DOCSLIB.ORG

You Have the Power to Donate Life. Introduction the Inestimable Value of Human Life Is a Cardinal Principle of Jewish Law

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
You Have the Power to Donate Life. Introduction the Inestimable Value of Human Life Is a Cardinal Principle of Jewish Law You have the power to Donate Life. Introduction The inestimable value of human life is a cardinal principle of Jewish Law. This value is expressed through the religious obligation for self-preservation, as well as the duty to save the life of one’s fellow human being, if he or she is in mortal danger. This religious obligation is a mitzvah of such a high order that it takes precedence over virtually all other religious duties with which it may conflict: the sick must eat on Yom Kippur; the injured are treated on the Sabbath; we postpone the circumcision of weakened infants beyond the covenantally mandated eighth day, etc. “You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” — Leviticus 19:16 Be an organ, eye, Since the onset of the modern era of organ transplantation in the and tissue donor. 1950s, leading rabbinic authorities from throughout the religious spectrum have seen in this new technology a new and effective means of fulfilling a divine mandate to save life – an obligation first Joyce Steinlauf, Heart & Lung Recipient expressed in the Torah itself: “You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” Organ donation is a new means to fulfill an ancient, eternal religious duty: a mitzvah of the highest order. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has affirmed this principle in unambiguous terms, and celebrates the leadership and insight of other movements and authorities who have shared “There is no greater honor to the task of educating the Jewish community about this mitzvah: “The preservation of human life is obligatory, not optional. Since the deceased than to bring all conflicting halakhic duties are suspended and human lives healing to the living” are at stake... consent must be granted for post-mortem organ – Rabbi Isaac Klein donation when requested by doctors and hospitals for use in life saving transplantation procedures.... This applies to the individual in anticipation of his or her own death, as well as to health care proxies or next of kin whenever they are legally empowered to make such decisions on behalf of the deceased.... By so doing, he Sign-up now to record your wishes to be or she renders only profound and genuine honor to the deceased.” an organ, eye and tissue donor at: — Synopsis of Teshuvah on Organ Donation, www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org by Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser or in Nevada at: www.nvdonor.org “Anyone who is able to save a life, but fails to do so, violates this mitzvah.” — Maimonides LizBeth Acala The Process LizBeth at two and a half years of 1. Collect information about donation and transplantation. age was placed on the transplant 2. Familiarize yourself with the Jewish obligation to preserve life. waiting list, because of liver fail- 3. Talk to your family about your decision. ure. Then in June of 1999 LizBeth’s parents received the call that a 4. Sign-up either online or at the DMV to record your wish to be an donor match had been found. organ, eye, and tissue donor: www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org LizBeth is now a healthy and ac- 5. Your driver’s license will be imprinted with the pink DONOR tive teenager because of the “gift label and you will be on record as a donor. of life” she received. It is not merely permissible for a Jew to LizBeth’s mom prays and gives “ thanks everyday for the gift of bequeath his organs for transplantation donation, “I thank the donor following his death, it is a mitzvah for family for giving my daughter life and allowing us to see her grow and him to do so, in order to save one life, develop into the beautiful young girl she is today.” or several lives.” — Rabbi David Golinkin, Law Committee Chairman, Rabbinical Assembly of Israel; Dean, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies More Information • The body of an organ and/or tissue donor is always treated with care and respect. • There is no charge to the donor or to his CLJS or her family for donation. The Rabbinical Assembly Committee on Jewish Law and Standards • Organ and tissue donation will not delay has ruled that one is obligated to permit post-mortem transplantation funeral arrangements. of his or her organs in life-saving medical procedures and that • Studies show that organ donation helps to withholding consent for such organ donation is contrary to Jewish shorten the time needed by members of a Law. bereaved family to recover from their loss. In keeping with the Jewish belief that the human body is God’s • The traditional Jewish belief in resurrection in no way precludes organ donation. creation, and is thus to be accorded sanctity even after death, please see that all appropriate steps are taken on my behalf to maintain The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of honor to the deceased. As soon as needed organs or tissues are Conservative rabbis. Since its founding in 1901, the Assembly retrieved in accordance with my instructions, see that the rest of my has been a creative force shaping the ideology, programs, and remains are buried in a Jewish cemetery, in accordance with Jewish practices of the Conservative movement, and is committed to law and custom. building and strengthening the totality of Jewish life. The Assembly publishes learned texts, prayer books, and works of Jewish interest; and it administers the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and The Need Standards for the Conservative movement. A Project of the Rabbinical Assembly and the United • More than 100,000 men, women and children currently await life- Synagogue of Conservative Judaism approved by the saving transplants. Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical • Many thousands more need donated tissues. Assembly • Every 13 minutes a new name is added to the list. • An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant. • The need for donors is much greater than the number of people who donate. The Success www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org • Most organ transplants are very successful, either saving lives or For more information, contact: greatly improving the quality of life for the recipients. California Transplant Donor Network • Many of these recipients have had functioning transplants for over 1000 Broadway, Suite 600 25 years. Oakland, CA 94607-4071 • Success rates continually improve as better methods to control www.ctdn.org rejection are identified Tel: (888) 570-9400 Fax: (510) 444-8501 • Last year, more than 8,000 deceased donors made possible nearly 22,000 life-saving organ transplants. In addition, there were more than 6,000 transplants from living donors..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 22992/RA Indexes
    INDEX of the PROCEEDINGS of THE RABBINICAL ASSEMBLY ❦ INDEX of the PROCEEDINGS of THE RABBINICAL ASSEMBLY ❦ Volumes 1–62 1927–2000 Annette Muffs Botnick Copyright © 2006 by The Rabbinical Assembly ISBN 0-916219-35-6 All rights reserved. No part of the text may be reproduced in any form, nor may any page be photographed and reproduced, without written permission of the publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America Designed by G&H SOHO, Inc. CONTENTS Preface . vii Subject Index . 1 Author Index . 193 Book Reviews . 303 v PREFACE The goal of this cumulative index is two-fold. It is to serve as an historical reference to the conventions of the Rabbinical Assembly and to the statements, thoughts, and dreams of the leaders of the Conser- vative movement. It is also to provide newer members of the Rabbinical Assembly, and all readers, with insights into questions, problems, and situations today that are often reminiscent of or have a basis in the past. The entries are arranged chronologically within each author’s listing. The authors are arranged alphabetically. I’ve tried to incorporate as many individuals who spoke on a subject as possible, as well as included prefaces, content notes, and appendices. Indices generally do not contain page references to these entries, and I readily admit that it isn’t the professional form. However, because these indices are cumulative, I felt that they were, in a sense, an historical set of records of the growth of the Conservative movement through the twentieth century, and that pro- fessional indexers will forgive these lapses.
    [Show full text]
  • Duke University Dissertation Template
    “My Children Have Defeated Me! My Children Have Defeated Me!”: Halakhah and Aggadah in Conservative/Masorti Decision-Making by Laura Ellen Pisoni Department of Religious Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Marc Brettler, Supervisor ___________________________ Laura Lieber ___________________________ Joseph Winters Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate Program in Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 i v ABSTRACT “My Children Have Defeated Me! My Children Have Defeated Me!”: Halakhah and Aggadah in Conservative/Masorti Decision-Making by Laura Ellen Pisoni Department of Religious Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Marc Brettler, Supervisor ___________________________ Laura Lieber ___________________________ Joseph Winters An abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate Program in Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 Copyright by Laura Ellen Pisoni 2017 Abstract Despite the vast research on Jewish law (halakhah), fairly little has been done to analyze the contemporary responsa literature, particularly in the United States and particularly within the Conservative Jewish movement. These responsa can be defined in two ways: by their methodology and by their outcome. In this paper, I begin by reviewing the origins and development of the halakhah and the power of rabbis within this halakhic system. I then describe the Conservative movement and particularly its halakhic outlook—that is, how the Conservative movement has defined its own relationship to Jewish law and how Conservative responsa utilize that body of law. Finally, by examining contemporary Conservative responsa, I introduce a novel approach to analyzing contemporary halakhah.
