Efraim Lev (born 1958 in Israel) is a professor in the Department of Israel Studies and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at 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 Is ...

. He is the immediate past Head of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research of the Cairo Genizah at the University of Haifa, and the Department of Humanities and Arts at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He also headed the Eshkol Department of Multi-Disciplinary Studies for special programs and undergraduate degrees in the University of Haifa’s Faculty of Humanities (2013-2018). Lev specializes in 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

pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

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 ...

, in particular from 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 a ...

and the early modern period.

Academic career

Prof. Lev began his studies at Bar-Ilan University in the Department of Land of Israel Studies and the Department of Life Sciences, and in 1987 he graduated with a bachelor's degree. He later completed advanced degrees at Bar-Ilan (M.Sc. in Biology and a PhD in Land of Israel studies). He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Wellcome Trust Center for the History of Medicine at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, under the guidance of Prof. Roy Porter. Since 1999, Lev has been a lecturer at the University of Haifa. He served as a research fellow and spent long periods doing research at several institutions in Israel and abroad, such as the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit of Cambridge University Library in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Over the course of his career, Lev has won several prestigious awards and research scholarships, including the 2003

Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality ( he, עיריית תל אביב-יפו) is the arm of local government responsible for the administration of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality handles such municipal affairs as education, cu ...

Moshe Einhorn Prize for his book Medicinal Substances of the Medieval Levant and the Overseas Visiting Scholarship from St. John's College at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. In 2013, he won the prestigious George Urdang Medal for pharmaco-historical writing. In 2017, he was awarded a medal and membership from the International Academy of the History of Pharmacy.

Selected projects

Lev's research first focused on archaeobotany. As part of this area of study, he researched the dietary remains of

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...

man in

Kebara Cave Kebara Cave ( he, מערת כבארה, Me'arat Kebbara, ar, مغارة الكبارة, Mugharat al-Kabara) is a limestone cave locality in Wadi Kebara, situated at above mean sea level, above sea level on the western escarpment of the Mount Car ...

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...

dating back nearly 47,000-60,000 years ago. The variety of plant species discovered indicates the human vegetal diet of the period, which included primarily the eating of various types of

legumes A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...

. In his later research, Lev specialized in the

and pharmacology in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Lev’s dual expertise in history and biology has allowed him to explore topics that are rarely researched together.

Past projects

# An early study of Lev’s in 1993 conducted an archaeological reconstruction of human dietary and medicinal uses of natural plant resources in the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

Middle East. # Another study of his focused on natural curative substances used by the inhabitants of the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

from the time of the

Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

to the age of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. # Ethno-pharmacology and

ethnobotany Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

are other areas in which Lev has focused. His research in the regions of Israel and Jordan in particular, examines the structure, use, and survival of theoretical and practical knowledge of

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

from prehistoric times until the present day. As part of his research in this area, Lev worked with Professor

Zohar Amar Zohar Amar (born 1960) is a professor in the Department of Land of Israel Studies at Bar-Ilan University, whose research specialties are: natural history in ancient times; the identification of the flora of the Land of Israel and identification ...

from the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University documenting medicinal substances in the various markets in Israel and Jordan. # Another historical study conducted by Lev in collaboration with Dr. Yaron Perry from the University of Haifa’s Department of Israel Studies examined the introduction of modern

Western medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

to the Land of Israel in general, and to the Jewish population in Jerusalem in the 19th century in particular. This study examined the activities of British

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

physicians who came on expeditions to the Holy Land to promote the health of local Jews and by doing so, influenced the development of modern medicine. This work focused mainly on modern medical techniques and

pharmaceuticals A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...

brought from England and the rest of Europe and the process by which the pioneering new methods replaced popular ones that were based on traditional medicine. As part of this study, the biographies of several prominent British physicians from this period were reconstructed. # Around 2010, Lev began focusing on the study of various aspects of medieval

Arab medicine In the history of medicine, "Islamic medicine" is the science of medicine developed in the Middle East, and usually written in Arabic, the '' lingua franca'' of Islamic civilization. Islamic medicine adopted, systematized and developed the med ...

based on a historic find discovered in the Cairo Genizah. The Genizah documents he studied ( medical prescriptions, lists of medicinal substances, letters, medical notebooks, and parts of medical texts) shed light on the population in the Mediterranean Basin in general and in Egypt in particular, especially between the 10-13th centuries. Those documents describe medical information and practical

of that time, and allow a comparison with the theoretical knowledge we have from the physicians of that period. # Lev established the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research of the Cairo Genizah at the University of Haifa, in collaboration with Dr. Moshe Lavee and served as its Director until recently. The Centre organizes lectures and exhibitions in Israel and around the world to publicize findings of Genizah study from recent decades and encourage multidisciplinary research. As part of the project, biographies of Jewish physicians and healers who worked in Islamic lands are being reconstructed with the aim of expanding knowledge about the medical and socio-economic systems that existed during the Genizah period. # At the beginning of 2010, Lev also participated in a study associated with the Agricultural Research Organization - Volcani Center in Israel, focusing on

medicinal herbs Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection a ...

and

agricultural crops A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...

