VaYikra # 7: Survey of the Medical Writings of Maimonides

Continuation of the listing of the medical writings of Moses Maimonides commonly referred to as the Rambam.

11. “על קץ החיים”, Name in Arabic not known; English name, “Concerning the End of Life”. This book is a detailed description of various causes of death. It has been translated into Hebrew by Yehoshua Leibowitz (יהושע ליבוביץ) but still not into English. It is listed in the Hebrew Wikipedia article on the Rambam, but I have not found an edition of it on the internet. There are a couple of quotes from it I found on the internet. One is, “There are predetermined lifetime allotments but they are not absolute, rather they can vary according to the physical and spiritual actions of the man”. Another is, "The air does not penetrate the heart and thus causes the cessation of breathing". This section concerns a punctured lung and hints at  the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, which obstructs the flow of blood through the circulatory system. It also is an expression of the mechanism for blood circulation throughout the system.

Some sources list a book called “Medical Responsa” (תשובות רפואיות). I originally considered this to be a separate work of medical questions posed to Maimonides and his replies. However on further research I saw it was a different name for the the book “Clarifying the Symptoms of Outbursts” (על בירור סימני ההתקפים).

The seven volume set “Maimonides Medical Writings” by Fred Rosner, M.D. has their order as follows.

Volume 1: Poisons (על הסמים), Hemorrhoids (מאמר הטחורים), Cohabitation (מאמר המשגל)

Volume 2: “Maimonides’ Commentary of the Aphorisms of Hippocrates” (פירוש לפרקי אבוקרט)

Volume 3: “The Medical Aphorisms of Moses Maimonides” (פרקי משה)

Volume 4: Moses Maimonides’ Three Treatises on Health. They are “Regimen of Health” (הנהגת הבריאות) and, “Causes of Symptoms” (על בירור סימני ההתקפים). The third he calls “Laws of Human Temperaments”, however this is not a separate medical writing of the Rambam rather it is a section (הלכות דעות) found in his larger work of the Jewish law the Mishna Torah.

Volume 5: “The Art of the Cure -- Extracts from Galen” (קיצורי גלנוס)

Volume 6: “Treatise on Asthma” (ספר הקצרת)

Volume 7: “Glossary of Drug Names” (שמות התרופות)

Not included in Rosner is “Concerning the End of Life” (על קץ החיים)

These and other books are published by “The Maimonides Research Institute”, 3-7 David Assaf ST, Post Office Box 9049, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31090, Israel.  Telephone # 04-825 5152 (Israel), 212-366-9020 and 917-513-0139 (USA). Website: https://www.restorerambam.org/ . The mission of The Maimonides Research Institute is to encourage the study and dissemination of the works of the Rambam including his medical works. Its services would include a library, beis midrash, kollel, and book store.  Its president is Rabbi Yehuda Assaf. The medical board chairmen are Aron Feingold, M.D. and Fred Rosner, M.D.

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