    [Show full text]
  • The Turning of the Tide: the Kashrut Tale of the Swordfish
    http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?category=52&id=718 The Turning of the Tide: The Kashrut Tale of the Swordfish ARI Z. Z IVOTOFSKY The Turning of the Tide: The Kashrut Tale of the Swordfish The biblical signs to distinguish between kosher and non-kosher fish seem exceedingly straightforward: the presence of fins and scales defines a fish as kosher. Despite this seeming simplicity, there have often been difficulties in classifying certain fish. The swordfish ( Xiphias gladius ) is an example of a fish with an interesting halakhic history. Possibly mentioned as early as the Tosefta , a “fish with a sword ” was permitted in the 17th century and repeatedly thereafter. In the 20th century, the kosher status of the swordfish became the subject of an acrimonious debate between the Orthodox and Conservative rabbinate in the United States, and between American Orthodox rabbis and the Israeli rabbinate. This paper traces that history, presents the arguments of the various players, and endeavors to explain why those who prohibited the swordfish seem to have won. INTRODUCTION Based on the ruling of the renowned Sephardic posek , the Knesset haGedolah , Rabbi Chaim ben Yisrael Benvenisti (1603-73), 1 who permitted “the fish with the sword,” halakhic decisors over three hundred of the last three hundred and fifty * Acknowledgments: The author is immensely indebted to Dr. Bruce B. Collette, of the National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory located in the Smithsonian Institution, for generously sharing his abundant knowledge over the course of many years and in the preparation of this manuscript, Dr. Doni Zivotofsky, DVM, for assistance in this research, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Sentenced to Marriage: Chained Women in Wartime
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Undergraduate Humanities Forum 2006-7: Penn Humanities Forum Undergraduate Travel Research Fellows 4-1-2007 Sentenced to Marriage: Chained Women in Wartime Sarah Gavriella Breger University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2007 Part of the History of Religions of Western Origin Commons Breger, Sarah Gavriella, "Sentenced to Marriage: Chained Women in Wartime" (2007). Undergraduate Humanities Forum 2006-7: Travel. 2. https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2007/2 2006-2007 Penn Humanities Forum on Travel, Undergraduate Mellon Research Fellows. URL: http://humanities.sas.upenn.edu/06-07/uhf_fellows.shtml This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2007/2 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Sentenced to Marriage: Chained Women in Wartime Abstract On September 7, 1971, military chaplain Rabbi Aryeh Lev wrote a long and detailed letter to renowned Reform Rabbi Solomon Freehof describing the break-up of the Committee on Responsa (COR) of the Jewish Welfare Board. He explained how mainstream rabbinical organizations had slowly abandoned, and finally dissolved the Committee which had been on the decline since the end of World War II. During its golden years, between 1942 and 1945, the Committee on Responsa achieved something remarkable: all three major denominations in Judaism - Conservative, Orthodox, and Reform - worked together to make Jewish legal or halakhic decisions for servicemen in the American military. Today, fractious fighting between Jewish religious denominations makes it difficulto t fathom how such a committee could have existed. Disciplines History of Religions of Western Origin Comments 2006-2007 Penn Humanities Forum on Travel, Undergraduate Mellon Research Fellows.
