A Client contacted me today before Shabbos and asked “what is Iridology? Apparently she saw a post on Facebook of someone posting that Iridology can be found in the Bible.
So here was my answer to her:
Because I have work in the Eye care field for several years I do know that Optometrists and Medical doctors do see the iris as the colored part of the eye that regulates the amount of light entering by a contractile opening in the center, the pupil. The lens brings the light rays to a focus, forming an image on the retina where the light falls on the rods and cones, causing them to stimulate the optic nerve and transmit visual impressions to the brain. Medical doctors and Optometrists recognize that certain symptoms of nonocular disease can be detected by examining the eye. If a problem is suspected, these doctors then refer the patient to an appropriate specialist for further examination.
However, recognizing symptoms of disease by looking in the eyes is not what iridology is about. In fact, when iridologists have been tested to see if they could distinguish healthy from sick people by looking at slides of their eyes, they have failed.
In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (1979, vol. 242, 1385-1387), three iridologists incorrectly identified nearly all of the study slides of the irises of 143 healthy and diseased people. “In fact, they often read the irises of the sickest people as being healthy and vice versa. They did not even agree with each other.” Similar results involving five Dutch iridologists were published in the British Medical Journal (1988, vol. 297, 1578-1581) (Lisa Niebergall, M.D.). The science has not been proven sound and has no merit in Bible either even though thee are many claim as such.
Maimonides one of our greatest Jewish Torah Teachers, Sages, as well as a well known Jewish Doctor of Medicine during 12th century Spain, Israel and Cairo. He has several very interesting insights on this topic of light and darkness. I will try to summarize what he teaches here. First a little background Moshes Ben Maimon was born in Cordova, Almoravid Empire (present-day Spain) on Passover Eve, 1135.he worked as a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Morocco, Israel, and Egypt. He died in Egypt on December 12, 1204, whence his body was taken to the lower Galilee Israel and buried in Tiberias Israel.
Maimonides says that, ” G-d is like a light which illuminates those who follow his Torah and statutes to live a healthy way of life, like stepping into a well lit room of his Palace.” There is nothing hidden about this light. Any lack of illumination is due to the recipient’s choice. If he has a sound eye, the light will enter his whole being, but if his eye is evil, no light will enter. Light goes in but not out. Why because G-d created man with light already inside. If that light goes out which does not exit the body, then it is because he is not growing in Torah and Mitzvos. In plain understanding the light just goes to darkness like someone just switched off the light.
“Let all of Israel hear and obey the commandments of the Torah, then, beware lest the light they think they have within them is really darkness.” The light is not a reflective disorder from within the body shining outward through the eye as Iridologists would teach. Rather, it is the teachings of G-d, it is the light of the Torahl, being drawn into the life of the neshama (soul). Maimonides states “The person who receives light are encouraged to examine whether what they think to be light is really darkness” This is called discernment! Check all that you learn against the teaching of G-d’s Torah, the Bible.
Maimonides continues in his discussion by explaining, Here it is stated “that light is given to the body by the eye which acts as a lamp to the interior in the sense that light enters the body by it; the eye is thought of as receiving light from outside the body. “The light of the body is the eye.” In other words, the light comes into the body through the eye which is Torah G-d’s word. The light of the eye is not the body (neshama soul). “The eye” is referred to as the Torah which as some have said, “the eye is the mirror for the soul.” Notice it is not the word “eyes” plural, it is the words “the eye” singular. You can find this many verses in the Bible. Iridologists twist these verses causing them to say the exact opposite of what G-d is actually saying.
Hebraic impulses is toward an invisible G-d, who does not show Himself to humankind as human but only speaks that they may hear, then the eye of their mind is opened to the light of G-d’s word (Dvar Eloheim).
In Exod. 24:7-11 we read,
And Moshe took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the ears of the People, and they said, All that we have heard we will do and we will hear …. And Moshe and Aaron, Nadav, Avihu and the seventy elders went up. And they saw the G-d of Israel under His Throne it was like a paving stone of sapphire and bright like the sky. And unto the nobles of the Israelites He did no damage, but they saw G-d and they ate and drank.
Here in this text we see that they saw G-d then saw the sapphire stone in which the Ten Commandments were hewn from and they saw G-d not literally, but saw the word of G-d in living light.
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References:
- Moses Maimonides Medical Writings
- Medical Aphorisms of Moses (Rosner, 1989, Vol. 3) titled Fusul Musa in Arabic (“Chapters of Moses, Hebrew: פרקי משה) contains 1500 aphorisms and many medical conditions are described
- M’oray Ha’Aish Parshat Balak: The Evil Eye
- Exod. 24:7-11
- The Eye of the Torah. page 540 by Daniel Boyarin
- Psalms 77
- The Song at the Sea, Being a Commentary on a Commentary in Two Parts (New Haven, Conn., 1971), pp. 124-25;
- Spiritual and Emotional Connection: Aytz Chayim Aromatherapy blog| Feb 17, 2015
- The Hebrew Bible Artscroll Edition