And you shall surely heal = [Ṿe-rapo yerape] • Vol 4

Abstract

There are many contemporary questions that will require expertise in both medicine and halakhah during the years ahead. As new technologies and treatments develop, and new opportunities and challenges emerge in a multiplicity of medical fields, from the use of stem-cells and the practice of freezing embryos, to the parameters of genetic engineering, it is crucial chat we develop our resources and talents to approach each issue thoroughly and sensitively from the standpoint of Jewish law and ethics. __Navigating the sources is not always an easy endeavor. To cite a case in point, with respect co end-of-life care, there is a fundamental tension captured by the Talmudic sources between the notion of prolonging life even for the most minute moment (Yoma 85a) and the notion of praying for "the celestial forces to vanquish the earthly forces" (Kecubot 104a) in order to enable a person to pass tranquilly from this world when physical life in this universe is no longer bearable. __Many rabbinic authorities grapple with these tensions and often resolve them in different ways, with important ramifications. It is the goal of those who have produced the present volume and the other volumes in this series to explore and elucidate these sources for the benefit of scholars, professionals and laypeople alike. (From Forward, Dean RIETS) ------ The vision of Torah U'Madda, while an ideal of human behavior, is rarely realized. The conventional approach of religious and secular curricula presented sequentially in most yeshivot perpetuates the duality of these philosophies rather than their intertwined essence. The mere face chat science, business and the humanities are taught by faculty attempting co bring the messages ofu niversalism to their subject matter by definition excludes a Torah based perspective. Similarly, the classic literature of the Tanach, Mishnah and Talmud are taught diligently in a milieu of historical classicism that rarely engages modernity. There are, of course, noteworthy exceptions which must be lauded. The field of Jewish medical ethics and law is one of these notable areas. Here is where the interplay of genetics, cloning, organ transplantation and medical economics with Gemara, Shulhan Arukh and teshuvot flowers. A steady crop of books from distinguished Rabbis is published regularly, but these are the works of true world class experts. (from Forward, Dean AECOM)