Nissim Krispil Information
Biography
Writer, researcher and anthropologist. Born in Morocco in the small port city of Mogador (Essaouira) on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Birthdate 1947 is approximate for Moroccan Jews who were born at home, not in hospital. Nissim was born into a large family of humble means; his father was a shopkeeper selling matches and candles; his mother was a seamstress.
Between 1950 - 1970 were the years of the great emigration of Moroccan Jews: Families with financial means immigrated to France and Canada, those without immigrated to Israel. The Krispil family immigrated to Israel in 1954. The prevailing migration route at the time was from Morocco to the immigrant camp in Marseille, France, and from there to Israel by ship.
Arriving in Israel, they settled in Migdal Haemek, in a small wooden hut that had to accommodate a family of ten. After early schooling both secular and religious, Nissim studied at the agricultural secondary school "Kfar Hanoar Hadate" in "Kfar Hassedem", where he completed training to become a nature and agriculture teacher.
Nissim enlisted in the army immediately after the Six Day War in 1967 and finished military service with the rank of Captain. In the next years he honed his skills as an educator and trailblazer teaching his lessons directly in nature. This may have been the first field school of its kind in Israel.
These were the first years after the conquest of Judea and Samaria. Nissim was drawn to the landscapes of the Arab villages, their traditional ways of agriculture and material culture. He saw in the Arab peasants the image of his ancient ancestors. There, for Nissim, the descriptions of nature and agriculture depicted by the prophets of the ancient world were brought to life. Deeply inspired, over many years he inspired others, guiding children and adults, tourists and residents, with the aim of fostering their love of nature, and bringing stories of the Bible to life for them. With this intention he made a comprehensive study of the Arab material culture in Judea and Samaria, and interviewed hundreds of informants.
Nissim focused mainly on the wild plants of Israel and their uses among the Arab peasants. His field research continued for close to ten years. He interviewed folk healers who were working in Judea and Samaria at that time. Part of the research was conducted in collaboration with the Volcani Institute, the Department of Medicinal Plants, under the direction of Professor Zohra Yaniv and Professor Dan Flavitz. With respect for the quality of his field research and trainings, his mentors urged Nissim to document his findings in writing. Working by day as a guide at the field school, and writing deep into the night, he completed the first volume of the encyclopedia, Yalkut Hatsmahim - The Bag of Plants, featuring plants named from A to C.
The success of the first volume compelled Nissim to complete a five-volume comprehensive encyclopedia of the wild plants of Israel. Every featured plant includes a botanical description, its place in the ancient sources of Judaism, its place in folk medicine and folklore, and a section dealing with field resources and uses of that plant in field activities.
Yalkut Hatsmahim – The Bag of Plants became known as the go-to encyclopedia of Israel's wild plants, and continues to instruct generations of gatherers who go out into the field to gather wild plants and learn which are edible and/or medicinal.
Over the years Nissim wrote 15 books dealing with the spice and medicinal plants of Israel. Among these are Field Guide to Medicinal Plants, Medicinal plants of Maimonides, Medicinal Plants According to the Organs of the Body. Most recently published is Medicinal Plants of Persia, by Nissim Krispil in collaboration with Gidi Gur.
At the conclusion of his field work, Nissim traveled extensively. In Yemen, he documented the remnants of the Jewish community that survived, staying among the community, learning about their way of life, their work, where the main occupation in the community was goldsmithing and making silver jewelry, among the traditional crafts in which Yemenite Jews made a living.
Nissim devoted ten years of travel and research in Morocco. His study focused on the distribution of Jewish settlement in rural districts, visiting every village Jews had settled, and conducted hundreds of interviews with the village elders who had lived among Jews and remembered them in great detail. The research shed light on the coexistence and interdependence that was in place between Jews and Arabs.
His experiences yielded thousands of photographs throughout the years, including important and rare documentation of synagogues, cemeteries, saints, the worship of saints, and pilgrimages to the graves of saints, as well as the Hiloula ceremony, an annual communal celebration at the tomb of the Jewish saint. Images of the Jewish quarter depict where Jews lived and worked, including the traditional crafts learned over the years by Arab apprentices who worked for Jewish craftsmen. Moroccan Jews made an important economic contribution to the rural and urban population. Trade and traditional crafts were in the hands of Jews. The great emigration of Moroccan Jews that took place between 1950-1970 left a huge void and economic challenge for Moroccan residents. It took the local population many years to recover and stand on their own feet again.
