Menachem Mendel

A few facts about Viagra:

1. Last week marked ten years since its use was cleared by the FDA.
2. It was discovered by accident. Researchers at Pfizer were working on a cardiovascular drug. (see here)
3. Alan “Ace” Greenberg, the former chairman of Bear, Stearns, donated one millions dollars so that elderly men who couldn’t afford Viagra could get it. From the nature of some of the investments that destroyed Bear, Stearns, it seems like some of the pills might have made it into the water cooler.
4. It’s kosher for passover. (For details see here, under letter “chet”)
5. Despite having helped thousands of men who suffer from Erectile Dysfunction (ED), there have been some negative side-effects from the use of Viagra. According to an article in The Guardian,

In Florida’s retirement communities, rates of sexually transmitted diseases among elderly men – who have started visiting prostitutes after taking Viagra – are soaring, it emerged recently.

The rabbis of the Talmud were well aware of ED, although Julius Preuss wrote that,

There is little to be found in the Talmud of the unending list of remedies against impotence which are contained in the writings of antiquity and the Middle Ages. The recommendations of Plinius (note-Natural History 28:80, 30:49), in which horse and donkey testicles, donkey penis, bull urine and similar ingredients play a role, are mild in comparison with the “experiences” of other authors. (Biblical and Talmudic Medicine, p. 462)

For more on the history of attempted cures in antiquity for ED see here. There is an interesting story in the Babylonian Talmud which describes how the presence of a Torah scroll can be the cause of impotence.

רב אחאי איעסק ליה לבריה בי רב יצחק בר שמואל בר מרתא, עייליה לחופה ולא הוה מסתייעא מילתא. אזל בתריה לעיוני, חזא ספר תורה דמנחא. אמר להו: איכו השתא לא אתאי סכנתון לברי! דתניא: בית שיש בו ספר תורה או תפילין – אסור לשמש בו את המטה עד שיוציאם או שיניחם כלי בתוך כלי.

R. Ahai contracted a match for his son with the house of R. Isaac b. Samuel b. Marta. He brought him into the bridal chamber but it was not a success. He went in after him to look, and saw a scroll of the Torah lying there. He said to them: Had I not come now, you would have endangered the life of my son, for it has been taught: It is forbidden to have marital intercourse in a room in which there is a scroll of the Law or tefillin, until they are taken out or placed in one receptacle inside of another. (Berachot 25b, Soncino trans.)

For R. Ahai, the presence of the Torah scroll during marital relations endangered the life of his son, with his impotence being the first warning sign. This may illustrate the magical quality which some people used to attach to Torah scrolls. Bibliomancy is not unknown in Judaism. See this discussion by Catherine Hezser and I.M. Ta-Shema’s article in the Bar-Ilan Annual, vols. 26-27, 1995. The connection between impotence and magic can also be found in the Middle Ages.

Posted on April 1st, 2008 under Ancient Judaism, Popular Culture, Talmud • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed