DOCSLIB.ORG

THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 Is Published Monthly Except July and August by the Agudath Israel of America, 84 William Street, New York, N.Y

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 Is Published Monthly Except July and August by the Agudath Israel of America, 84 William Street, New York, N.Y R THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 is published monthly except July and August by the Agudath Israel of America, 84 William Street, New York, N.Y. 10038. Second class postage 9 paid in New York, N.Y. Subscription $22.00 per year; two years, $36.00; "Klita"-Absorption of Immigrants, 1991 three years, $48.00. Outside of the United States Rabbi Shlomo Coder (US funds drawn on a US bank only) $10.00 surcharge per year. Single copy $3.00; foreign 11 $4.00. Send address changes to The Jewish Response to "A Matter of Life and Death: The RCA's Observer, 84 William Street, N.Y., N.Y. 10038. Tel: (212) 797-9000. Ruling on Organ Transplants" Printed in the U.S.A. A STATEMENT BY AGUDATH ISRAEL OF fu'>!ERICA/LE1TERS FROM RABBI MosHE Dovm TENDLER AND DR. YoEL JAKOBOVlTS/REsPONSE FROM RABBI NISSON WOLPIN, EDffOR CHAIM DOVJD ZWIEBEL EOlTORtAl BOARD DR. ERNST BODENHEIMER Chairman OUTREACH TO THE RUSSIAN JEWRY-AN UPDATE 23 There is a Miracle in Our Hands, Abraham Bidennan RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS JOSEPH FRIEDENSON 25 "Shoroshim" Means Starting at the Roots, RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN Shulamis Halprin MANAGEMENT BOARD NAFTOLI HIRSCH SECOND LoOKS ON THE JEWISH SCENE ISAAC KIRZNER RABBI SHLOMO LESIN 28 And Now, Crown Heights NACHUM STEIN 30 Rabbinical Cooperation-Toward What End? RABBI YOSEF C. GOLDING Business Manager 31 Published by Books in Review Agudath Israel of America SELECTED SPEECHES (RABBI s. ScHWAB)/RAv MosHEH SPEAKS/THE INFORMED SouL/PERMISSION TO BELIEVE/DARWIN ON ThrAL/HUMAN RABBI MOSHE SHERER PflESfDENT INTELLIGENCE GONE APE/ABRABANEL ON PIRKE AvoT /THE BOOK OF THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not PSALMS AND THE BooK OF PROVERBS (WITH THE ALsHICH)/SHABBOS­ assume responsibility for the Kashrus !TS ESSENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE of any product, publication, or service advertised in its pages 34 © Copyright 1991 Letters to the Editor OCTOBER 1991 VOLUME XXIV I NO. 7 37 Poetry - Socks, Joanne Jackson Yelenik Please note: The cover of the Sept. /Tishrei Jewish Obseroer featured a page from the Rosh Hashana Ma.chzor. with G-d's name. The reader is advised to treat the page with the respect that is due all sacred writings. Yonason Rosenblum Kulturkampf in the Holy Land A History of the Struggle For the Soul of New Olim, With a Focus on Youth Aliyah I. THE EXPWSION to secular kibbutzim. Peretz also "shmad (spiritual destruction)" called upon Shamir to ensure that against the children of North Afiican his past June, Israel erupted the kashrus at immigrant absorption immigrants in the 1950's and 1960's. in one of its pertodic spasms centers be placed under the supervi­ "Israel's jails are today filled with T of fury directed at Orthodox sion of local rabbinical authortties, Sephardi boys and girls as a direct leaders. This most recent outburst after having received numerous com­ consequence of the campaign of was trtggered by a television debate plaints about the standard of kashrns shmad in the kibbutzim," Rabbi between Absorption Minister Rabbi at the centers. Peretz charged. Yitzchak Peretz and head of the In his letter, Rabbi Peretz de­ The outpourtng of wrath that fol­ United Kibbutz Movement Muki scrtbed the Ethiopian community as lowed was unprecedented even by the Tsur, on the popular Mabat nightly one deeply rooted in tradition whose standards of Israeli political dis­ news show. The two men were invited fundamental character is the antith­ course. Politicians, in the words of after publication of a letter from esis of the lifestyle of the secular kib­ The Jerusalem Post vied with one an­ Rabbi Peretz to Prime Minister butzim. "It is incumbent upon us to other to participate in the bacchana­ Shamir in which he protested the de­ take care not to repeat the mistakes lia of vilification of Peretz. cision of the Jewish Agency to send of the l 950's whose rueful conse­ Within two days, eight motions of newly-arrtved Ethiopian immigrants quences are all too well-known," no-confidence had been introduced wrote Rabbi Peretz. in the Knesset demanding Rabbi Rabbi Rosenblum, a member of a Kolle! in Jerusa­ lem, is a frequent contrtbutor to these