chicken soup

Bereshit:..............Fowl [chicken etc] were created on the fifth day.
As we starting Genesis [Bereshit], let's also start with a very old ,traditionally dish:
chicken soup also known as "Jewish penicillin" [just like garlic has been called Russian
penicillin]
The Rambam [Maimonides] already lauded the virtues of chicken [soup],especially for asthma.
He wrote a whole treatise about the treatment of asthma in Arabic for the sun of his “master” [“adoni”] the Sultan in Egypt
I will quote from the translations by professor Fred Rosner[who tanslated the medical writings of the Rambam in English] in connection with the health benefits of chickens as described by Maimonides.

Maimonides described what kind of chicken [tarnegolim] would be the best: not too old [younger then 2 year] , not too young, not too lean, preferable fatty chicken [by nature and not by stuffed feeding].
As this soup is especially well known in the Jewish kitchen we may try to find out what is "new" since the Rambam.
Since long chicken soup has been described-par excellence- for treating respiratory problems .
Recently chicken soup has been examined by modern medical research, not really necessary........, but still very fascinating to read and to know [if we did not already !]
Cystein [found in many protein foods as well as in chicken is released when chicken soup is made]-is also prescribed in the form of a medicine called acetylcysteine- causes a thinning of mucus in the lungs and is therefore beneficial for lung infections.
In 1975 a remarkable article was published [journal: Chest 1975;67:215] where a patient needed surgery and penicillin treatment for a sever pneumonia after he stopped treating himself properly with chicken soup!!
This article was the cause of a long correspondence where many other virtues of chicken soup were mentioned like treating anxiety,backache impotence , etc. with remarks especially by professor Fred Rosner.
Maimonides describes boiled chicken soup as an excellent food and medicine even for the treatment of leprosy.!! [tzara-at]
Main indication for chicken soup are a nose[cold],and respiratory infections
[bronchitis,pneumonia] and often asthma.
It is an excellent "medicine" to recover from various diseases which left a person weakened.
It may be further helpful for:[already mentioned:increases of sexual strength, anxiety], weakness in general,hemorrhoids,and possible for much more.
It has also been found that the calcium content of chicken soup increases with duration of cooking the soup with bones. Chicken soup prepared this way may be of use in patients who require calcium, but cannot tolerate dairy products or other calcium sources.
There are of course endless small variations as how chicken soup is made.
In Suriname peanut soup is well known: peanut[butter] added to chicken or meat soup: worth trying!
Personally I would advise to add in cases of colds and coughs some black pepper as well, as this is one of the best drugs for loosening mucus.
And what about our vegetarian friends?
Well. you could try to sniff up the vapors from hot chicken soup from your friend etc, this may also be of some benefit.
And for those who take chicken soup as a medicine, sip hot soup little bits at a time instead of drinking a whole cup at once, to make it more effective.
Recently is has been shown that chicken-especially the meat of the legs- may be of benefit for hypertension [ACE inhibiting].
In fact I have found in a Chinese book for recipes [by FaXiang Hou]various chicken soup prescriptions for hypertension [chicken chow mein,spicy gingered chicken etc]
Chicken cartilage soup have also shown to be useful in patients with rheumatoid arthritis .
Even for the treatment of thyroiditis [with hyperthyreoidea] chicken soup has been described.
As for the relief that chicken soup could give for facial pain,I could not find on what kind of pain it works but I would certain try it for trigeminus neuralgia , a particular difficult condition to treat!
A very nice article [not free from some subtle humor]was written about chicken soup by
professor Abraham Ohry and dr.Jenni Tsafrir [Tel ha-shomer].
The link is: www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/161/12/1532
For recent research about chicken and its skin [and the benefits]: go to google, type: groups, click on groups, type: bdmesq and type in the search field: chicken

And to end with a happy note:
Chicken soup is considered to be able to correct too much black bile [humours] [Rambam] which is connected with melancholy.[sadness]
[These old traditional terms are forgotten or banned in modern medicine]
A cup of chicken soup could do quite a bit of good here, possibly, by correcting the “excess of black bile”.
And as we are/were in the middle of happy days[semachot]: a few hints in the Tora.[my “fantasy”]
The chicken was created on the fifth day: chamesh: chet mem shin : turn letters around: Sameach.[shin mem chet]
And so the fish,which is known to remove worries [dag mesir da-aga........now a days explained by the omega 3 in fish]
And if you ask about meat [behama]? Are meat [and wine] not advised by our Rabbis for happiness on our feast days?
Well: the cattle [behema] was created on the sixth day [shesh] shin -shin and is the word sas[on][sin-sin] not connected ?
These last remarks [pun]you may forget of course..............