To date, three books by Krispil have been published about his experiences in Morocco: A guide for travelers in Morocco, The Magic of Moroccan Cuisine, and Morocco a Personal Journey -an album of Nissim’s photos throughout his research, combined with the musings he wrote. His written documentation encompasses forty research diaries that form the basis for further books about the worship of saints among Moroccan Jews, synagogues, traditional craftsmen, Jewish settlement in the rural districts and Jewish-Muslim coexistence in the Atlas Mountains.
In Cyprus Nissim began a next chapter of his research among village elders to record and document their knowledge of agriculture, and traditional uses of the wild plants in their region worthy as food, spice, and for use in healing.
Selected Books and Book Chapters
- Yalkut Hatsmahim – The Bag of Plants - the medicinal and useful plants of Israel, an encyclopedia - 5 volumes, Kana - Yaara, Jerusalem, 1982-1989, 1955 pages.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/?search=nissim+krispil&title=Special%3ASearch&ns0=1
- The Complete Guide of Medicinal Plants in Israel and the World, Hed Artzi Or Yehuda, 2000, 271 pages.
- The Taste of Life - Everything About Spices, Maariv Library, Tel Aviv 1996, 232 pages
- Bread from the earth - Parents and children cook from the field, Yaara, Jerusalem 1989, 256 pages.
- *A field guide of Israel medicinal plants, published by the author, Jerusalem, 1985, 265 pages
- Maimonides' Medicinal Plants, Yarid Hasfarim, Jerusalem, 1989, 256 pages.
- Morocco A Traveler's Guide, Yarid Hasfarim , Jerusalem, 1996, 359 pages.*
- Morocco, a personal journey, Yarid Hasfarim, Jerusalem, 1995, 400 pages.*
- Spices - Taste of Nature, Ministry of Defense-Morag, Tel Aviv 2007, 256 pages
- The Magic of the Moroccan Kitchen - with Chef Guy Peretz, Al Hashulhan Publishing house, 2004
- Plants and Healing - Medicinal plants according to body organs - with Yossi Jibri, 2017.
- The Ethno-Botanical Persian Medicine Book on the Silk Road, by Gidi Gur and Nissim Krispil 2023
- Spice stories of Hishtil 2005* The Moss of the Wall, Sefer Ze'ev Vilnai II, Ariel Publishing House, 1987*
News Reports, Podcasts, Interviews, Presentations
Plants and healing - medicinal plants according to body organs
"Bona" the Ethiopian coffee making ceremony
Morocco. the shores of the Western Sahara
Gathering plants with Nissim Krispil
When and how did you start working in the field of medicinal plants?
Collecting plants and folk medicine
Capers in folk medicine Bereshit News Israel
Love for everything the earth brings up Bereshit News Israel
Anxiety in herbal medicine Bereshit News Israel
YouTube Videos
Lighting a fire in the field without matches
Tisha b'Av Destruction of the Temple
Magazine Articles and References
Traditional craftsmen in Mount Hebron. The Israel News section of the Kibbutz Movement, November 1987, 118 pages
*The peasants who dwell in the caves - customs, traditions and ways of life The Israel News section of the Kibbutz Movement,, 1986, 71 pages.
The perfume beds - a garden of spice and perfume plants in Kibbutz Lahav, 1988, 32 pages.*
*Medical lavender, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural and Landscape Monthly, 1989.
*The man of God on Jabel Tarouja, Salet, Society Protection of Nature, 9/4, December 1980.
Beliefs, traditions and legends in the world of the Arab peasants, Moreshet Derech, June 23, 1988.
*Beit Jala - the center of Catholic aspirations in the Land of Israel, a selection of articles in Yidyat Ha'aretz, Ariel, Pesach 2012.
Common Myrtle, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural Monthly, 12th, MD, 1989.
