Solomon M. Hyams Collection of Hebraic Medical Literature

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Description

In 1930, the Godfrey M. Hyams Trust presented the Boston Medical Library with $25,000 to build and maintain a collection of rare books and manuscript materials on Jewish medicine and science. Early manuscripts and a 1491 edition of the Canon medicinae of Avicenna—the only medical work to be printed in Hebrew during the 15th century—form the cornerstone of the Hyams Collection. Other rare items include first editions of the Aphorismi secundum doctrinam Galeni (1489), De astrologia (1555) and De regimine sanitatis (circa 1481) of Maimonides, the Liber Elhavi (1486) of Rhazes, early works on circumcision, and Garcia de Orta’s Coloquios dos simples, e drogas he cousas mediçinais da India—the third book to be published in India. Another jewel of the Hyams Collection is the Hand-apparat, a 4,000-item pamphlet collection of August von Wassermann (1866-1925), the German bacteriologist who worked with Robert Koch and devised a test for syphilis.

Collection Items

Sefer ‘Evronot

Calendar- and almanac-making manuals were commonly used to calculate the solar and lunar Jewish calendar. In the fourth century CE, a fixed calendar was established based on astronomical and mathematical calculations. This calendar is still used, and…

Opera Omnia Ysaac

This first printed edition of the collected works of Isaac Israeli includes the tract on fevers. The title-page woodcut depicts an impossible meeting of Isaac with his eleventh century commentators Constantine the African and Ibn Abi al-Rijal.

De Astrologia

Maimonides was probably the most famous Jewish physician of all time but known also as a philosopher, theologian, and astronomer. The De Astrologia, his letter to the rabbis of Marseilles condemning astrology, was composed in 1194; this is the first…

Doktor Bukh

This series, in 4 volumes, covers childbirth and childhood illnesses, hygiene, and first aid.

Ruach Chaim

"The Art of Prolonging Life" is the best known of Hufeland’s works, and is often cited as the origin of the concept of macrobiotics.

Ha-likhot Betah

This volume is concerned with the laws of niddah, or separation during menstruation, and taharah, ritual purification following menstruation.

Rebecca oder das Judische Weib

More on the duties of Jewish women. These pages list the holidays and fast days in the months of Av, Elul, and Tishrei. Tisha b'Av (the ninth of Av) commemorates the two occasions on which the Temple was destroyed (587 BCE and 70 CE). Elul is a month…

Gedenkbuch "Chewra Kadischa"

This volume commemorates the Hevra Kaddisha, or Jewish burial society, in several districts of Vienna during the years 1864-1905. The Hevra Kaddisha performs an invaluable service to the Jewish community. It is charged with ensuring that the dead…

Doctor Perplexorum

Maimonides' philosophical treatise on Judaism takes a rationalist perspective while embracing the Jewish mystical tradition, albeit in a limited way. The first of the 3 books examines the attributes of God and rejects the trend toward…

Hanahatan va-Halitsatan Shel Tefilin

A thesis, delivered and defended publicly, on the laws surrounding the use of phylacteries, or tefillin. Deuteronomy 6:5-8: "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Take to heart these…

Dialogi d'Amore

León Hebreo was a Portuguese poet, physician, and philosopher who eventually settled in Venice. The Dialogi are Neoplatonic reflections on the nature and philosophy of love; this is the first edition, published posthumously.