pages, most In the subsequent televised en­ Peretz's ouster. MK Avraham Paraz recently with his tribute to the late Rabbi YisroelZev counter, Rabbi Peretz expanded upon of Shinui decrted Rabbi Peretz's re­ Gustman 7"Yt, in the Sept. '9 I issue. He also seives his letter and descrtbed the kibbutzim marks as "Khomeinism." The Citi­ as an editor for the Art.Scroll Mishnah Series. as having waged a campaign of zens' Rights Movement descrtbed him 4 The Jewish Obseroer. October 1991 as a "racist and extremist even among Jl'l'llil 1lJJJi1 n1~u the ayatollahs" who should be ''vom­ itecl out oflsraeli society." They called 'ltlil D"l11l upon Prune Minister Shamir to throw him bodily down the stairs of the Ab­ sorption Ministry. Labor leader Yitchak Rabin said that Rabbi Peretz "should take his shoes off in respect before he begins to talk about kibbut­ ziin." Nor were the attacks confined to leftist politicians. At least one member of the far-right Techlya party joined a 10,000 person demonstra­ tion against the Absorption Minister. Rabbi Peretz, however, remained unrepentant. In numerous inter­ views over the next few days he ex­ pressed his willingness to have his charges heard by any court of law. Yitzchak Peretz, then a bachur in Yeshivat Hebron, addressing a secret gathering of His T.V. outburst, he told journalists, Sephardi youth assigned to a secular kibbutz, 30 years ago. had been nothing less than a cri de coeur, the outgrowth of more than of a rabbi in Morocco refused to been discussing that at all. ("What thirty years of pent-up agony as a re­ change her clothes, even to bathe, for about the army?" is the typical secu­ sult of his own experiences and those months for fear that her clothes lar Israeli means of cutting off all dia­ of his family after coming to Israel would be stolen from her and she logue and discussion.) from Morocco. He described the life­ would be forced to wear the immod­ Even those who admitted that au­ long pain of his parents, who had est garb of the kibbutz. In the end, thorities in the l 950's had been turned his sister over to Youth Aliyah, her clothes were forcibly removed "over-zealous" in their efforts to extir­ after assurances that she would be from her. "What I saw, I will neither pate the "diaspora mentality" from placed in a religious setting, only to forget nor pardon," said Rabbi Peretz. newcomers, by sending children from have her sent to a non-religious kib­ religious homes into secular educa­ butz. From there she wrote, "Every U. THE FALLOUT tional institutions. did so in passing day I fill buckets with tears that I as if confessing to some sort of social should be taken from this secular bi Peretz was criticized for faux pas with no possible relevance place... and placed in a religious envi­ aving spoken with a lack of for today. ronment; but they don'tlet me... ." ffie civility befitting of an Is­ In truth, there is little that could be In his interviews, Peretz produced raeli government minister. (This in a said in refutation to anything that a 1956 training manual of HaShomer country, The Jerusalem Post wryly Rabbi Peretz said. With respect to the HaTzalr describing the methods to be noted, whose politicians have "for de­ immediate issue of the placement of used in working with Sephardi youth cades shown no compunction about Ethiopian immigrants on secular kib­ to lead them to the recognition "that calling one another psychopaths, butzim, few have any doubts about belief in G-d is a reactionary doctrine, traitors, fascists, and morons.") Oth­ the long-term effects on the commu­ which has no p_lace among man­ ers used his remarks to provide can­ nity of constant exposure to an envi­ kind's progressive fighters." Counsel­ non fodder for pet crusades such as ronment where breaches of halacha ors were guided in how to convince electoral reform, which, they argued, are institutionalized, especially when their charges of the "materialist con­ would remove the pernicious bllght of the children are educated in kibbutz ception of reality which allows no chareidi politicians on the Israeli schools. While it is true that the kib­ place for spiritual forces." body politic. Rather than respond to butzim no longer seem bent on the Peretz also related how as a young Rabbi Peretz's complaints about same overt coercion against religious student in Hebron Yeshiva he had in­ kashrus in absorption centers, Uri practice in which they once engaged, filtrated almost every northern kib­ Gordon, the Jewish Agency's head of that is in large part because they have butz in the early 1960's