Judaism and sneezing
Halakhic texts relating to this article
Babylonian Talmud:Berakhot 24a:23–24b:5, 53a:25
Jerusalem Talmud:Berakhot 6:6:5
Shulchan Aruch:Yoreh De'ah 246:17

There are various beliefs and customs surrounding sneezing in Judaism. Halakhic considerations concerning the practice of verbally responding to a sneeze, in particular, are discussed in Talmudic and later rabbinic literature.

Practices

The traditional Jewish response to a sneeze is the Aramaic phrase assuta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אָסוּתָא; Ashkenazi pronunciation: assusa),[1] to which the sneezer replies with barukh tiheyeh (Hebrew: בָּרוּךְ תִּהְיֶה, 'may you be blessed').[2] The sneezer then cites Genesis 49:18, "For your salvation I wait, O Lord" (לִישׁוּעָתְךָ קִוִּיתִי ה׳).[3][4]

Other traditional responses to a sneeze include ḥayyim (חַיִּים, 'life') and ḥayyim ṭovim (טוֹבִים חַיִּים, 'a happy life') in Hebrew, marpe (מַרְפֵּא, 'health') in Aramaic, and tsu gezunt (צו געזונט, 'to health') in Yiddish.[5] When responding to the sneeze of a child, the latter can be expanded to Tsu gezunt, tsum lebn, tsum vaksn, tsum kveln ('Your health, your life, your growth, your joy') and other like expressions.[6] In modern Hebrew, the most commonly-used phrase is livri'ut (לִבְרִיאוּת, sometimes also לַבְּרִיאוּת, labri'ut, both meaning 'to health').[7]

A once-prevailing folk practice, especially among Galician and Lithuanian Jews,[8][9] is for a mother to pull on her child's ear following a sneeze.[10][11]

In Jewish law

Reacting to a sneeze

The earliest discussion on sneezing in rabbinic literature is in Tosefta Shabbat,[12] where it is stated that wishing someone health (marpe) during a sneeze is considered a forbidden pagan ("Amorite") practice.[13] Eleazar bar Zadok, conversely, contends that the prohibition only applies in a beit midrash, where it may cause a disturbance during study.[14] In tractate Berakhot of the Babylonian Talmud, it is mentioned that the followers of Rabban Gamaliel avoided using marpe in the beit midrash for this same reason.[15] Maimonides and the Shulkhan Arukh follow this perspective.[14][16][17]

In tractate Berakhot of the Jerusalem Talmud, Rabbi Mana advises against reacting to a sneeze only while eating, given the potential danger of choking.[18] The word used here is iyas (יִיַס), interpreted by Frankel,[19] Levy,[20][21] Kohut,[22] and Krauss as a loanword from the Greek ἴασις ('healing') equivalent to marpe, or as יסי ('may He heal'). Alternatively, the Rome MS reads zit (זִט),[23] interpreted by Frankel and Kohut as ζήτω ('may he live'). Both readings are explained by Jastrow as abbreviations of ה׳ סעדי ('the Lord my help') or זרירך טוב ('may your sneezing be for good').[24][25]

Depiction of Jacob's death by Wenceslaus Hollar

In Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer and Yelamdenu to Toledot,[26] as quoted in the Arukh,[27] it is said that replying to a sneeze is in fact a duty.[12] A midrash is told that until Jacob's time, a person sneezed at the close of his life and instantly died. Jacob prayed for more time to prepare for death, which was granted to him, as indicated by the message to Joseph, "Behold, thy father is sick".[28][29] Subsequently, it became the rule for illness to precede death. Therefore, the practice of wishing good health after a sneeze transforms the sneeze from a sign of death into a symbol of life.[29]

Sneezing during prayer

Tractate Berakhot of the Babylonian Talmud contains a discussion on proper conduct during prayer, including a debate on whether sneezing during prayer is a good or a bad omen.[12] Rav Zeira notes that Rav Hamnuna took the former position, which pleased him as a frequent sneezer.[30]

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jastrow, Marcus; Kohler, Kaufmann (1902). "Asusa, Asuta". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 255–256.

