Listen, please, to the words of the doctor

Abraham Ibn Ezra (attrib.)

Mid-12th Century

Listen, please, to the words of the doctor,

O wise nation,¹ both the healthy and the sick,

for he presents a cure for every disease,

from month to month how to watch over

the body and mouth of each and every man,

so that he will be healthy, and also beautiful.

Beautiful will that man be,

and he will live for many years,

who observes his commands,

statutes, and laws.

Tishri is the first of the months.

Harsh winds blow through it,

chilling the bodies of men.

It is a fitting time to eat leeks,

anything spicy, seeds, and also roots,

and to warm up murky kidneys.

Purify the kidneys

quickly, from the humor.

And to sweeten the blood,

a person should drink milk.

The second month is called Marheshvan.

In it the poor suffer greatly,

without fire or clothing in the cold.

In it the black bile grows strong.

Every bathing can be called bitter waters.²

Take care lest you weary, lest you faint.³

In the morning drink new wine.

Seek strong drink from honey.

Garlic and onions

you should eat, and also purgatives.

Kislev is the third month.

In it the driving of the son of Nimshi⁴ is common,

and the sore boil⁵ that heals only with difficulty

in a black [i.e., melancholic] man, but a white [phlegmatic] man is free from it.

Do not forget rooster and the meat of sheep.

My soul abhors the meat of cows and goats.

Eat much cinnamon.

A hot bath is not permitted.

Perform bloodletting in the morning,

and be satiated with bitter drinks.⁶

Tevet is the fourth in the order of the months.

It is the time for pruning vines.

During it you should eat fatty meats

and drink aromatic wine.

You should also bathe frequently,

and the beds of women are delicacies.

Also, the consumption of vegetables

can heal any disease.

But be very careful,

lest you partake of cabbage!

In Shevat do not eat spinach,

or radishes, or pressed fish.

For in it the cold and moisture are joined,

like water becoming one with the earth.

Similarly, they meet in the body and the chest.

Here, it is proper to eat strong and spicy foods:

Pepper, garlic, all hot foods.

Do not undergo bloodletting,

nor drink any water,

lest you destroy the intestines!

In Adar, your intestines, with a beverage

that purifies the innards, you should clean.

Speedily cleanse the extraneous blood.

It can be extracted from the thumb.

He who draws near a woman should be lashed.

Do not eat beets, or any other vegetable.

Purge yourself with herbs.

Refrain from shaving.

The taste of celery seeds

is pleasant with spiced wine.

Nisan is the season of the plants

in the land of Israel, and also the time of lilies.

In it, ulcers that inhabit the flesh

and sores in throats grow more acute,

on account of the excess phlegm mingled with blood,

in youths but not the elderly.

Choose a steam bath.

Try roast meat.

Let blood and purge yourself.

But whoever overdoes this will become weak.

In Iyar, the harvests begin

in the land of Israel, starting with barley.

In it, blood and phlegm awaken,

headaches with the tears of blindness.

Do not eat any heads, even the chilled.

And thighs are bad for men.

Let blood from the left side.

Have no mercy upon your stomach.

And any leavened food

do not eat, and then you will be strengthened.

In Sivan, the grapes sprout forth,

but also sharp, painful ailments.

Therefore, the following should be your enemies:

hot foods, as well as baths and lying down

with women, as all these bring misery.

Because blood becomes mingled with earth.

Let blood from the liver,

and purge yourself, lest you perish.

Fennel seed and wormwood,

with wine, please imbibe.

Tammuz, heat rises in the body,

with dryness that ravages like flames.

Take care not to partake of spicy foods.

Eat cold and also pulped dishes,

dates and soft fruit from branches.

Drink cold beverages in the morning; when tired,

drink barley liquor.

Likewise, bathe in cold water,

and if you draw near a woman,

you will mingle with sinners.

Av is the month when the sun is hottest.

In it the red bile increases.

Garlic, radish, and onions

do not eat, lest anger surge.

The moisture of one’s breath dries up as well,

at the time of the droughts of summer, due to thirst.

Drink celery juice.

Cleanse the excrement from your belly.

And on account of the dryness, it is said:⁷

keep yourself from a woman.

Elul is the last of the months,

in which plants fall and wither.

The winds bear the rain clouds,

and the clear seasons move on.

Even the bodies of the young are feverish:

be careful not to eat apples.

Anything that increases black bile

should be declared impure.

But eat hot foods,

onions, and garlic.

Translated by Avi Steinhart.

Notes

[See Deuteronomy 4:6.—Trans.]

[Exodus 15:23.—Trans.]

[Isaiah 40:28.—Trans.]

[Insanity; see 2 Kings 9:20: “the manner is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, as he drives furiously.”—Trans.]

[Deuteronomy 28:35.—Trans.]

[See Lamentations 3:15.—Trans.]

[This phrase, u-le-tsayon ye-amer, translated here “and on account of the dryness it is said,” is a close paraphrase of the famous u-le-Tsiyon ye-amar, “but of Zion it shall be said” (Psalms 87:5), only with an entirely different meaning.—Trans.]

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.