to talk to chil­ immigrant absorption, urged him to found it is unnecessary- the effect of dren from North Aliica sent there by devote more attention to absorption environment on the young can by it - the Youth Aliyah division of the Jew­ and less to kashrus. In one newspa­ self be left to take its toll. ish Agency. There young children per interview with Rabbi Peretz, at Rabbi Peretz's letter to Prime Min­ told him of their refusal to eat meat least one-third of the questions were ister Shamir was in part written at the after having seen chickens slaugh­ devoted to trying to extract some ac­ urging of Rabbi YosefHadana, the oniy tered in the most barbaric fashion knowledgment from Rabbi Peretz of ordained Ethiopian rabbi.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bioethics, Sustainability, and Religious Thought
    Hillel Gray, Religious ethics, 2010 1 Introduction for the Piedmont Project. Thanks to the Piedmont Project, an undergraduate course in religious bioethics has been modified to address sustainability issues, primarily the ethics of environmental health. The course would give students an opportunity to apply ethical reasoning and comparative analysis to a series of timely topics in medical ethics and environmental health. Accordingly, the religious bioethics syllabus was expanded to cover several aspects of sustainability. Students in the course would learn about the meaning of sustainability, the connections between medical ethics and sustainability, and the reasons and mechanisms for making health care institutions more sustainable. In addition, through the Piedmont workshop and subsequent research, I have been able to appreciate and utilize religious writings on specific sustainability topics. I had originally planned for the syllabus to consider several environmental health (e.g., endocrine-disrupting chemicals) and comparative methodology (e.g., informed consent and environmental right-to-know) topics that are relevant to both medical ethics and sustainability. However, since several topics lack high-quality religious writings to support stand-alone curricular modules, such topics will be covered by lectures and class exercises. Nonetheless, the syllabus has been expanded significantly to cover sustainability at several levels. To exemplify the relationship between medical ethics and sustainability, the course shows how religious thought struggles with both individual health risks and institutional management of environmental health risks. To demonstrate the diversity of religious thinking on sustainability at the global level, the course will also focus on religious thought and programming on climate change. The course will conclude with topics in biomedical technologies (i.e., reproductive technologies and organ transplantation) that have unexplored implications for sustainability.
    [Show full text]
  • OF 17Th 2004 Gender Relationships in Marriage and Out.Pdf (1.542Mb)
    Gender Relationships In Marriage and Out Edited by Rivkah Blau Robert S. Hirt, Series Editor THE MICHAEL SCHARF PUBLICATION TRUST of the YESHIVA UNIVERSITY PRESs New York OF 17 r18 CS2ME draft 8 balancediii iii 9/2/2007 11:28:13 AM THE ORTHODOX FORUM The Orthodox Forum, initially convened by Dr. Norman Lamm, Chancellor of Yeshiva University, meets each year to consider major issues of concern to the Jewish community. Forum participants from throughout the world, including academicians in both Jewish and secular fields, rabbis,rashei yeshivah, Jewish educators, and Jewish communal professionals, gather in conference as a think tank to discuss and critique each other’s original papers, examining different aspects of a central theme. The purpose of the Forum is to create and disseminate a new and vibrant Torah literature addressing the critical issues facing Jewry today. The Orthodox Forum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Joseph J. and Bertha K. Green Memorial Fund at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary established by Morris L. Green, of blessed memory. The Orthodox Forum Series is a project of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University OF 17 r18 CS2ME draft 8 balancedii ii 9/2/2007 11:28:13 AM Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Orthodox Forum (17th : 2004 : New York, NY) Gender relationships in marriage and out / edited by Rivkah Blau. p. cm. – (Orthodox Forum series) ISBN 978-0-88125-971-1 1. Marriage. 2. Marriage – Religious aspects – Judaism. 3. Marriage (Jewish law) 4. Man-woman relationships – Religious aspects – Judaism. I.
