Plants of the Torah

Yusef Murdakhaev, author of the book, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Botanist, Healer-Phytotherapist. Born in 1935 in the city of Baku which is the capital of Azerbaijan. From 1961 until 1964 he worked in the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Science of Uzbekistan beginning as a laboratory assistant. He then became the manager of the laboratory of medical botanies. His scientific concern was the enrichment of cultivated flora to the republic of all sorts of medical plants. The collection of living plants numbered 550 species. It is counted as one of the best in the former Soviet Union. He published almost 200 scientific items.

He immigrated to the U.S. in 1997 and published monograph titled "Cultivation of Medical Plants in Uzbekistan" in 1999. He then went on to publish several works including "The East Bazaar: Medicines and Spices" (2001); "Bukharian Jews Nicknames" (together, 2002); "Times of Knowledge" (2005); a brochure about the fundamental illnesses of the emigrants in the U.S. and their care with plants and "For a Home Balm" (2008). He published more than 250 articles and essays and works and a historical novel called "The Jewish Life of Bukharian" on example of the big family of Moshe Moskovy and a new manual called "The Useful Plants in Medicine".

He is a public man, member of the New York Science Academy League of Writers and Poets of Bukharian Jews of USA, a member of the Editorial Board of the magazine "Hope".

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Introduction

Dear Reader! During the immigration a lot of us became religious. We rejoined our old religion of Judaism. The most important sacramental book is the Talmud Pentateuch, absorbed an enormous historical information about the ways of migration, the laws which related to the life of the Jewish communities after the exodus from the slavery in Egypt and in the state of Israel. Ten of the fundamental commandments of the Torah are accepted by the most civilized countries of the world and introduced in the Constitution. The Torah contains some plants, which are used in religious rituals, hygiene, and the construction of the Ark. There are also numerous plants of the period of slavery in Egypt.

Now most of those plants are unknown. These were the plants used by our ancestors. The goal of this Brochure is to familiarize ourselves with the plants used by our ancestors and to deeper understand their uses. From the description of the plants is clear that most of the spices, and medicines came from the plant from the tropic and subtopic regions of the neighbor countries. One of the big caravan ways went from Persia to the Red sea through Israel into Syria and farther in the city Tir on the Eastern border of the Mediterranean Sea. From South Asia are some spices such as black pepper, paprika, cubel, pepper, cinnamon, senna, clover tree, ginger. From Africa came mirra and ammomum. Many plants came from Central Asia-Asafetida, from little Asia -saffron crocus and much other plants. In Israel grew acacia arabica, mandragora, hyssop and other useful plants. The knowledge from the Torah shows that Israel had access to the spices long before the construction of the First and Second Temples.

The spices were used in religious rituals, medical goals, cooking and cosmetics. Their use in religious rituals was very important as medical-sanitary remedy. Thinking about the hot climate of Israel and the large number of sacrifices in the Temples, the condition of the deficiency of the water in the summer months when it was necessary for cleansing after the sacrifice rituals with animals, its clear the necessity of the spices which have an antiseptic property which neutralize the unpleasant smell. A suite of the exquisite spices composed the sacred ointment for the ritual assignation of a high post of clergymen and kings were spread in their hands, chest, head and garments. They were named G-d's Ointments. In the compound of the sacred ointments contained a lot of different Kinds of spices, which together made a stable aroma, which outwore a lot of decades. There is a question?
For all of those thousand of years, did the form of these plants of the Torah change? There are examples that they didn't. The seeds of the Hindu lotus found in deposits of turf in Mongolia are determined as 1200 years old by the method of carbon dissipation. Being so, they are small, and have bloomed and fertilized. In comparison with modern seeds, we didn't find any changes in the morphological or physiological quality. But the old palm trees in Israel "mafusail" mysteriously disappeared. And now 2000 years (in the 73 year of the new era a-ch-h) the biologists, during their archaeological excavations in the old fortification of the fortress Massada, established it. But the artificial sort which as we know keeps its properties when it is in steady care but when it lacks care it degenerates and becomes wild again. This is the reason why we can say by all means that all plants from the Torah really grew when the Torah appeared.

When this brochure was written, we kept this order. We first brought a passage of the Torah where we made mention of the Bible plants. Then we give the names of the plants in Latin, English, Hebrew in Russian transcription and in other languages; family, country where the plant is from. We also give the natural plants and places of proliferation where it is cultivated, a short botanical description, the chemical temper of the used organ, use in food or medical importance and some prescription of folk medicine.

Please take care over this brochure, It contain sacred excerpts of the Torah.

Contents

Introduction
The Plants oftheTorah
Acacia arabica
Aloe tree- lice
Balzam and Mirra
Willow
Grape
Clove
Pomegranatum
Oak
Dewberry
Fig
Hissopus
Senna
Sweet Chestnut
Cedar
Coreander.
Cinnamon
Rock Rosa
Flax
Mandrake
Almond
Myrtle
Olive
Date Palm
. Warm wood
. Wheat
Popular.
Giant fennel
. Pistacio nut
Cedrat
Barley
. Used literatureAccepted abbreviations