*The snake as a symbol of medicine, Hardon, Bulletin of the Center for Information on Reptiles, Society Protection of Nature, 1984.
The Rue, wormwood and Peganum harmala in the folk medicine of the Israelite community, Rotem, 4, August 1982.
*Making a fire in the field, there is a source: Survival Guide, Ministry of Defense 1987.
*The garlic and the onion - history and folklore, Rotem, September 16, 1985.
The conservation of Abu Hilmi, Salet, Society Protection of Nature, 9/8, May 1981.*
*The date in Jewish medicine - the date, the tree of life, its virtues and uses. Adam vaamalo library, Eretz Israel Museum, 1987. Ropes from plants, there is a source: a survival guide, Ministry of Defense, 1987.*
*Daily life in the village of Anatolia, Turkey. Society Protection of Nature, 1988.
*As material in the hand of the creator, Ceramics in the south Mount Hebron, Derek eretz, Bamahane, 242.
*The honoring of the house on an upright, Broom industry in Samaria villages, Salet, Society Protection of Nature, 3, November 1980.
*This is how soap is made in Nablus. Salet, Society for the Protection of Nature 9/6, February - March 1981.
Lemon grass , Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, March 1990.
Asking for the rain, , Derek eretz, Bamahane, 207.
*Shrubby wormwood, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural and Landscape Monthly, Thursday, MD, 1989.
Medical Melissa, Garden and Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, 4, MD, 1989. 24.
*All about Mandrake. Morsheth Derech, July - August 1986. Medical Sage, Garden and Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, July 1990.
El Mazaya Cave, Nekrot Zurim: Bulletin of the Cave Research Center, December 8, 1989.*
*Three medicinal plants in Jewish folk medicine, Britannica for Youth, Year Book, 1985.
Sweet Bay, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural Monthly, 8-9, MD 1989.
*The milk and its processing methods among the shepherd farmers in Khirbet Susia. The herd and its produce, The Israel News section of the Kibbutz Movement, 1990
Peppermint, Garden and Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, September - October 1990.
First aid from plants, there is a source: a survival guide, Ministry of Defense, 1987.
Some of the perfume plants, spices and medicine in the customs of the Jews of Yemen, Tahuda, Association for the Cultivation of Society and Culture, 1958.
Rue, Garden and Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, April 1990.
Plants growing in saline soil as an important ingredient in the production of soda, Rotem, 7, April 1983.
Enchanting plants and bewitched, Morshet Derech, 15, September - October 1986.
Cynara scolymus, Garden and Landscape: Horticulture and Landscape Monthly, 3-4, 1991.
Rosemary, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural and Landscape Monthly, A-B, MD 1989.
Ocimum basilicum, Garden and Landscape: Gardening Monthly, 12th, MD, 1989.
Medicine and benefit in cultivated plants, Sambucus nigra, Garden and Landscape: Horticulture and Landscape Monthly, January - February, 1990.
The cave dwellers in the villag El Borg, Derech Eretz, Bamahane, 233.*
The reign of thorns, Eretz; Quarterly for the Knowledge of Israel, Volume II, 1988.
The Year of the Arab Fallah in proverbs and sayings, - yearbook of the Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv 1986-7.
Almond, Garden and Landscape: Horticulture and Landscape Monthly, 1, 26, 1991.
The stoneware industry in the days of the Second Temple, Derech Eretz, , 243.
Edible wild plants, Derech Eretz, Bamahane, 164.
Television Programs
- Even Meker - A stone from a wall - program for Tisha Be'av in Jerusalem, 30 minutes - script and guidance.
- Ancient Land - Judea and Samaria, a geographical view, educational television, 30 minutes - script and direction.
- The Mandrake gave smell - spring program for youth, 30 minutes - script and guidance.* Days of wheat harvest - a program for Shavuot, 30 minutes - script and guidance.*
- The Parable of Yotam - a TV show for teenagers, 30 minutes - script and guidance.
- Sukkot in nature - program for youth,30 minutes - script and guidance.* Passover in the desert - Passover program for youth, 30 minutes - script and guidance.*
- Folk medicine versus conventional medicine - The Good Life channel, 36 Chapters - writing, script and directing.