. As part of this research, he primarily reviewed historical sources to better understand traditional uses of relevant

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...

in the Middle East. # Another research project by Lev together with Amar investigated the impact of the medicinal substances that the Arabs introduced to the Middle East and Europe during the Middle Ages. Much of this trade was carried out by Jewish merchants at trading posts in India, Yemen, Egypt, Sicily, Syria, and even the North African countries that constitute the Maghreb region. # In parallel with some of the abovementioned projects, Lev has taken part in research efforts in alternative supplemental medicine. In this area, he joined several research groups focusing on the use of

by various ethnic groups from ancient times until present day. Lev’s focus in these studies has been on the effect of medicinal plants on cancer patients in Israel during chemotherapy. This project has resulted in the publication of several articles in collaboration with researchers from different countries.

Prominent scientific publications

Ph.D thesis

Medical Materials and Their Use During the Medieval Era in Israel and Syria, 1998, (365 pages), Hebrew, Department of Land of Israel Studies, Bar-Ilan University. Supervisors: Dr. Joseph Drori and Prof. Eran Dolev.

Books

* E. Lev and M.E. Kislev, The Subsistence and the Diet of the “Neanderthal” Man in Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel, Tel Aviv: The Israeli Society for Protection of Nature and Yad Hanadiv. 1993. Hebrew. (63 pages). * Z. Amar and E. Lev, Physicians, Drugs and Remedies in Jerusalem from the 10th-18th Centuries. Tel Aviv: Eretz publication, 2000. Hebrew. (320 pages). * E. Lev, Medicinal Substances of the Medieval Levant. Tel Aviv: Eretz publication, 2002. Hebrew. (380 pages). * E. Lev and Z. Amar, Ethnic Medicinal Substances of the Land of Israel. Tel Aviv: Eretz and Jerusalem: Yerid-Hasefarim. 2002, Hebrew, (330 pages). * E. Lev
Medicinal Substances in Jerusalem from Early Times to Present Day
Oxford: Archeopress, 2003 (BAR International Series 1112). (150 pages). * Y. Perry and E. Lev, Modern Medicine in the Holy Land, Pioneering British Medical Services in Late Ottoman Palestine. London: I.B. Tauris, (2007) (260 pages). * E. Lev and Z. Amar
Practical Materia Medica of the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean According to the Cairo Genizah
Leiden: Brill (2008) (670 pages). * E. Lev and L. Chipman, Medical Prescriptions in the Cambridge Genizah Collections: Practical Medicine and Pharmacology in Medieval Egypt, Leiden: Brill (2012) (187 A4 pages). * Z. Amar and E. Lev
Arabian Drugs in Early Medieval Mediterranean Medicine
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2016) (290 pages). * E. Lev

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2021) (528 pages).

Selected scientific articles

* E. Lev and Z. Amar, "Ethnopharmacological Survey of Traditional Drugs Sold in Israel at the End of the 20th Century", Journal of Ethnopharmacology, (2000) 72:191-205. * E. Lev, "Reconstructed materia medica of the Medieval and Ottoman al-Sham”, Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2002) 80:167-179. * Y. Perry and E. Lev, “The Medical Activities of the London Jews' Society in Nineteenth Century Palestine”, Medical History, (2003) 47:67-88. * E. Lev, “Traditional Healing with Animals (Zootherapy): Medieval to Present-day Levantine Practice”, Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2003) 85:107-118. * E. Lev, M.E. Kislev and O. Bar-Yosef, “Mousterian Vegetal Food in Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel”, Journal of Archeological Sciences (2005) 32:475-484. * E. Lev, "Drugs Held and Sold by Pharmacists of the Jewish Community of Medieval (11th -14th centuries) Cairo According to Lists of Materia Medica Found at the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Collection, Cambridge", Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2007), 110:275-293. * E. Lev and Z. Amar, "Practice Versus Theory: Medieval Materia Medica According to the Cairo Genizah", Medical History (2007) 51:507-526. * Z. Amar and E. Lev, "The Significance of the Genizah's Medical Documents for the Study of Medieval Mediterranean Trade", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, (2007) 50:524-541. * E. Lev, "Medieval Egyptian Judaeo-Arabic Prescriptions (and Edition of Three Medical Prescriptions)", Journal of Royal Asiatic Society (2008) 18(4): 449-464. * E. Lev, "Healing with Minerals and Inorganic Substances: A Review of Levantine Practice from the Middle Ages to the Present Day", International Geological Reviews (2010), 52:700-725. * E. Lev, "A Catalogue of the Medical and Para-Medical Manuscripts in the Mosseri Genizah Collection, together with several unpublished examples (X.37; I.124.2)", Journal of Jewish Studies (2011), 62:121-145. * E. Lev, “Mediators between Theoretical and Practical Medieval Knowledge: Medical Notebooks from the Cairo Genizah and their Significance” Medical History (2013) 57(4): 487-515. * E. Lev, “Legacies and Prospects in Geniza Studies and the History of Medicine: Reconstruction of the Medical Bookshelf of Medieval (Jewish) Practitioners”, Jewish History (2019), 32, 559-562. * A. Mazor, E. Lev, “Dynasties of Jewish Physicians in the Fatimid and Ayyubid Periods”, Hebrew Union College Annual (2019), 89: 225-265. * G. Gambash, G. Bar-Oz, E. Lev, and U. Jeremais, “Bygone Fish: Rediscovering the Red-Sea as a Delicacy of Byzantine Negev Cuisine”, Near Easter Archeology (2019), 82(4): 216-225.

References

External links

Efraim Lev on JSTOR

Efraim Lev on Google Scholar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lev, Efraim 1958 births Living people Bar-Ilan University alumni Academic staff of the University of Haifa