Yes, the concept of vaccinations has its basis in Torah teachings. Let me briefly explain the roles of Judaism’s teachings regarding vaccines, as we all pray that this disease is soon eradicated, as so many other diseases have been.
One of the greatest scientific discoveries which has saved the lives of millions throughout the world was the work of Dr. Louis Pasteur. Pasteur's discovery deals with a method to cure diseases by the effective use of the same microbes that cause them. As is known, he began his experimental research with an effort to cure rabies and other diseases. His successful endeavors surpassed his wildest hopes and Pasteur continued to apply his method to other ailments.
Till today, Dr. Pasteur's discovery serves as a central basis for all types of immunization. It is also appropriate to mention the homeopathic approach to the cure of disease that attempts to cure ailments by using materials similar to those that cause them. The homeopathic method is gradually gaining popularity in the Western world.
In Pasteur's generation there appeared a Hebrew book called “An Entry to the Gates” which quoted reliable witnesses who heard from Dr. Pasteur's close friend Rabbi Dr. Israel Michel Rabinowitz that Pasteur discovered the basis for his revolutionary research in the Jewish Talmud.
It all began when Rabbi Dr. Rabinowitz, then living in Paris, began to translate the Talmud into French. His translation reached Dr. Pasteur and aroused his curiosity. To his amazement, Pasteur discovered a surprising statement in Tractate Yoma:
"If someone was bitten by a mad dog [affected with rabies], one should feed him the lobe of that dog's liver."
The curious doctor immediately launched a series of experiments whose results continue to save millions of lives to this day.
Indeed, we are taught in “Ethics of Our Fathers” to "probe the Torah over and over for everything is in it" (5:22).