Nissim Krispil Information
Biography
Writer, researcher and anthropologist. Born in Morocco in the small port city of Mogador (Essaouira) on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Birthdate 1947 is approximate for Moroccan Jews who were born at home, not in hospital. Nissim was born into a large family of humble means; his father was a shopkeeper selling matches and candles; his mother was a seamstress.
Between 1950 - 1970 were the years of the great emigration of Moroccan Jews: Families with financial means immigrated to France and Canada, those without immigrated to Israel. The Krispil family immigrated to Israel in 1954. The prevailing migration route at the time was from Morocco to the immigrant camp in Marseille, France, and from there to Israel by ship.
Arriving in Israel, they settled in Migdal Haemek, in a small wooden hut that had to accommodate a family of ten. After early schooling both secular and religious, Nissim studied at the agricultural secondary school "Kfar Hanoar Hadate" in "Kfar Hassedem", where he completed training to become a nature and agriculture teacher.
Nissim enlisted in the army immediately after the Six Day War in 1967 and finished military service with the rank of Captain. In the next years he honed his skills as an educator and trailblazer teaching his lessons directly in nature. This may have been the first field school of its kind in Israel.
These were the first years after the conquest of Judea and Samaria. Nissim was drawn to the landscapes of the Arab villages, their traditional ways of agriculture and material culture. He saw in the Arab peasants the image of his ancient ancestors. There, for Nissim, the descriptions of nature and agriculture depicted by the prophets of the ancient world were brought to life. Deeply inspired, over many years he inspired others, guiding children and adults, tourists and residents, with the aim of fostering their love of nature, and bringing stories of the Bible to life for them. With this intention he made a comprehensive study of the Arab material culture in Judea and Samaria, and interviewed hundreds of informants.
Nissim focused mainly on the wild plants of Israel and their uses among the Arab peasants. His field research continued for close to ten years. He interviewed folk healers who were working in Judea and Samaria at that time. Part of the research was conducted in collaboration with the Volcani Institute, the Department of Medicinal Plants, under the direction of Professor Zohra Yaniv and Professor Dan Flavitz. With respect for the quality of his field research and trainings, his mentors urged Nissim to document his findings in writing. Working by day as a guide at the field school, and writing deep into the night, he completed the first volume of the encyclopedia, Yalkut Hatsmahim - The Bag of Plants, featuring plants named from A to C.
The success of the first volume compelled Nissim to complete a five-volume comprehensive encyclopedia of the wild plants of Israel. Every featured plant includes a botanical description, its place in the ancient sources of Judaism, its place in folk medicine and folklore, and a section dealing with field resources and uses of that plant in field activities.
Yalkut Hatsmahim – The Bag of Plants became known as the go-to encyclopedia of Israel's wild plants, and continues to instruct generations of gatherers who go out into the field to gather wild plants and learn which are edible and/or medicinal.
Over the years Nissim wrote 15 books dealing with the spice and medicinal plants of Israel. Among these are Field Guide to Medicinal Plants, Medicinal plants of Maimonides, Medicinal Plants According to the Organs of the Body. Most recently published is Medicinal Plants of Persia, by Nissim Krispil in collaboration with Gidi Gur.
At the conclusion of his field work, Nissim traveled extensively. In Yemen, he documented the remnants of the Jewish community that survived, staying among the community, learning about their way of life, their work, where the main occupation in the community was goldsmithing and making silver jewelry, among the traditional crafts in which Yemenite Jews made a living.
Nissim devoted ten years of travel and research in Morocco. His study focused on the distribution of Jewish settlement in rural districts, visiting every village Jews had settled, and conducted hundreds of interviews with the village elders who had lived among Jews and remembered them in great detail. The research shed light on the coexistence and interdependence that was in place between Jews and Arabs.
His experiences yielded thousands of photographs throughout the years, including important and rare documentation of synagogues, cemeteries, saints, the worship of saints, and pilgrimages to the graves of saints, as well as the Hiloula ceremony, an annual communal celebration at the tomb of the Jewish saint. Images of the Jewish quarter depict where Jews lived and worked, including the traditional crafts learned over the years by Arab apprentices who worked for Jewish craftsmen. Moroccan Jews made an important economic contribution to the rural and urban population. Trade and traditional crafts were in the hands of Jews. The great emigration of Moroccan Jews that took place between 1950-1970 left a huge void and economic challenge for Moroccan residents. It took the local population many years to recover and stand on their own feet again.