    [Show full text]
  • Revalidate Conservative Halacha Howard Morrison
    from you—and maybe even the authority that says, Revalidate conservative halacha "Yoreh, yoreh, yadin, yadin" (the ordination for- Howard Morrison mula). Then, where will you be? So blinding is the lust for rabbinic power that it necessarily closes I was surprised that Sh 'ma's recent symposium the mind and heart to the needs of our women and (15/295) on women's ordination and hiyyuv (legal the future of our Jewish people. obligation) did not include perspectives from male rabbinical students at J. T. S., particularly from There's a need out there for Jewish women to use those who initially had opposed the ordination of their God-given brains, spirituality, and human re- women as rabbis. Since the Conservative Move- [ lations skills (where are yours?) in service to their ment is committed to pluralism, I think it incum- 1 synagogue and public Jewish community. For a bent that other views be represented here. .< growing number of women, the private world of home and hearth is too narrow to meet this need. The question of whether or not to ordain women | was never the crux of the matter for me. The ) "Do not separate yourself from the public," we halachic treatment of issues, namely, the process are told. So, where does women's forced separa- of legal development, was. The only halachic tion from the public come in? How tragic and responsum which advocated women's ordination : wasteful for rabbis—in dogmatic bursts of hostility that was considered seriously by the Seminary's 1 —to deny individual women their right to exercise administration, was that of Rabbi Joel Roth, who j leadership in their own prayer groups (they're not suggested that women could voluntarily accept hiy- t messing around with yours); to deny our Jewish yuv and thus carry out all rabbinic functions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jewish Tradition
    The Jewish Tradition Religious Beliefs and Healthcare Decisions By Elliot N. Dorff he Jewish tradition traces its roots to Abraham. TThe patriarchal stories of the Bible reflect the migration of the ancient Hebrews from Mesopotamia to Canaan and from there to Egypt. Jewish history continues with the Exodus from Egypt; the Sinai event; the gradual conquest of Canaan during the period of Joshua, the Judges, and the Kings; the Contents building of the First Temple and, with it, the first The Individual and the 6 Jewish commonwealth under Solomon; the splitting Patient-Caregiver Relationship of the Jewish commonwealth into northern and southern kingdoms around the year 930 B.C.E.; the Family, Sexuality, and Procreation 8 defeat of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians in Genetics 15 722 B.C.E.; and the conquest and exile of the Jews of Organ and Tissue Transplantation 17 the southern kingdom by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E., and, with that, the destruction of the First Mental Health 19 Temple and the first Jewish commonwealth. All of Medical Experimentation 20 these events are familiar from their biblical accounts. and Research Jews established a strong community in Babylonia Death and Dying 21 (modern-day Iraq) that continued to exist for another fifteen hundred years under the Persians and then the Special Concerns 26 Muslims. A number of Jews returned to rebuild the temple in 516 B.C.E., and with their return the second Jewish commonwealth was born. It continued to exist in Israel through Greek and Roman conquest until 70 C.E., when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconstructionism and Conservative Judaism
    Reconstructionism and ConservativeJudaism SIDNEY H. SCHWARZ STUDENTS OF AMERICAN JUDAISM NOW RECOG­ nize that we must speak of the four movements comprising our religious community - Orthodoxy, Conservatism, Reform and Reconstruction­ ism. Although much smaller than the other three movements and, undoubtedly, the most recent addition to the ranks, Reconstructionism clearly features all of the components of a religious denomination with a seminary, rabbinical organization and a congregational union. The ideology of Reconstructionism was distinctive lor;tg before it emerged as a separate movement. The question is: when did the ideology shaped by Mordecai Kaplan give birth to a new denomination in Ameri­ can Jewish life. Because Kaplan himself resisted the creation of a new movement for so long there has been confusion about the answer. Yet, an historical look at the Conservative movement, within which Kaplan and the Reconstructionists functioned, shows clearly how the split became ----------- inevitable despite Kaplan's desire to bring about greater, not lesser, unity in American Jewish life. Many events have been pointed to as marking the "beginning" of Reconstructionism. The terms and content of the ideology were first pre­ sented by Kaplan in 1920 in an article in the MenorahJournal entitled, "A Program for the Reconstruction of Judaism."l The first institutional development was the creation, in 1922, of the Society for the Advance­ ment ofJudaism (SAJ) after Kaplan's naturalist views proved too hetero­ dox for the Orthodox pulpit that he served, the Jewish Center. In 1934, there appeared Kaplan's magnum opus, Judaism as a Civilization, which fully detailed Reconstructionist ideology and a year later he launched the Reconstructionist magazine to advance his ideas even further.