  1. ↑ A borrowing from the Akkadian assūtu, ultimately from the Sumerian a.zu ('healer', lit. 'he who knows the urine'). See Greenfield, Jonas C. (2022). Stone, Michael E.; Paul, Shalom; Pinnick, Avital (eds.). Al Kanfei Yonah: Collected Studies of Jonas C. Greenfield on Semitic Philology. Vol. 1. Brill. p. 372. ISBN 978-90-04-53201-4.
  2. ↑ Appel, Gersion (1977). The Concise Code of Jewish Law: Compiled from Kitzur Shulhạn Aruch and Traditional Sources. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). New York: KTAV Publishing House. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-87068-298-8.
  3. ↑ Gombiner, Avraham (1665–1671). Magen Abraham Oraḥ Ḥayyim (in Hebrew). 230n6.
  4. ↑ Kagan, Yisrael Meir. Mishnah Berurah (in Hebrew). 230:7.
  5. ↑ Dennis, Geoffrey W. (2016). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism. Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 978-0-7387-4591-6.
  6. ↑ Tuszewicki, M. (2021). A Frog Under the Tongue: Jewish Folk Medicine in Eastern Europe. Liverpool University Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-1-80085-906-7.
  7. ↑ Colorni, Angelo (2011). Israel for Beginners: A Field Guide for Encountering the Israelis in Their Natural Habitat. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House. p. 13. ISBN 978-965-229-483-8.
  8. ↑ Isaacs, Ronald H. (2008). Bubbe Meises: Jewish Myths, Jewish Realities. Jersey City: KTAV Publishing House. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-60280-032-8.
  9. ↑ Eisenberg, Ronald L. (2004). Jewish Traditions: A JPS Guide. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. p. 587. ISBN 978-0-8276-1039-2.
  10. ↑ Askenasy, J. J. M. (1990). "The history of sneezing". Postgraduate Medical Journal. 66 (777): 549–550. doi:10.1136/pgmj.66.777.549. ISSN 0032-5473. PMC 2429626. PMID 2217013.
  11. ↑ Kavka, Selig J. (May 6, 1983). "The Sneeze—Blissful or Baneful?". JAMA. 249 (17): 2304–2305. doi:10.1001/jama.1983.03330410018008.
  12. 1 2 3 Horst, Pieter W. van der (1993–1994). "Two Notes on Hellenistic Lore in Early Rabbinic Literature". Jewish Studies Quarterly. 1 (3): 252–262. JSTOR 40753102.
  13. ↑ Tosefta Shabbat. 7:5.
  14. 1 2  Jastrow, Marcus; Kohler, Kaufmann (1902). "Asusa, Asuta". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 255–256.
  15. ↑ Talmud, b. Berakhot 53a:25
  16. ↑ Maimonides (26 September 2015). Talmud Torah. 4:9.
  17. ↑ Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah (in Hebrew). 246:17.
  18. ↑ Talmud, y. Berakhot 6:6:5
  19. ↑ Frankel. Talmud Jerushalmi Seder Zera'im. 1:39b.
  20. ↑ Levy, Jacob (1876). Neuhebräisches und Chaldäisches Wörterbuch über die Talmudim und Midraschim (in German). Vol. 1. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. p. 526.
  21. ↑ Levy, Jacob (1879). Neuhebräisches und Chaldäisches Wörterbuch über die Talmudim und Midraschim (in German). Vol. 2. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. p. 239.
  22. ↑ Kohut, Alexander (1885). Arukh ha-Shalem (in Hebrew). Vol. 4. Vienna. p. 130.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  23. ↑ Veltri, Giuseppe (1997). Magie und Halakha: Ansätze zu einem empirischen Wissenschaftsbegriff im spätantiken und frühmittelalterlichen Judentum (in German). Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr. pp. 139–141. ISBN 978-3-16-146671-7.
  24. ↑ Jastrow, Marcus (1892). A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature. Vol. 5. London: Luzac & Company. p. 390.
  25. ↑ Eisenstein, J. D., ed. (1908). Otzar Yisrael (in Hebrew). Vol. 2. New York: J. D. Eisenstein. p. 108.
  26. ↑ Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer. 51:6.
  27. ↑ Nathan ben Jehiel. "עטש". Sefer he-Arukh (in Hebrew).
  28. ↑ Genesis 48:1
  29. 1 2 Bleich, J. David (2002). Judaism and Healing: Halakhic Perspectives. KTAV Publishing House. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-88125-741-0.
  30. ↑ Talmud, b. Berakhot 24a:23–24b:5

Further reading

  • Sperber, Daniel (2008). The Jewish Life Cycle: Custom, Lore and Iconography. Translated by Levin, Ed. Bar-Ilan University Press. pp. 384–401. ISBN 978-0-19-530759-7.
  • Hoffman, Issachar Dov (2012). Itush be'halakhah [Sneezing in Jewish Law] (in Hebrew). New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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