The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 1 Graduate Theological Foundation Health, Wellbeing, and Wholeness in Leviticus and its Implications for Public Health in the 21ST Century: A Theological and Pastoral Case Study Focusing on the Levitical Priest as a Public Health Practitioner by Steven Rowitt A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. (All But Dissertation) Completion Program Rev. Hugh Page, Jr., D. Min., Ph.D., Ordinarius The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 2 Ordinarius Hugh R. Page, Jr., D. Min., Ph.D. Dean, First Year of Studies Associate Professor of Theology and Africana Studies University of Notre Dame Reviewed by Jodie Clark, M.D., M.P.H. Assistant Professor Department of Health Sciences Nova Southeastern University Health, Wellbeing, and Wholeness in Leviticus and its Implications for Public Health in the 21ST Century: A Theological and Pastoral Case Study Focusing on the Levitical Priest as a Public Health Practitioner Copyright © 2010 Steven Rowitt All rights reserved The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 3 Dedication To the glory of God, for He alone is truly worthy of our highest praise. And to my wife, Yvonne, for her unfailing love and support and to my daughter, Rachel, who is the apple of my eye. God has bestowed upon me many blessings and I will be eternally grateful to Him for the knowledge of His grace and the family He has given me. The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 4 Acknowledgements I have many people to thank, not the least of which is my Ordinarius, Dr. Hugh Page Jr., for his patience, guidance, and scholarly expertise. I want to thank Dr. Jodi Clark for her willingness to read and comment on my research. I would also like to acknowledge my professors at Touro University International for taking a chance on a severely disabled adult learner and accepting me into their Ph.D. in Health Sciences Program. Additionally, they gave me the opportunity to serve as a graduate assistant throughout my graduate studies working with some of our fine men and women serving in the armed forces who are enrolled in Touro’s undergraduate programs. Finally, I would like to thank my wife and daughter for their constant encouragement and support and all of my brothers and sisters in the faith who have encouraged and supported me over the years. The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 5 Abstract This dissertation engages in an experimental reading of the Levitical Code based on a hypothesis that the Levitical Code can be read in part as a public health document; that the Levitical Priest can be treated as a public health official; and that such a reading can be informative for the practice of ministry in the 21st century. The Levitical priesthood and its unique service as the proto-public health institution and ministerial intercessors to the ancient Israelites were responsible for the health, wellbeing, and wholeness of the children of Israel from the time of their Exodus from Egypt until the destruction of the Herodian Temple in 70 AD. In recent times, an emphasis on diet, nutrition, the prevention and control of chronic diseases, has become a major focus of the modern public health paradigm. It is hoped that this retrospective theological and pastoral case study will result in a set of aphorisms for modern pastoral care derived from the Levitical prototype, thereby benefiting modern clergy and the people of faith that they hope to serve. The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 6 Table of Contents Ordinarius & Reader 2 Dedication 3 Acknowledgments 4 Abstract 5 Contents 6 Abbreviations 7 List of Tables and Charts 8 Introduction 9 Methodology 15 Rationale 16 Definitions 22 Literature review 24 Historical & Contextual Concerns 62 Levitical Priests as Public Health Practitioners 68 Levitical Priests as Intercessors 70 Levitical Priests and the Sacrificial System 73 Levitical Priests and Modern Clergy 79 Commonalities between the Levites and New Testament Clergy 80 Public Health: Environmental and Historical Consideration 85 Public Health: Diet and Disease in Ancient Israel 87 Public Health and Lifestyle Diseases 93 Public Health and Environmental and Infectious Diseases 96 Public Health and Dietary Considerations 105 Public Health: Ancient Medicine in Judaism and Early Christianity 108 Application to Ministry: Modern Clergy 114 Application to Ministry: Modern Chaplains 130 Application to Ministry: Modern Christian and Biblical Counselors 134 Application to Ministry: Grief Counseling Post 9-11 137 Implications for Future Research: Ministry to the Disabled 140 Implications for Future Research: Overcoming Barriers to Healing 142 Implications for the Future: Pastoral Care 144 Conclusion 148 Addendum: Discussion of Biblical Diseases 152 Comparison Chart of Ancient Illnesses (Table 2) 158 Bibliography 159 The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 7 List of Abbreviations ABD All But Dissertation AMT American Medical Technologists