A Frog Under the Tongue

‘[A]n erudite cataloging of the varied ways Eastern European Jews dealt with treating and warding off illness… Tuszewicki provides a highly documented, rich glimpse into a remarkable aspect of a lost world.’ S. V. Greenberg, Choice

‘A Frog Under the Tongue is a triumph of archival excavation and academic interpretation. It is a work of clear interest not only to folklorists, but also to scholars of religious practice and of linguistics, and to researchers across the broad field of medical humanities … Tuszewicki shows how important a knowledge of medical beliefs is in understanding how a society and culture functions — and what role folklore can play in discovering this.’
Ross MacFarlane, Folklore

‘This is a meticulous study of the traditional Jewish medical practices of eastern Europe. The source base in Polish and Yiddish is impressive, as is the comprehensive survey of secondary literature. The approach is very original, combining nineteenth-century ethnography with modern anthropological interpretative methods. This makes the book rich with material, but analytical and interpretative at the same time.’
Marcin Wodziński, University of Wrocław

‘When people’s health is on the line, what people do is a very good indication of what they think. Behaviour related to health gives exceptional insights into the thought world of otherwise inarticulate, ‘simple’ Jews, as well of the more educated strata of society. The cures Jews used in nineteenth-century eastern Europe demonstrate how they understood the material world, while the frequent exchange of ideas and methods with non-Jews shows their openness to different perspectives when they felt it was necessary to achieve vital goals. Marek Tuszewicki’s study should be required reading for anyone dealing seriously with east European Jewish social history and the history of modernization, especially the relations between Jews and non-Jews and how world-views change. By the way, it is also fascinating.’
Shaul Stampfer, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

‘Marek Tuszewicki’s book is impressive in its broad scope and ambition … written in an engaging manner, it offers a synthetic picture while not stinting on detail.’
Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska, Central Europe

‘A brilliant resource and an inevitable point of reference for further studies of Jewish medical customs and beliefs in late Ashkenaz. The author has compiled a wide range of material and presents it as an enthralling story about a world that is no more … a fascinating book, certainly a recommended read not only for academics but for anyone with an interest in eastern European Jewry.’
Agata Paluch, The Polish Review

‘Tuszewicki’s nuanced approach to the analysis of his data is evident. Rather than rigidly evaluating rituals or beliefs according to one or another interpretive system, he allows the sources to speak for themselves, it is a testament to his intimate familiarity with the inner world of Ashkenazic Jewry that he is able to shape a huge corpus of sources into a work as legible and authoritative this one.’ Natan M. Meir, The Polish Review

‘Marek Tuszewicki’s new book, translated by Jessica Taylor Kucia (2021), opens a window into the colorful world of folk medicine among eastern European Ashkenazi Jews, representing a unique way to study the stories that are part of the emerging new field of Medical Humanities. This is a welcome addition to studies in traditional Jewish medicine, as little research has been done in eastern Europe’s Jewish folk medicine field. As the author informs us, other than ethnographic literature written in Polish in the 1880s and 1890s, virtually no work has been available until now for English readers… A Frog Under the Tongue is an excellent resource to use in the classroom, easy to understand, and rich in a variety of educational sources.’ Deborah Kaye, Religious Studies Review

‘The book represents an important milestone in the study and meaning of both folk medicine and Jewish folk medicine. It also represents an important addition to our understanding of everyday life among broad sectors of Jewish society that are otherwise absent from many historical studies. Indirectly, the book offers scholars a glimpse into the lives of the lower classes of Jewish society, as most historical sources from this period were written by members of other social strata.’ Dr. Ela Bauer, Gal-Ed (Translated from Hebrew)

‘Tuszewicki’s study represents more than a contribution to the field of Jewish folk medicine; it provides a substantial rethinking of the relationship between medical beliefs and cultural life, and will be of clear interest to scholars of Jewish anthropology and cultural history.’ Giulio Di Gennaro, H-Judaic

Marek Tuszewicki is deputy director of the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Jagiellonian University, Kraków. His publications include scholarly articles in Polish and English on Jewish folklore as well as Polish translations of Yiddish literature and his own Yiddish-language poetry. The Polish edition of this study was published in 2015. The book was awarded the Gierowski and Shmeruk Prize for the best book on the history and culture of Jews in Poland (2022) and was shortlisted for the Folklore Society’s Katharine Briggs Award in 2021.

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