Gerokomia Basilike

Smith's paraphrase and exegesis of the text of Ecclesiastes 12:1-6 is noteworthy for its claim that "Solomon perfectly knew, and as plainly as his Figurative Method would give leave, described the Circular Motion of the Bloud, the best and most…

New Experiments Upon Vipers

Charas trained as a classicist and pharmacist in France; his interests lay in a curious mix of therapeutics, toxicology and natural history. This volume focuses on the anatomy, physiology, and habits of snakes. Charas believed that venom was…

The Sanatory Institutions of the Hebrews

Abraham de Sola was born in London and became rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation in Montreal in 1846 at the age of 22. In 1849, when a religious furor arose over the use of obstetrical anesthesia, he was asked to interpret Genesis 3:16,…

Compendiosa Introduttione alla Prima Parte della Specularia

The Jewish community at Ferrara was one of the largest and most active in Italy; it grew rapidly during the 15th century in part because of substantial immigration from less congenial parts of Europe. The Jewish presence dwindled during and after the…

Perush 'al ha-Torah

This volume is a commentary on the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). Only 6 books are known to have been printed by Conat, who introduced Hebrew printing in Mantua in 1474. Conat's wife Estellina was the first woman to become…

Anulus astronomicus

Bonet de Lates was a Provençal physician and astrologer who settled in Rome, where, in addition to acting as physician to Popes Alexander VI and Leo X, he served the Jewish community as a rabbi. He is best known for his invention of the…

Oratio in Die Circumcisionis Anno 1484 Habita

This sermon on Christ’s circumcision, given before Pope Sixtus IV in 1484, explores the symbolic aspects of the ritual and compares it to Christ’s eventual suffering on the cross. Carvajal claims that the process of circumcision and its…

De Antiquitate Judaica; De Bello Judaico

Josephus, born in Jerusalem, had a multifaceted career as priest, soldier, and historian. His retelling of Jewish history and partially first-hand account of the rebellion against the Romans (66-70 CE), originally written in Aramaic (now lost) and…

Opera

This edition of Josephus' entire oeuvre includes the Contra Apionem, an apologetic work on behalf of Judaism. This copy, unrubricated save for the occasional crudely drawn initial, stands in stark contrast to the copy of De Antiquitate Judaica.

Aphorismi Secundum Doctrinam Galeni

This volume, the first printed edition of Maimonides’ interpretation of Hippocratic and Galenic doctrine, also includes the Aphorismi of St. John of Damascus, Razi’s De Secretis in Medicina, and Hippocrates’ Prognostica. Maimonides,…

De Regimine Sanitatis ad Soldanum Babyloniae

This is an early work on hygiene and longevity addressed to the Egyptian Sultan Saladin; Maimonides served as physician to the vizier of Saladin. Maimonides offers advice on such subjects as diet in health and disease, common illnesses, and…

Mishnah (compendium of Jewish Oral Law) with commentary of Maimonides

Maimonides composed his Judeo-Arabic commentary on the Mishnah (known in Arabic as Kitab al-Siraj; in Hebrew, Sefer ha Ma’or) between 1145 and 1168. The Mishnah, compiled in the 2nd century CE by Judah ha-Nasi, is divided into six main sections…

Liber Aggregatus in Medicinis Simplicibus

This is the first medical book – an Arabic work on medicine, pharmacology, and therapeutics – translated by a Jew (Abraham of Tortosa, fl. 13th century). “Simples” are the foundations (plant, animal, or mineral) upon which…

Relatio de Simone Puero Tridentino (Gabriele di Pietro, 1475)

The story of Simon of Trent is among the most egregious examples of the “blood libel” against Jews. This accusation usually involves the sacrificial killing of children whose blood is then used in various rituals, among them the making of…

Relatio de Simone puero Tridentino (Albrecht Kunne, 1476)

Relatio de Simone Puero Tridentino (Bartholomaeus Guldinbeck, 1475)

Hilkhot Shehitah

Karo was a renowned codifier of rabbinical Judaism. This text specifies conditions for the kosher slaughtering of animals, including the dimensions and sharpness of the knives to be used.

Sefer Goralot

A treatise on Kabbalah, astrology and fortunetelling with elaborate diagrams of the zodiac. Ibn Ezra was an earnest apologist for astrology and translated many astrological treatises from Arabic into Hebrew. Maimonides, using Biblical law as a guide,…

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Rare Books and Journals
- Boston Medical Library
  - Solomon M. Hyams Collection of Hebraic Medical Literature