    [Show full text]
  • Halacha Defining Death Jewish Medical Ethics: the Brain Death Controversy in Jewish Law by Rabbi Yitzchok A
    החידון המדע הירושלמי Jerusalem Science Contest Part 3, Slides 14 thru 21 Jewish Law Decisions Halacha defining death Jewish Medical Ethics: The Brain Death Controversy in Jewish Law by Rabbi Yitzchok A. Breitowitz, 1996 Rabbi Breitowitz received his Rabbinical Ordination from the Ner Israel Rabbinical College in 1976; B.S. with honors from Johns Hopkins University; J.D (magna cum laude) from Harvard Law School in 1979; and a Doctorate in Talmudic Law from Ner Israel in 1992. He has lectured extensively throughout the US and Israel on medical, business, and family ethics. He has published numerous articles on bankruptcy, commercial law, medical ethics, family law, and halakha.In addition to being the Rabbi of the Woodside Synagogue in SIlver Spring MD, Rabbi Breitowitz is a Professor of Law at the University of Maryland. The issues that need to be decided under Jewish Law. 1. Is irreversible dysfunction of the entire brain a valid criterion of death under Jewish Law? a. If No, then, such a person is alive. b. If Yes, the following issue must be decided: 2. Are the medical tests currently utilized in establishing such a condition valid indicators of its presence under Jewish Law? a. Which Tests? b. Are the tests being utilized in the patient’s facility tests that qualify under Jewish law? Mishnah Oholot 1:6 ָאָדם ֵאינֹו ְמַטֵמא, ַעֶׁדשֵתֵצאַ נְפשֹו. ַוֲאִפּלּוְ מֻגָּיד, ַוֲאִפּלּוֵ גֹוסס. זֹוֵקק ַלִיּבּום ּופֹוֵטִר מןַ הִיּבּום, ַמֲאִכילַ ּבְתָּרּומהֵּופֹוסלַ ּבְתָּרּומה. וְכֵן ְּבֵהָּמהְ וַחָּיה ֵאָּינןְמַטְמִאין, ַעדֶׁ שֵתֵצאַ נְפָּשם. ֻהְתזּוָ רֵאשֶׁיהם, ַאףַ עִּל פיֶׁ שְמַפְרְכִּסים, ְטֵמִּאים, ְכָּגֹון זָּנֶׁב של ְלָּטָּאהֶׁשִהיא ְמַפְרָּכֶׁסת: A person does not defile [as a corpse] until he dies.
    [Show full text]
  • Judaism and Jewish Philosophy 19 Judaism, Jews and Holocaust Theology
    Please see the Cover and Contents in the last pages of this e-Book Online Study Materials on JUDAISM AND JEWISH PHILOSOPHY 19 JUDAISM, JEWS AND HOLOCAUST THEOLOGY JUDAISM Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, based on principles and ethics embodied in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Talmud. According to Jewish tradition, the history of Judaism begins with the Covenant between God and Abraham (ca. 2000 BCE), the patriarch and progenitor of the Jewish people. Judaism is among the oldest religious traditions still in practice today. Jewish history and doctrines have influenced other religions such as Christianity, Islam and the Bahá’í Faith. While Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice, it has always been monotheistic in theology. It differs from many religions in that central authority is not vested in a person or group, but in sacred texts and traditions. Throughout the ages, Judaism has clung to a number of religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and continues to govern it. According to traditional Jewish belief, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Israelites, and revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of the Torah, and the Jewish people are the descendants of the Israelites. The traditional practice of Judaism revolves around study and the observance of God’s laws and commandments as written in the Torah and expounded in the Talmud. With an estimated 14 million adherents in 2006, Judaism is approximately the world’s eleventh-largest religious group.