APA American Psychiatric Association BC Before Christ AD Anno Domini COR Corinthians DEUT Deuteronomy EPH Ephesians EX Exodus GAL Galatians GTF Graduate Theological Foundation HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus JPS Jewish Publication Society LEV Leviticus MD Medical Doctor MPH Master Public Health MRSA Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus NT New Testament NUM Numbers PE Pastoral Epistles PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder S Surah SAM Samuel SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome STAT Abbreviation for statim, Latin for immediately TUI Touro University International WHO World Health Organization All biblical references are from the New American Standard Version of the Bible. List I- List of Abbreviations The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 8 List of Tables and Charts I List of abbreviations, p. 7. II Comparison of ministry chart Levitical priests and modern-day clergy, p. 81. III Flowchart for Levitical priest and modern-day clergy, page 84. IV Comparison table of ancient illnesses and possible modern-day counterparts, p. 158. The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 9 Introduction The clergy of three major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and to a lesser extent Islam, all consider the Bible a relevant document with regard to their respective faiths. Judaism considers the Tanakh or the Hebrew Scriptures to be its seminal document, while Christianity holds the Old and New Testaments, or the Christian Bible in its various canonical versions, as foundational to the Christian faith. To a lesser degree, Islam acknowledges its relationship to the Patriarchs of the Old Testament as well as the historical validity of the Gospels. The holy document of Islam is the Qu’ran wherein Abraham, in common with Jewish and Christian tradition, is characterized as the father of the faithful. Islamic writings acknowledge that Allah had previously given the Torah to the Jews and the Gospels to the Christians: Yet before it was the Book of Moses for a model and a mercy; and this is a Book confirming, in Arabic tongue, to warn the evildoers, and good tidings to the good- doers. (S. 46:12) He sent down to you this scripture, truthfully, confirming all previous scriptures, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel. (S. 3:3 Khalifa) Often the Levitical priesthood is obscured by the ceremonial activity taking place in the tabernacle in the wilderness and the Temples in Jerusalem that afterward replaced the Tent of the Meeting. The interactions of the Levitical priesthood, serving the children of Israel on behalf of Yahweh, are steeped in the voluminous sacrifices and offerings, festival Holy days, and intercessory activities prescribed in the Torah. For this reason, we do not usually see these priests as the pastors of their day. By the first century AD, many more Jews lived outside of Palestine than within its borders; however, the temple remained the focal point of Jewish people throughout the world. The spiritual lives of the Jews of ancient Palestine centered on the activity and ministry of the Levitical priesthood and the Second Temple. Many Jews would make pilgrimages to the temple The Lev. Priest as a Pub. Health Practitioner 10 from their homes; thereby fulfilling their responsibilities to attend temple worship on the mandatory holy days. David A. DeSilva (2004) gives us a description concerning the centrality of the Israelite temple and its sacrifices: During most of the first century, the temple was the focal point of Jews throughout the world. This was the place where God promised to meet Israel, to hear its prayers, and accept its sacrifices. Many Jews would make pilgrimages from their homes throughout the Diaspora and throughout Palestine on occasions of high festivals. The temple provided not only a symbol of the connection of all Jews to their ancestral land but also an occasion for renewing those connections. As long as the temple cult ran smoothly, according to God’s instructions, a ready means of access to God (however limited) was at hand. The wellbeing of the people could be secured and transgressions against God’s law covered so they would not jeopardize the covenant between a sinful people and its holy God. (p. 75) With the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, the rabbinical clergy of the local synagogue replaced the Levitical priesthood. This historic event, coupled with the following Diaspora, resulted in a shift away from the centrality of the priesthood, a de-emphasis of the Levitical Code, and the cessation of Temple worship and the significant place it held in the lives of the Jewish people. Medicine and religion have long histories dating back to the dawn of man. In times past, these cultural constructs have intertwined. However, in the beginning of the 21st century, they have on many levels merged into a complete partnership. My personal life has mirrored this combination of medicine and religion.