Prescription for Lemon Drinks

Mid- to Late 12th Century

About This Entry

Like other physicians of his age, Maimonides believed in the restorative and medicinal benefits of lemons. Written in Judeo-Arabic, this prescription provides recipes for a lemon drink used as a purgative and another flavored with melissa and mint. The text was recently shown to be written in Maimonides’ own hand, making it an important addition to the small number of his recipes that are extant.

One ounce of sticky sugar melted in hot water. He should squeeze juice from two lemons onto it and drink it lukewarm in order to vomit. One hour after vomiting, he should sip two ounces of a lemon and squill-like oxymel drink, heated to lukewarm on a low flame, mixed with melissa-type and green mint leaves.

And he should be careful not to eat unripe dates, Christ’s Thorn jujube, green almonds, carob, green broad beans, carrots and any food that contains vinegar or taro. And for dessert he should eat only raisins, pistachios, figs and nuts.

The Lord will ward off from you all sickness (Deuteronomy 7:15). May the wellbeing of his Excellency increase forever! Neṣaḥ.¹ Sela.

Translated by Amir Ashur.

Notes

[Heb., eternity, forever.—Ed.]

Credits

Moses Maimonides, “Prescription for Lemon Drinks,” trans. Amir Ashur, in Amir Ashur, “A newly discovered medical recipe written by Maimonides: Mosseri I.115.1,” Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, March 1, 2014, doi:10.17863/CAM.62322. Published as a Taylor-Schechter Fragment of the Month. Used with permission of the translator.

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