The Gemara discussed the remedy for jaundice, saying that one should drink two of the ingredients mentioned together with beer, and one becomes sterile from it. The Gemara asks: And is it permitted to cause sterility? Wasn’t it taught in a baraita: From where is it derived that castration of a man is prohibited? The verse states: “Those whose testicles are bruised, or crushed, or torn, or cut, shall not be offered to the Lord, and you shall not do this in your land” (Leviticus 22:24), meaning that you shall not do it to yourselves; this is the statement of Rabbi Ḥanina. Apparently, it is prohibited to castrate a man. The Gemara answers: This prohibition applies only in a case where one intends to castrate. Here, in the cure for jaundice, the sterility happens on its own, incidental to the treatment. Proof is cited from that which Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One who seeks to castrate a rooster should remove its comb and it will become castrated on its own. Incidental castration is permitted. The Gemara rejects the proof. Didn’t Rav Ashi say: It is arrogance that it assumes when it has its comb, and when the comb is removed it becomes depressed and no longer procreates. However, it is not actually castrated. Rather, apparently this remedy for jaundice is permitted only for one who is castrated and for whom causing sterility is not a concern.

The Gemara asks: Didn’t Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba say that Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Shabbat 110b details a lengthy series of folk remedies and ritual incantations meant to stop uterine bleeding, drawn from ancient medical practice.