    [Show full text]
  • A Second Wedding Ceremony by Rabbi Elliot N
    EH 62:10.2021γ A Second Wedding Ceremony By Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff This responsum was approved by the CJLS on June 30, 2021 by a vote of nine in favor, six opposed and three abstaining (9-6-3). Members voting in favor: Rabbis Jaymee Alpert, Nate Crane, Elliot Dorff, David Fine, Barry Leff, Micah Peltz, Tracee Rosen, Robert Scheinberg, Mordecai Schwartz. Members voting against: Rabbis Pamela Barmash, Amy Levin, Daniel Nevins, Avram Reisner, Deborah Silver, Ariel Stofenmacher. Members abstaining: Rabbis Suzanne Brody, Susan Grossman, Jan Caryl Kaufman. Question: A Jewish couple has been married in a full, traditional ceremony but in the presence of only a small gathering due to the current COVID-19 pandemic or for some other reason (e.g., a parent, grandparent, or some other family member is dying, and they want that person to see the couple married). Later, when the pandemic has ceased and large gatherings are again safe, or when the reason for the first ceremony has passed and they now want to celebrate their wedding in the presence of their extended family and friends, may they use the traditional wedding ceremony again?1 Answer: The questioners in this case (I have been asked this question by three rabbis to date) are asking specifically about the situation in which a rabbi officiated at a wedding ceremony for a man and a woman using the full traditional Jewish wedding ceremony the first time and now the same rabbi and couple want to do so again for the second ceremony that they are planning so that they can celebrate the couple’s wedding in the presence of their extended family and friends who could not be invited to the first ceremony, either because of the COVID-19 pandemic or because of a family reason.
    [Show full text]
  • Preparation and Serving of Food on Shabbat in the Synagogue RABBI MAYER RABINOWITZ
    Preparation and Serving of Food on Shabbat in the Synagogue RABBI MAYER RABINOWITZ This paper was adopted as a Minority Opinion on November 4, 1981 by a vote of 3 in favor, 6 opposed and 7 abstentions. Members voting in favor: Rabbis DavidM. Feldman, Mayer E. Rabinowitz and Joel Roth. Members voting in opposition: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Edward M. Gershfield, David Graubart, David H. Lincoln, David Novak and Henry A. Sosland. Members abstaining: Rabbis Jacob Agus, Ben Zion Bokser, Robert Gordis, Salamon Faber, Wolfe Kelman, Morris M. Shapiro and Harry Z. Sky. Note: "Preparing and Serving Food on Shabbat," a paper by Rabbi Kassel Abelson, was adopted as the Majority Opinion on November 4, 1981 by a vote of6-3-7. It appears preceding this paper. Many questions have been directed to the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards concerning the preparation and serving of food on Shabbat in the synagogue, the physical preparations necessary for catered affairs that take place on motzei Shabbat, what caterers may or may not do for affairs on Shabbat and motzei Shabbat, the hiring of non-Jews to work on Shabbat, etc. This paper will not attempt to be a comprehensive treatment of Shabbat observances in the synagogue or for that matter at home. It will try to deal with some of the specific questions raised concerning the above issues. General principles and values concerning these questions will be discussed. However, the purpose of the paper is not to give a series of specific answers, but rather an overall approach to the problem. In its celebrated
    [Show full text]
  • Judaism Volume 52 • Number 1 • Fall 1999
    CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM VOLUME 52 • NUMBER 1 • FALL 1999 A Publication of the Rabbinical Assembly Seymour L. Essrog, President and the Jewish Theological Seminary Ismar Schorsch, Chancellor EDITORIAL BOARD Benjamin Edidin Scolnic Martin S. Cohen Chairman Chairman, Publications Committee 1 Bradley Shavit Anson Amy Gottlieb Henry Balser Managing Editor Debra S. Cantor Bernard Glassman Nina Beth Cardin Editorial Consultant David G. Dalin Shamai Kanter Stephen C. Lerner Michael Panitz PAST EDITORS Charles Simon Leon S. Lang '"T, 1945-1952 Jack Wertheimer Samuel H. Dresner, 1955-1964 Jack Riemer, 1964--1965 Bernard Glassman S. Gershon Levi '"T, 1965-1969 Book Review Editor Mordecai Waxman, 1969-1974 