Isaac Dembo (, ) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

physician.

Biography

Dembo was born to an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

family in Ponevezh,

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate ( rus, Ковенская губеpния, r=Kovenskaya guberniya; lt, Kauno gubernija) or Governorate of Kaunas was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kaunas (Kovno in Russian). It was formed ...

. He studied

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and rabbinical literature under the direction of

Shmuel Salant Shmuel Salant ( he, שמואל סלנט; January 2, 1816 – August 16, 1909) served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for almost 70 years. He was a renowned Talmudist and Torah scholar. Early life Shmuel Salant was born in Białystok, ...

and other Talmudic authorities until the age of fourteen, when he devoted himself to secular studies, and in 1870 graduated as

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

from the

University of Saint Petersburg A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. He served as physician in several hospitals, and in 1877, on the outbreak of the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

, enlisted in the medical department of the army. He was awarded a medal for his services. In 1881–82 he traveled in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and on his return to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

was appointed physician to the Alexandrowski Hospital. In 1888 the government bestowed upon him the title of '

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

lor.' Dembo turned his attention to the scientific study of '' sheḥita'', the slaughtering of animals according to Jewish law. In

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and in Germany attempts had been made to secure the prohibition of kosher butchering, on the plea that it caused the animals unnecessary pain. After investigating the matter and studying the methods of slaughtering in Russia and abroad, Dembo arrived at the conclusion that ''sheḥita'' caused less pain than other methods. The German Society for Public Health and

French Academy of Medicine French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

apparently agreed with his conclusions, and the Prussian Military Office, which produced canned meat, introduced a new method of slaughter in response to Dembo's reports. He published two works on this subject; namely, ''Anatomisch-physiologische Grundlagen der verschiedenen Methoden des Viehschlachtens'' (1894) and ''Das Schächten im Vergleich mit anderen Schlachtmethoden'' (1894). The latter work was prefaced by endorsements from

Rudolf Virchow Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (; or ; 13 October 18215 September 1902) was a German physician, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician. He is known as "the father of modern pathology" and as the founder ...

and William Preyer, and translated into

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and Hebrew.

Partial bibliography

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dembo, Isaac 1836 births 1906 deaths Russian people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent People from Panevėžys Physicians from the Russian Empire Military doctors of the Russian Empire Jewish scientists from the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Russian medical writers