    [Show full text]
  • ?Esuc Tuv Ifhv Sg Contemporary Criteria for the Declaration of Death
    THE RABBINICAL ASSEMBLY eonsa of the Committee on Jewish Law R and Standads of the Conservative Movement oh 329/yd 370 ?esuc tuv ifhv sg Contemporary Criteria for the Declaration of Death RABBI DANIEL S. NEVINS The following responsum as approved by the CJLS on Septembe 8, 2004 by a ote of twelve in favo, none opposed, with one abstention (12-0-1). Voting in favo ere Rabis Kasel Abelson, Elliot Dorff, Daniel Nevins, Joel Roth, Pamela Barmash, Godon Tucke, Avram Reisne, Israel Francus, Vernon Kurtz, Joseph Prouse, Aaron Mackle and Elie Kaplan Spitz. Abstaining as Rabi Paul Plotkin. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standads of the Rabinical Asemly provides guidance in matters of halakhah fo the Conservative movement. The individual rabi, howeve, is the authority fo the interpretation and application of all matters of halakhah. vkta What is the precise moment of death according to halakha? vcua,¹ I. Introduction :rcug kmf uhnh vns kcvk ost :uvcaj,u aubt±ic uvgs,u ost-vn wv O Lord, what is man that you should care about him, mortal man, that You should think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are a passing shadow (Ps. 44:3–4, JPS translation). A. The Proces of Dying The time of death is perhaps the most mysterious of all human transitions. In halakhic literature, much atten- tion has been focused on the treatment of the person up until the moment of death, and of his/her body and survivors after that point. But when, precisely, does a person die? I am grateful for ecial assistance given to me on this project by my father and teacher, Michael A.
    [Show full text]
  • Preparing for Shemittah: an Interview with Rabbi Shalom Rosner Page 15
    A PUBLICATION OF THE RABBINIC ALUMNI OF THE RABBI ISAAC ELCHANAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY • AN AFFILIATE OF YESHIVA UNIVERSITY CHAVRUSA Volume 49 • Number 1 אין התורה נקנית אלא בחבורה (ברכות סג:) September 2014 • Elul 5774 Remembering Preparing for Shemittah: Rabbi Gershon An Interview with Rabbi Yankelewitz zt”l Shalom Rosner Page 4 Page 15 In This Issue Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Page 3 In Pictures Richard M. Joel Mediation Training for Rabbis, Shavuos with Yeshiva, PRESIDENT, RIETS June Zman Siyum, RIETS Kennes Petichah Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm ROSH HAYESHIVA EMERITUS, RIETS Joel M. Schrieber CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, RIETS Page 4 News Remembering Rabbi Yankelewitz zt”l, Rabbi Moshe D. Tendler ‘48R Receives Honorary Degree from Bar Rabbi Menachem Penner Ilan, Bringing Torah to the Masses, Mussar Initiative at MAX AND MARION GRILL DEAN, RIETS AND UNDERGRADUATE TORAH STUDIES Yeshiva, Rabbi Lau at YU, Conflict Resolution Workshop for Rabbis, and Rabbi Mostofsky ‘03R Joins CRC Rabbi Kenneth Brander VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY LIFE Page 10 Divrei Chizuk Rabbi Zevulun Charlop DEAN EMERITUS, RIETS Recognizing our Kochos SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT ON YESHIVA AFFAIRS Rabbi Moshe Weinberger ‘83R Rabbi Robert S. Hirt Divrei Chizuk VICE PRESIDENT EMERITUS, RIETS Page 13 Transforming our Communities Rabbi Yaakov Glasser Rabbi Yaakov Glasser ‘01R DAVID MITZNER DEAN, CENTER FOR THE JEWISH FUTURE AND UNIVERSITY LIFE Rabbi Chaim Bronstein ADMINISTRATOR, RIETS Page 15 Special Feature Rabbi Adam Berner • Rabbi Binyamin Blau Preparing for Shemittah An Interview with Rabbi Shalom Rosner ‘97R Rabbi Kenneth Hain • Rabbi Elazar Muskin Rabbi Moshe Neiss • Rabbi Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Jews Urged to Become Organ Donors
