#193: Vaccines, Potions & Charlatans - Jewish Medicine in the 19th Century.
5/28/202659 min
The 1800s was an era when medicine sat at the crossroads of science, ruses and discoveries. New vaccines and medical impostors competed for public trust. People broke with tradition and created a new landscape.
Mordecai Wolff Haffkine Haffkine stood out as an almost legendary figure. A Jewish bacteriologist, he developed and tested vaccines against cholera and bubonic plague, putting his life repeatedly at risk and fighting to save the lives of millions of people.
Whereas Dr. Samuel Solomon showed how skilful wording and suggestion could build a reputation and a fortune. Although his contribution to public service is rather unknown, Liverpool remembers him to this day - on par with some of their other legends.
We also look at what happens when medicine and surgery produce unexpected outcomes. What are the halachic ramifications?
And how did the BBC cover a re-election campaign in Kentucky?
Timestamps:
- 0:00:00–0:00:31 — Opening advertisement read (Dr. Solomon).
- 0:00:31–0:03:47 — Hosts intro: series overview and upcoming guests.
- 0:03:47–0:08:36 — Start of Mordechai Wolf Hafkin biography (education, expulsion, Pasteur Institute).
- 0:08:36–0:12:33 — Hafkin self‑inoculates and early cholera vaccine work.
- 0:12:33–0:15:43 — Hafkin’s large vaccination campaigns in India; plague vaccine development.
- 0:15:43–0:23:00 — Political opposition, 1902 tetanus deaths, inquiry and character attack.
- 0:23:00–0:31:44 — Scientific exoneration, later life, return to Orthodoxy, philanthropy, death (1930).
- 0:31:44–0:45:06 — Dr. Samuel Solomon biography: origins, balm of Gilead, marketing, bought MD.
- 0:45:06–0:46:44 — Solomon’s social status, legacy, and mixed moral assessment.
- 0:46:44–0:53:33 — Halachic case: wrong‑kidney removal that saved the patient; discussion of intent vs. outcome and liability.
- 0:53:33–0:58:34 — Media segment: critique of BBC coverage of Thomas Massie’s election loss.
- 0:58:34 — Episode close; call for listener feedback (podcast@jle.org.uk) and preview of part 2.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAubrey Hirsch· Host0:00
He opened a shop for the sale of medicinal remedies, and an advertisement in the Dublin Press reads as follows: "Dr. Solomon in Fleet Street, having performed many cures on persons with scurvies, cancers, and evils, thinks it is his duty to inform the public thereof, that his medicines may become more useful by being more generally known. The certificates in his possession can leave no room to doubt their veracity and the efficacy of his medicines."
Menachem Reisner· Host0:31
How did he become successful?
Aubrey Hirsch· Host0:33
Well- Welcome to History for the Curious.
Menachem Reisner· Host0:38
I'm Menachem Reisner, and I host the internationally renowned lecturer, dynamic historian, and tour guide, Rabbi Aubrey Hirsch. Experience our history, confront dilemmas, and reveal the untold stories of the 3,000 years of Jewish heritage. From Paris to Cairo, from the Russian Tsar to Maimonides, and from the Sinai Revelation to the French Revolution. Join the fastest-growing Jewish history podcast in the world by subscribing to this channel and discovering the events that have shaped us into who we are today. And welcome back to a brand-new series. Uh, Rabbi Hirsch, we had quite an eventful week the other week.
Aubrey Hirsch· Host1:16
Yeah.
Menachem Reisner· Host1:17
It was a great experience meeting the King, and thank you to all of you who sent in the pictures of us speaking at the [laughs] to the King at the front.
Aubrey Hirsch· Host1:25
Chatting to him.
Menachem Reisner· Host1:26
[laughs] Yes. Everyone wanted to know what that l- long