Zohar Amar (born 1960) is a professor in the Department of Land of Israel Studies at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...

, whose research specialties are: natural history in ancient times; the identification of the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

of the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...

and identification of the

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

of the Land of Israel according to descriptions in classical

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

sources; the

material culture Material culture is the aspect of social reality grounded in the objects and architecture that surround people. It includes the usage, consumption, creation, and trade of objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the objects crea ...

and realia of daily life in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

as reflected in agriculture and commerce; the

history of medicine The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies. More than just histo ...

and ethno-pharmacology. His research integrates diverse fields of knowledge, including branches of natural science, history, archaeology, linguistics, and

Judaic studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (espe ...

. Notable research in recent years: , http://halachicadventures.com/?p=376 Documents from the

Cairo Genizah The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the '' genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat or Old Cairo, ...

as a source of information about medicine in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

;

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

s in ancient textiles; the early papermaking industry; kermes oak coccid as the source of the Biblical scarlet dye; purple dye; the

balsam Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic ''busma'', Arabic ''balsam'' and Hebrew ''basam'', "spice", "perfume ...

plant; traditional medicinal drugs in the land of Israel; documentation of traditions regarding the

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fr ...

of various animals.

Biography

Zohar Amar, born in 1960, lives in Israel, married and the father of six children. He attended a

yeshiva high school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term " day school" is used to differentiate ...

and

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

Mercaz HaRav Kook Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In his youth he worked as a

tour guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...

and in the

Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel ( he, החברה להגנת הטבע, ''HaHevra LeHaganat HaTeva''), or SPNI, is an Israeli non-profit environmental organization working to preserve plants, animals, and natural environments that repr ...

. Between 1985 -1990 he was the director of the

Ecological Botanical Garden Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps w ...

at Abu Kabir on the old

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

campus. He completed his studies for the BA, Ma, and PhD degrees at

. His doctoral dissertation was entitled: “Agricultural Production in the Land of Israel during the Middle Ages; Description and Changes”, under the supervision of Prof. Yehuda Feliks and Prof. Yosef Drory. He is presently an associate professor at Bar-Ilan University and served as head of the Department of

Land of Israel Studies Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

and Archaeology in 2004-5 and 2009.

Research methods

Zohar Amar has been involved in various areas of research that link

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

and science, presenting a new examination of the classical Jewish sources and offering a different perspective on conventional thinking. His approach is to harness contemporary research techniques to scholarship in

Jewish Studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (e ...

. In his research he tries to apply almost every available piece of information, making extensive use of Hebrew literature and

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

and the early, classical sources including ancient Greek, Latin, and

Syriac literature Syriac literature is literature in the Syriac language. It is a tradition going back to the Late Antiquity. It is strongly associated with Syriac Christianity. Terminology In modern Syriac studies, and also within the wider field of Aramaic st ...

. Special emphasis is placed on Jewish and Moslem sources which were written in Arabic in the

, presenting their contribution to an understanding of the cultural and material flowering in the Islamic world. Many studies were devoted to understanding the realia embedded in the treatises written by R.

Saadia Gaon Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...

and

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

. Another of area of his research is related to an identification of the flora and fauna mentioned in the Scriptures and the

rabbinical writings Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

. In his recent works, Amar proposes a critical reappraisal of present identifications and a re-classification by levels of probability (i.e.: certain, doubtful). His approach gives the tradition of identification the highest rating of all measures that exist today in this field of scholarship. He also published, in collaboration with other scholars, a new proposal for identifying the ‘clean’ animals in the Torah in light of the archaeo-zoological findings uncovered in the Land of Israel and its environs. A considerable part of his work is devoted to the study of the plant life and agriculture mentioned in the

Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

, and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

, which includes actually cultivating crops and reconstructing the manufacture of the products derived from them. Among others he has replicated the production of

milkweed ''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to hum ...

fabric, deciphered the inscription of "Šmn Rahus" mentioned on Samarian

ostraca An ostracon ( Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeological or epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer to sherds or even small pieces of ...