To date, three books by Krispil have been published about his experiences in Morocco: A guide for travelers in Morocco, The Magic of Moroccan Cuisine, and Morocco a Personal Journey -an album of Nissim’s photos throughout his research, combined with the musings he wrote. His written documentation encompasses forty research diaries that form the basis for further books about the worship of saints among Moroccan Jews, synagogues, traditional craftsmen, Jewish settlement in the rural districts and Jewish-Muslim coexistence in the Atlas Mountains.
In Cyprus Nissim began a next chapter of his research among village elders to record and document their knowledge of agriculture, and traditional uses of the wild plants in their region worthy as food, spice, and for use in healing.
Selected Books and Book Chapters
- Yalkut Hatsmahim – The Bag of Plants - the medicinal and useful plants of Israel, an encyclopedia - 5 volumes, Kana - Yaara, Jerusalem, 1982-1989, 1955 pages.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/?search=nissim+krispil&title=Special%3ASearch&ns0=1
- The Complete Guide of Medicinal Plants in Israel and the World, Hed Artzi Or Yehuda, 2000, 271 pages.
- The Taste of Life - Everything About Spices, Maariv Library, Tel Aviv 1996, 232 pages
- Bread from the earth - Parents and children cook from the field, Yaara, Jerusalem 1989, 256 pages.
- *A field guide of Israel medicinal plants, published by the author, Jerusalem, 1985, 265 pages
- Maimonides' Medicinal Plants, Yarid Hasfarim, Jerusalem, 1989, 256 pages.
- Morocco A Traveler's Guide, Yarid Hasfarim , Jerusalem, 1996, 359 pages.*
- Morocco, a personal journey, Yarid Hasfarim, Jerusalem, 1995, 400 pages.*
- Spices - Taste of Nature, Ministry of Defense-Morag, Tel Aviv 2007, 256 pages
- The Magic of the Moroccan Kitchen - with Chef Guy Peretz, Al Hashulhan Publishing house, 2004
- Plants and Healing - Medicinal plants according to body organs - with Yossi Jibri, 2017.
- The Ethno-Botanical Persian Medicine Book on the Silk Road, by Gidi Gur and Nissim Krispil 2023
- Spice stories of Hishtil 2005* The Moss of the Wall, Sefer Ze'ev Vilnai II, Ariel Publishing House, 1987*
News Reports, Podcasts, Interviews, Presentations
Plants and healing - medicinal plants according to body organs
"Bona" the Ethiopian coffee making ceremony
Morocco. the shores of the Western Sahara
Gathering plants with Nissim Krispil
When and how did you start working in the field of medicinal plants?
Collecting plants and folk medicine
Capers in folk medicine Bereshit News Israel
Love for everything the earth brings up Bereshit News Israel
Anxiety in herbal medicine Bereshit News Israel
YouTube Videos
Lighting a fire in the field without matches
Tisha b'Av Destruction of the Temple
Magazine Articles and References
Traditional craftsmen in Mount Hebron. The Israel News section of the Kibbutz Movement, November 1987, 118 pages
*The peasants who dwell in the caves - customs, traditions and ways of life The Israel News section of the Kibbutz Movement,, 1986, 71 pages.
The perfume beds - a garden of spice and perfume plants in Kibbutz Lahav, 1988, 32 pages.*
*Medical lavender, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural and Landscape Monthly, 1989.
*The man of God on Jabel Tarouja, Salet, Society Protection of Nature, 9/4, December 1980.
Beliefs, traditions and legends in the world of the Arab peasants, Moreshet Derech, June 23, 1988.
*Beit Jala - the center of Catholic aspirations in the Land of Israel, a selection of articles in Yidyat Ha'aretz, Ariel, Pesach 2012.
Common Myrtle, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural Monthly, 12th, MD, 1989.
*The snake as a symbol of medicine, Hardon, Bulletin of the Center for Information on Reptiles, Society Protection of Nature, 1984.