Stephen C. Lerner, 1974-1977 Howard Addison Myron Fenster, 1977-1979 . Samuel H. Dresner Arthur A. Chiel , .. T, 1979-1980 Elliot B. Gertel Harold S. Kushner, 1980-1984 ·· ,,, · ,·~:·:.' LaWrence Troster David Wolf Silverman, 1984-1989 . ·· . Ca~tribu#ng Editors Shamai Kanter, 1989-1993 ONOURCOVER ·concerning the ransom ofJewish captives, with Maimonides signa­ fhigment). sionally tc contributi being gre: which unJ to realize movemen Celebrating l 00 Years of celebratioJ so as an rn the Rabbinical Assen1bly It is ve total impa debate an• picture frc formal his our upco1 four volu binate, ou Introduction RA collea The rabbis had all arrived in New York, at the Chancellor's invitation to binate. W receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree, each having served the Jewish From the1 community for 25 years or more. The chill of the raw November day was dis­ issue ofV sipated rapidly by the warmth of the gathering as colleagues and friends enter the greeted one another and renewed acquaintances after long periods of separa­ memones tion.
    [Show full text]
  • Conclusion by Rabbi Patricia Fenton
    The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Walking with History Edited By Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson and Rabbi Patricia Fenton In Memory of Harold Held and Louise Held, of blessed memory The Held Foundation Melissa Held Bordy Joseph and Lacine Held Robert and Lisa Held Published in partnership with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs and the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. UNIT 10: CONCLUSION RAbbI PATRICIA FENTON The metaphor “walking with” is well-suited to the theme of history, since history is all about our journey from the past to the future. On this journey we may know what has gone before us but we never know with certainty what lies on the road ahead. History is simultaneously about our link to the past and our difference from the past. It is about continuity and change. What happened in the past is neither irrelevant nor the whole story. If we don’t know where we come from, we don’t understand the present and how it came about. And while the present rises out of the past, it is never a copy of the past. As the Reconstructionist aphorism says: “the past has a vote but not a veto” on the present. Studying any subject in a historical way means that we believe that chronology is important. But, as Rabbi Artson pointed out in his Introduction, putting events in order is only one of many ways to learn about our history and to frame our thinking about how it affects us today.
    [Show full text]
  • Canon Jewish Literacy
    CANON OF JEWISH LITERACY Guide for the Thoughtful Jewish Leader Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE American Jewish Committee The Jacob Blaustein Building 165 East 56 Street New York, NY 10022 The American Jewish Committee publishes in these areas: • Hatred and Anti-Semitism • Pluralism • Israel • American Jewish Life • International Jewish Life • Human Rights www.ajc.org August 2005 $5.00 The American Jewish Committee protects the rights and freedoms of Jews the world over; combats bigotry and anti-Semitism and promotes human rights for all; works for the security of Israel and deepened understanding between Americans and Israelis; advocates public policy positions rooted in American democratic values and the perspectives of the Jewish heritage; and enhances the creative vitality of the Jewish people. Founded in 1906, it is the pioneer human-relations agency in the United States. CANON OF JEWISH LITERACY Guide for the Thoughtful Jewish Leader Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson (http://www.bradartson.com) is the dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and vice president of the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, where he teaches Ancient and Medieval Jewish Philosophy, as well as Senior Homiletics. He is a doctoral candidate in Constructive Theology at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Reli- gion. He is the author of six books and a weekly email commen- tary on the Torah portion that goes to almost 12,000 subscribers; his book on leadership, The Gift of Soul, is scheduled for release this spring. Rabbi Artson served as a congregational rabbi in Southern California for ten years.
    [Show full text]