, proposed a recreation of the Temple

showbread Showbread ( he, לחם הפנים ''Leḥem haPānīm'', literally: "Bread of the Faces"), in the King James Version: shewbread, in a biblical or Jewish context, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present, on a specially-d ...

, initiated the restoration of the balsam plant to Israel, discovered the scarlet dye of the Torah ( the Kermes oak coccid) and produced dye from it, replicated the purple dye rgaman made an identification of dyes in ancient textiles and a historical and laboratory identification of the raw materials used in papermaking in the Middle Ages in light of scientific testing of documents from the Cairo Genizah.

History of medicine in the ancient world

A study of the history of medicine in the ancient world has become one of the most important fields of research in historical scholarship. Amar established, in collaboration with Professor Efraim Lev (of the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming ...

), the “Unit on the History of Medicine in the Land of Israel”, one of the most important centers of academic research in Israel operating in this field. Research focuses on documenting the medical tradition from the ancient world until the present, especially Materia Medica, the spices used in the Temple incense and perfume, and it included a comprehensive ethnopharmacological survey conducted in marketplaces that specialize in selling traditional medicinal spices and herbs in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. Recently he completed a comprehensive survey of Materia Medica used by the Ethiopian community in Israel (in collaboration with Dikla Danino). Another prominent study dealt with practical medicine in the Middle Ages in the

according to medical prescriptions found in the

. Zohar Amar has published in collaboration with colleagues several ancient medical manuscripts, such as the treatise of the Jerusalem physician a-Tamimi (10th century), the Sori ha-Guf by R. Nathan ben Yoel Falaquera (13th century), Practical Medicine of Rabbi Hayyim Vital (16th century), and P’ri Megaddim by Rabbi

David de Silva David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, Physician of Jerusalem (18th century).

The kashrut of animals

Zohar Amar initiated a project which documents the kashrut traditions for various animals in Jewish communities around the world. The result was the publication of two books: ''The Locust in Jewish Tradition'' and ''The Tradition of Fowl in Jewish Halacha'', as well as dozens of articles on the subject of kashrut which won recognition by religious authorities. In the course of his research, he managed to record ancient traditions from elderly referents. One of the direct products of this endeavor was the granting of official rabbinical sanction to the raising of buffalo (jamus) for meat in Israel. The historical Torah-based research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Ari Zivotofsky, and it was he who demonstrated that Jewish Studies can constitute a field for applied research. In one study in which Zohar Amar participated, it was proven that the curdling of milk in mammals is a reliable parameter to distinguish between Biblically-determined ritually clean and unclean animals. Among the clean animals whose milk was tested and curdled were: the

ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

and

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...

Selected publications

* ''Legends and Tales of Plants in the Botanical-Ecological Park'', published by the Society for the Protection of Nature, Tel-Aviv 1987. * ''Foodstuffs and Industrial Products Grown in the Land of Israel during the Middle Ages'', Jerusalem 1996. * ''A Historical Survey of Medicinal Substances in the al-Sham Region during the Middle Ages (640-1517 CE''), Tel-Aviv 1999 (with E. Lev). * ''Agricultural Products in the Land of Israel in the Middle Ages'', Jerusalem 2000. * ''Physicians, Drug, and Remedies in Jerusalem from the 10th-18th Centuries'', Tel-Aviv 2000 (with E. Lev). * ''Maimonides' Regimen Sanitiatis: Commentary of R. Jacob Zahalon on Hilchot Deot – Chapter Four'', Neve-Tzuf 2001. * ''The Book of Incense'', Tel-Aviv 2002. * ''Ethnic Medicinal Substances of the Land of Israel'', Jerusalem 2002 (with E. Lev). * ''The History of Medicine in Jerusalem'', Archaeopress, Oxford 2002. (English) * ''Bamme Madlikin,'' Tel-Aviv 2003 (with A. Shwiky). * ''P'ri Megaddim by Rabbi David de Silva'', Physician of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 2003. * ''The Tradition of Fowl in Jewish Halacha'', Tel Aviv 2004. * ''The Land of Israel and Syria as Described by al-Tamimi: Jerusalem Physician of the 10th Century'', Ramat-Gan 2004 (with Y. Serri). * ''The Locust in Jewish Tradition'', Ramat-Gan 2004. * ''Sori ha-Guf by R. Nathan ben Yoel Falaquera'' (Edited & Commented with Y. Buchman, Tel- Aviv 2004. * ''Rabbi Yosef Kafih's Notebook on the Plants of the Mishna'', Tel Aviv 2005. * ''Practical Medicine of Rabbi Hayyim Vital (1543–1620)'', Jerusalem 2006 (with Y. Buchman). * ''Tracking the Scarlet Dye of the Holy Land'', Jerusalem 2007. * ''Practical Materia Medica of the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean According to the

