Open Access

Robert Jütte

• Health in Judaism: An Intercultural Discourse on Lack of Understanding and Misunderstanding in the Past and Present. Hardly any other religion pays as much attention to physical health as Judaism. Beginning with the Torah, the contrast between „healthy“ and „sick“ is already conceptualized and associated with the will of God and his plan of creation. In addition to the stereotype that Jews are sicker than their fellow human beings, there is an early claim that their state of health is better than that of other peoples. The religious writings of Judaism contain a large number of regulations that show how much the Greco- Roman doctrine of dietetics has been internalized, expanded and adapted to one’s own spiritual needs. There is broad consensus among today’s rabbis that health care, as described above all in the Talmud, was time-related and therefore should be based on today’s standards and findings while remaining in compliance with religious laws.