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fluential author of the time — the
so-called pseudo-Aristotle, actually
Hunein-ibn-Yishak, a translator of
Greek philosophical works. His
book on the subject of precious
stones was many times translated
into Hebrew and became an inex
haustible source of material.
Among other things, he tells the
story of a man who suffered from
kidney stones — which melted away
as soon as Alexander the Great
touched his side with a diamond.
Another authority on the properties
of diamonds was the English bishop
Marbudus, whose writings were
translated into Hebrew in the 13th
century. According to Marbudus,
sleeping on a diamond affords pro
tection from evil dreams as well
as from the bite of snakes and
crocodiles. The diamond “soothes
anger, quiets the insane, especially
when set in gold or silver and car
ried in the left hand.” Rabbi Ger-
shon ben Solomon who lived in the
13th century, collected a great
number of such beliefs, from vari
ous non-Jewish sources, in the chap
ter on precious stones of his ency
clopaedic work “The Gate of
Heaven." Of the pearl, which he
calls “bdolakh,” he writes that “it
fortifies the heart, allays sorrow,
strengthens watering eyes." Car-
niola, on the other hand, may be
definitely harmful, although some
authorities maintain that it has the
property to stop toothache and to
check the flow of blood in men
struation.
It is interesting to note, however,
that Jewish authors, while relying
so heavily on alien sources, were
not always faithful to the originals.
Addicted as they were to the meth
od of finding meaning in phonetic
similarities, they would often give
an arbitrary twist to their trans
lations. They were obsessed with
the names of things. (Great power,
for example, was ascribed to the
mandrake root because, in addition
to its shape resembling the human
form, its name “daudayim” is con
sonant with “adam”; it was con
sidered helpful in pregnancy and
childbirth).
Other examples abound. Onyx,
on the breastplate, had the name
of Joseph engraved on it — the man
who had known how to please
Pharaoh; hence onyx had the prop
erty to win favor for its owner.
The diamond had the Zebulun en
graved on it; hence — because of
the use of the same root in this or
that text — it was good for fertility
and sleep.
A long compilation of similar be
liefs is given in the Medrash Tal-
Piyot composed by Rabbi Elijah
ben Abraham Solomon of Smyrna
at the end of the 17th century — a
contemporary of the real physician
Tuviah ha-Rofeh. Since his super
stitions are comparatively recent,
they are of little interest.
We have to conclude that our
forefathers fully shared the beliefs
and superstitions of their time with
regard to the mysterious properties
inherent in precious stones.
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