Q&A: The Suppression of the Book of Remedies
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Suppression of the Book of Remedies.
Question
Hello to my master and teacher, may he live long. According to your approach, why did Hezekiah suppress the Book of Remedies? There are two major questions about this.
1. He suppressed the medical book so that people would pray, but according to your approach prayer has no power?
2. How could he suppress information that could bring healing to thousands of sick people? Isn’t that problematic from the standpoint of Jewish law and morality?
Answer
- First, maybe he thought prayer helps and was mistaken. Second, even if I say that in the past the Holy One, blessed be He, was involved—there were also prophets and miracles in the past.
2. It does not bring benefit if it is possible to pray and be healed.
Maimonides, in his commentary to the Mishnah on Pesachim, writes about those who explain that the purpose was so people would pray: “Oh, what fools…”—precisely for the reason mentioned in question 2.