'' (With Efraim Lev), Brill & Sir Henry Wellcome Series, 7, Leiden 2008 (677 pp.) * '' Merorim – Bitter Herbs'', Tel Aviv 2008. * ''The Four Species Anthology'', Tel Aviv 2009 * '' Etrogim of the Land of Israel: A modern study of their roots'', Tel Aviv 2010. * ''Five Types of Grain'': Historical and Conceptual Aspects,

Yeshiva Har Bracha Yeshivat Har Bracha ( he, ישיבת הר-ברכה), is a national-religious yeshiva in Har Brakha, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank near Nablus. The yeshiva was founded in 1991 by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed. Scholarship Programs In addit ...

2011. * ''Flora of the Bible'', Jerusalem 2012. * ''The Argaman (Purple)'', Porphura and Arjawan in Jewish sources and further inquiries into Tekhelet,

2014. * ''Flora and Fauna in Maimonides's Teachings'', achon Hatorah Veharetz2015. * Shmona Shratzim, achon Moshe2016. * ''Assaf's book of medicines : treatise on the properties of foodstuffs'', Kiryat Ono 2022. * Arabian Drugs in Early Medieval Mediterranean Medicine, Edinburgh University Press, 2017 (with E. Lev). * Differing Halachic Customs between "Baladi" Yemenite and Other Jewish Communities, Neve Tzuf 2017. * The Beauty of gemstone: the Hoshen jewels and precious stones in the ancient world, Har Berach 2017.

External links

Professor Zohar Amar’s official website

A list of articles written by Zohar Amar appears on the website Index of Articles on Jewish Sites
(in Hebrew and English). * https://web.archive.org/web/20110721133539/http://lisa.biu.ac.il/files/lisa/ZACVbiblio1.pdf * http://halachicadventures.com/?p=376

From the press

* http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/after-repeated-failures-new-effort-to-revive-the-legendary-balsam-plant-shows-promise-1.311617 * http://www1.biu.ac.il/indexE.php?id=33&pt=20&pid=4&level=1&cPath=4&type=1&news=111 * https://web.archive.org/web/20110527124610/http://www.jewishtribune.ca/tribune/PDF/jt090910.pdf
Kosher 'pork of the sea' makes aliya from Iran
JUDY SIEGEL; Jerusalem Post; Aug 19, 2005; pg. 06; * Democratic choices, Jerusalem Post; Jan 10, 2003; pg. 03; (on the scarlet dye) * Sacred spices, YEHOSHUA SISKIN; Jerusalem Post; Dec 16, 2005; pg. 39; * The scent of holiness Yehoshua Siskin; Jerusalem Post; Mar 26, 2004; pg. 45; (on the balsam)

ABIGAIL RADOSZKOWICZ; Jerusalem Post; Nov 23, 2004; pg. 01; * Buffalo meat is kosher, Chief Rabbi Amar rules MATTHEW WAGNER; Jerusalem Post; May 10, 2006; pg. 02; * http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/19058/scholar-finds-ancient-scarlet-dye/ * https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/2084281/Giraffe-is-kosher-Israeli-vets-have-ruled.html * http://www.forward.com/articles/129694/ * http://www.jpost.com/LocalIsrael/InJerusalem/Article.aspx?id=11338 (history of medicine)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amar, Zohar 1960 births Living people Mercaz HaRav alumni Bar-Ilan University faculty Natural history of Israel