chicken soup

Bereshit:..............Fowl [chicken etc] were created on the fifth day. As we starting Genesis [Bereshit], let's also start with a very old ,traditionally dish: chicken soup also known as "Jewish penicillin"  [just like garlic has been called Russian  penicillin] The Rambam [Maimonides] already lauded the virtues of chicken [soup],especially for asthma. He wrote a whole treatise about the treatment of asthma in Arabic for  the sun of his “master” [“adoni”] the Sultan in Egypt  I will quote from the translations by professor Fred Rosner[who tanslated the medical writings of   the Rambam in English] in connection with the health benefits of chickens as described by Maimonides.   Maimonides described what kind of chicken [tarnegolim] would be the best: not too old [younger then 2 year] , not too young, not too lean, preferable fatty chicken [by nature and not by stuffed feeding]. As this soup is especially well known in the Jewish kitchen we may try to find out what is "new" since the Rambam. Since long chicken soup has been described-par excellence- for treating respiratory problems . Recently chicken soup has been examined by modern medical research, not really necessary........, but still very fascinating to read and  to know [if we did not already !] Cystein [found in many protein foods  as well as in chicken is released when chicken soup is made]-is also prescribed in the form of a medicine called acetylcysteine- causes a thinning of mucus in the lungs and is therefore beneficial for lung infections. In 1975 a remarkable article was published [journal: Chest 1975;67:215] where a patient needed surgery and penicillin treatment  for a sever pneumonia after he stopped treating himself properly  with chicken soup!! This article was the cause of a long correspondence where many other virtues of chicken soup were mentioned like treating anxiety,backache impotence , etc. with remarks especially by professor Fred Rosner. Maimonides describes boiled chicken soup as an excellent food and medicine even for the treatment  of leprosy.!! [tzara-at] Main indication for chicken soup are a nose[cold],and respiratory infections  [bronchitis,pneumonia] and often asthma. It is an excellent "medicine" to recover from various diseases which left a person weakened. It may be further helpful for:[already mentioned:increases of sexual strength, anxiety], weakness in general,hemorrhoids,and possible for much more. It has also been found that the calcium content of chicken soup increases with duration of cooking the soup with bones. Chicken soup prepared this way may be of use in patients who require calcium, but cannot tolerate dairy products or other calcium sources.  There are of course endless small variations as how chicken soup is made. In Suriname peanut soup is well known: peanut[butter] added to chicken or meat soup: worth trying! Personally I would advise to add in cases of colds and coughs some black pepper as well, as this is one of the best drugs for loosening mucus. And what about our vegetarian friends? Well. you could try to sniff up the vapors from hot chicken soup from your friend etc, this may also be of some benefit. And for those who take chicken soup as a medicine, sip hot soup little bits at a time instead of  drinking a whole cup at once, to make it more effective. Recently is has been shown that chicken-especially the meat of the legs- may be of benefit for hypertension [ACE inhibiting]. In fact I have found in a Chinese book for recipes  [by FaXiang Hou]various chicken soup prescriptions for hypertension [chicken chow mein,spicy gingered chicken etc] Chicken cartilage soup  have also shown to be useful in patients with rheumatoid arthritis . Even for the treatment of thyroiditis [with hyperthyreoidea] chicken soup has been described. As for the relief that chicken soup could give for  facial pain,I could not find on what kind of pain it works but I would certain try it for trigeminus neuralgia , a particular difficult condition to treat! A very nice  article [not free from some subtle humor]was written about chicken soup by   professor Abraham Ohry and dr.Jenni Tsafrir [Tel ha-shomer]. The link is: www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/161/12/1532 For recent research about chicken and its skin [and the benefits]: go to google, type: groups, click on groups, type: bdmesq and type in the search field: chicken  And to end with a happy note: Chicken soup is considered to be able to correct too much black bile [humours] [Rambam] which is connected with melancholy.[sadness] [These  old traditional terms are forgotten or banned in modern medicine]  A cup of chicken soup could do quite a bit of good here,  possibly, by correcting the “excess of  black bile”. And as we are/were in the middle of happy days[semachot]: a few hints in the Tora.[my “fantasy”] The chicken was created on the fifth day: chamesh: chet mem shin : turn letters around: Sameach.[shin mem chet] And so the fish,which is known to remove worries [dag mesir da-aga........now a days explained by the omega 3 in fish] And if you ask about meat [behama]? Are  meat [and wine] not advised by our Rabbis for happiness on our feast days? Well: the cattle [behema] was created on the sixth day [shesh] shin -shin and is the word sas[on][sin-sin] not connected ? These last remarks [pun]you may forget of course..............

Gold, silver, copper [ nechoshet ]: some Tora thoughts and some medical and homeopathic issues .

Gold, silver, copper [ nechoshet ]: some Tora thoughts and some medical and homeopathic issues .

Copper , together with silver and gold are repeatedly mentioned in the parshiot va-yakhel-pekudei [starting at shemot 35:1]

"Take from among you a donation for G-d, let
every generous person bring it, a donation for G-d,
consisting of gold, silver, and copper"; Vayakhel: Shemot/Exodus, Chapter 35 Verse 5

" And to devise [plans] with ingenuity, to execute [those plans] in gold, in silver and in copper." Vayakhel: Shemot/Exodus, Chapter 35 Verse 32:

He made the Basin [ Kior ] out of copper and its base out of copper, from the mirrors of the women who had gathered at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting Vayakhel: Shemot/Exodus, Chapter 38 Verse 8:

The Kior was the basin in which the Kohanim washed their hands and feet every day at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

And today I will discuss some "medical issues" in connection with copper
Copper is -as everybody know- an excellent conductor [the second best after silver] and therefore used in electricity wires.
What may be less known is that copper does not sustain any bacteria growth on its surface and there fore it would be ideal to use this metal for door knobs especially in hospitals.
Is it not remarkable that the "Healer of all flesh" commanded that the Kior in the mishkan [Tabernacle] had to be made of copper?
The kohanim had to do the ritual washing form the copper basin!
[yes , I do realize that the Tora is not a medical hand book]

In the human body copper -even if it is present only in small amounts-has a vital function.
Copper and zinc are very dependent on each other.
Too much copper and low levels of zinc can lead to serious psychiatry problems and even possibly to certain forms of schizophrenia .
Fortunately, zinc food sources also provide copper.

Especially rich in copper are nuts (brazil nuts,cashews,peanuts, pecans), seeds (especially poppy and sunflower), chickpeas, liver and [oysters].
potatoes, legumes (beans and peas), grains (wheat and rye), fruits (peach and raisin), and even chocolate!
A shortage on the other hand can lead in the long run to serous blood vessel problems and even to a widening and weakening of the aorta which may rupture and cause a potential fatal bleeding.
Copper has many more important tasks.

It helps in the production of hemoglobin and some anemias may never get better without the addition of extra copper, again a not very well known fact.
For a proper thyroid function proper amounts of zinc , copper as well as selenium and other minerals/vitamins are required.
Women seem to need more copper then men for their hormonal balance, where as men need more zinc.
Is it again not striking that the mirrors of the women were made of copper?
[I am not relating to the midrash in the pure spiritual sense ,but I am wondering -and again only the Creator may know-if the women needed the little bit of extra copper which they possibly could have absorbed from these mirrors [micro-homeopathic amounts?] , to gives a more "materialistic-physiological" explanation of the midrash concerning the function of the mirrors...........??
I will now discuss the use of copper in homeopathy and just mention the most striking characteristics of this metal and this will give an idea when copper in homeopathic form may be indicated as a remedy.
The main essence [characteristic] of copper [cuprum metallicum] in homeopathy is:
CRAMPS, all kind of cramps ,calve cramps, spasms,twitching and even convulsions [epilepsy],crampy cough [whooping cough!],severe,violent asthma often relieved by vomiting and this in itself may be a sign that the patient needs copper.
Language is fascinating and to compare the root letters of cramps and cuprum with each others does give one an chizuk [strong argument] that what happened at Babel was very real!!
C...R...M...P= C... u.. P...R..M
nachash..........nechoshet .........cramping -----cuprum: wind like a snake french : se torder , serpenter = to wringle serpent = snake

german:sich schlängeln ........ schlange =snake

To show you that nachash and nechoshet [the wringeling of the snake ,the crampy movements are all found back in other languages and that cuprum [nechoshet] has as main characteristic: CRAMPS
A very special indication for cuprum is the so called "breath-holding spells''.

Small children who -after a crying spell- suddenly stop breathing and turn blue for a short while and then come back to "life". The condition is innocent except that it can cause the parents the fright of their life!
One dose of cuprum [potency 200] may clear up all future attacks!

Also mentally "cramped"[introvert],suppressed feelings,duty bound,keeps all the rules and regulations and can't stand when other don't do the same; fanatic,will not give up
Wants to be independent ,will not ask for help.
Dictatorial, they like to keep the same pattern,the same rules,no changes,please!
Policemen!! I understood that in the States police men are called in “slang”:copper
All cramps of the copper patient have a violent character [violent diarrhoea,violent vomiting,hysterical cramps,violent asthma]

Wants to be in control of everything.
Never able to relax, hard workers,ambitious very disciplined ,never gives up,hard for himself and others.
Cuprum children can behave violent [kicking,biting,spitting]
They are very serious in class and are afraid to get a rebuke or to be criticized and will do everything to please the teacher.[according to the rules]
School teachers should know this and they should not ask to much from children with a "copper picture",because these children will do everything to keep up with the demands and may then get sick if they can't perform as asked from them.

Copper children often don't like to be touched or to be approached.
Babies with colics may react very well on cuprum especially when there is a clear gurgling sound when they drink/nurse.

And to end with a simple advise: in ayurvedic medicine children with severe asthma are often given to drink some water that has been left [overnight] in a copper vessel.

May we celebrate the coming Purim with -if necessary – taking beforehand some copper water to loosen up! Purim sameach.