    The Canadian Jewish News - Jews urged to become organ donors http://www.cjnews.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&i... Jews urged to become organ donors By BARBARA SILVERSTEIN, Special to The CJN Thursday, 02 June 2011 TORONTO — It’s a mitzvah to donate an organ to save a life, says a leading American authority on Jewish medical ethics and Halachah. According to Rabbi Moshe David Tendler, the mitzvah of saving a life supercedes all other commandments, except those against idolatry, murder and adultery. Rabbi Tendler, a senior rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University and a professor in biology – he has a PhD in microbiology – spoke about organ and tissue donation and Halachah May 17 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. His lecture, which drew more than 200 people, was sponsored by the Trillium Gift of Life Network, which facilitates organ donations in Ontario. Rabbi Reuven Bulka, spiritual leader of Congregation Machzikei Hadas in Ottawa and chair of Trillium’s board, led the discussion. Rabbi Tendler is the son-in-law of the late Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a world-renowned halachic authority who was a strong advocate for organ donation. Much of Rabbi Tendler’s lecture was based on the responsa of his late father-in-law, who recognized brain death, or “physiological decapitation,” as the halachic interpretation of death. Rabbi Tendler described “physiological decapitation” as “the complete and irreversible cessation of the functioning of the entire brain.” If the brain is no longer involved in the functioning of vital organs, a person can be considered brain dead. He said the fact the heart can continue to beat with the aid of life support technology doesn’t mean a person is alive.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Bioethics in the Age of Genetics
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2001 Technology and Tradition: Jewish Bioethics in the Age of Genetics Toby Lee Fey University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Fey, Toby Lee, "Technology and Tradition: Jewish Bioethics in the Age of Genetics. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2001. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2056 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Toby Lee Fey entitled "Technology and Tradition: Jewish Bioethics in the Age of Genetics." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Philosophy. Dr. Glenn C. Graber, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Dr. Mary Ann Handel, Dr. Jonathan Kaplan, Dr. Betsy Postow Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Toby Lee Fey entitled “Technology and Tradition: Jewish Bioethics in the Age of Genetics.” I have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • Rachel Levmore RABBINIC RESPONSES in FAVOR of PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS
    Rachel Levmore Rabbinical Court Advocate Rachel Levmore is the Coordinator for Matters of Iggun and Get-Refusal for the Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel and the Jewish Agency. She is one of the authors of the Agree- ment for Mutual Respect. RABBINIC RESPONSES IN FAVOR OF PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS he problem of get-refusal and its dire consequences is well- recognized. Less well-known is the extent of acceptance, amongst T the rabbinical world, of prenuptial agreements designed to pre- vent this phenomenon. The following presentation of a number of rele- vant responsa, dating from the mid-20th century to the present, offers direct access to information and sources which have, to date, been largely concealed from the public eye or ignored. DIVORCE IN THE DIASPORA The idea of drawing up a prenuptial agreement or adding a clause to the ketuba in response to the problem of get-refusal, which had fi rst appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and began to spread during the 1950’s, originally arose in the Diaspora. Most countries maintain a civil registry for marriage and divorce. Hence, a Jewish couple seeking to marry in accordance with halakha and, at the same time, with State recognition, would have a Jewish wedding with huppa and kiddushin, and would also be registered, in accordance with the law, with the appropriate civil insti- tutions. In the event that the couple decided to divorce, the dissolution of the marriage was to follow the same parallel tracks, through both the rab- binical court and the civil courts of their country of residence.