The Rue, wormwood and Peganum harmala in the folk medicine of the Israelite community, Rotem, 4, August 1982.
*Making a fire in the field, there is a source: Survival Guide, Ministry of Defense 1987.
*The garlic and the onion - history and folklore, Rotem, September 16, 1985.
The conservation of Abu Hilmi, Salet, Society Protection of Nature, 9/8, May 1981.*
*The date in Jewish medicine - the date, the tree of life, its virtues and uses. Adam vaamalo library, Eretz Israel Museum, 1987. Ropes from plants, there is a source: a survival guide, Ministry of Defense, 1987.*
*Daily life in the village of Anatolia, Turkey. Society Protection of Nature, 1988.
*As material in the hand of the creator, Ceramics in the south Mount Hebron, Derek eretz, Bamahane, 242.
*The honoring of the house on an upright, Broom industry in Samaria villages, Salet, Society Protection of Nature, 3, November 1980.
*This is how soap is made in Nablus. Salet, Society for the Protection of Nature 9/6, February - March 1981.
Lemon grass , Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, March 1990.
Asking for the rain, , Derek eretz, Bamahane, 207.
*Shrubby wormwood, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural and Landscape Monthly, Thursday, MD, 1989.
Medical Melissa, Garden and Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, 4, MD, 1989. 24.
*All about Mandrake. Morsheth Derech, July - August 1986. Medical Sage, Garden and Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, July 1990.
El Mazaya Cave, Nekrot Zurim: Bulletin of the Cave Research Center, December 8, 1989.*
*Three medicinal plants in Jewish folk medicine, Britannica for Youth, Year Book, 1985.
Sweet Bay, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural Monthly, 8-9, MD 1989.
*The milk and its processing methods among the shepherd farmers in Khirbet Susia. The herd and its produce, The Israel News section of the Kibbutz Movement, 1990
Peppermint, Garden and Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, September - October 1990.
First aid from plants, there is a source: a survival guide, Ministry of Defense, 1987.
Some of the perfume plants, spices and medicine in the customs of the Jews of Yemen, Tahuda, Association for the Cultivation of Society and Culture, 1958.
Rue, Garden and Landscape: Gardening and Landscape Monthly, April 1990.
Plants growing in saline soil as an important ingredient in the production of soda, Rotem, 7, April 1983.
Enchanting plants and bewitched, Morshet Derech, 15, September - October 1986.
Cynara scolymus, Garden and Landscape: Horticulture and Landscape Monthly, 3-4, 1991.
Rosemary, Garden and Landscape: Horticultural and Landscape Monthly, A-B, MD 1989.
Ocimum basilicum, Garden and Landscape: Gardening Monthly, 12th, MD, 1989.
Medicine and benefit in cultivated plants, Sambucus nigra, Garden and Landscape: Horticulture and Landscape Monthly, January - February, 1990.
The cave dwellers in the villag El Borg, Derech Eretz, Bamahane, 233.*
The reign of thorns, Eretz; Quarterly for the Knowledge of Israel, Volume II, 1988.
The Year of the Arab Fallah in proverbs and sayings, - yearbook of the Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv 1986-7.
Almond, Garden and Landscape: Horticulture and Landscape Monthly, 1, 26, 1991.
The stoneware industry in the days of the Second Temple, Derech Eretz, , 243.
Edible wild plants, Derech Eretz, Bamahane, 164.
Television Programs
- Even Meker - A stone from a wall - program for Tisha Be'av in Jerusalem, 30 minutes - script and guidance.
- Ancient Land - Judea and Samaria, a geographical view, educational television, 30 minutes - script and direction.
- The Mandrake gave smell - spring program for youth, 30 minutes - script and guidance.* Days of wheat harvest - a program for Shavuot, 30 minutes - script and guidance.*
- The Parable of Yotam - a TV show for teenagers, 30 minutes - script and guidance.
- Sukkot in nature - program for youth,30 minutes - script and guidance.* Passover in the desert - Passover program for youth, 30 minutes - script and guidance.*
- Folk medicine versus conventional medicine - The Good Life channel, 36 Chapters - writing, script and directing.