    [Show full text]
  • Definition of Death in Judaism Dr
    THE JOURNAL OF HALACHA Definition of Death in Judaism Dr. 1=red Rosner, M. D. Rabbi Dr. Moshe David Tendler Introduction The modern era of human heart transplantation which began late in 1976 initiated intense debate about the moral, religious and legal issues relating to life and death and especially the definition of death. The traditional definition of death as reflected in Black's Law Dictiotlary is the "total stoppage of the circulation of the blood, and the cessation of the animal and vital functions consequent thereon, such as respiration, pulsation..." With the advent of heart transplantation, this definition of death became inadequate and a new definition of death, so-called brain death, evolved. Brain death is now socially acceptable and legislatively sanctioned throughout most of the civilized world. Dr. Rosner is Director, Department of Medicine, Queens Hospital Center, Affiliation of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center: and Professor of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, State University of New York at Stony Brook. Rabbi Tendler is Professor of Talmud, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary; Professor and Chairman, Department of Biology, Yeshiva College; Professor of Medical Ethics, Yeshiva University; Rabbi, Community Sytlagogue, Monsey, New York. DETERMINING DEATH 15 In a classic 1968 article on brain death,' an Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School recommended four criteria: unreceptivity and unresponsivity, no movements, no reflexes, and a flat electroencephalogram. This paper was reprinted as a "Landmark Article" in 19841 with an accompanying perspective editorial) which states: The Harvard Committee report likely spawned more medicolegal discussion and action than any other publication. Almost every legal entity has had to deal with this new concept of death, and most medical standards for death of the brain originated, with some modifications, from the criteria set forth in this article.
    [Show full text]
  • Stem Cell Research
    Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly YD 336.2002 Stem Cell Research RABBI ELLIOT N. DORFF This paper was approved by the CJLS on March 13, 2002. The answer to question 1 received a vote of fifteen in favor and one abstention (15-0-1). Voting in favor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Ben Zion Bergman, Elliot N. Dorff, Paul Drazen, Robert Fine, Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Susan Grossman, Alan B. Lucas, Daniel Nevins, Paul Plotkin, Joseph Prouser, Mayer Rabinowitz, Avram Israel Reisner, Joel Rembaum, and Gordon Tucker. Abstaining: Rabbi Joel Roth. The answer to question 2 received a vote of fourteen in favor, one against, and one abstention (14-1-1). Voting in favor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Ben Zion Bergman, Elliot N. Dorff, Paul Drazen, Robert Fine, Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Alan B. Lucas, Daniel Nevins, Paul Plotkin, Joseph Prouser, Mayer Rabinowitz, Avram Israel Reisner, Joel Rembaum, and Gordon Tucker. Voting against: Rabbi Susan Grossman. Abstaining: Rabbi Joel Roth. YNWD 1. May embryonic stem cells from frozen embryos originally created for purposes of procreation or embryonic germ cells from aborted fetuses be used for research? 2. May embryonic stem cells from embryos created specifically for research, either by combining donated sperm and eggs in a petri dish or by cloning be used for research? YXD The Current State of the Science of Stem Cells Definitions and Properties What are stem cells, and why are we interested in doing research on them? The following paragraphs that answer those questions are quoted from a document issued in May, 2000 by the Director of the National Institutes of Health entitled “Stem Cells: A Primer”:1 Stem cells are best described in the context of normal human development.
    [Show full text]
  • RJJ Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society
    THE JOURNAL OF HALACHA Definition of Death in Judaism Dr. 1=red Rosner, M. D. Rabbi Dr. Moshe David Tendler Introduction The modern era of human heart transplantation which began late in 1976 initiated intense debate about the moral, religious and legal issues relating to life and death and especially the definition of death. The traditional definition of death as reflected in Black's Law Dictiotlary is the "total stoppage of the circulation of the blood, and the cessation of the animal and vital functions consequent thereon, such as respiration, pulsation..." With the advent of heart transplantation, this definition of death became inadequate and a new definition of death, so-called brain death, evolved. Brain death is now socially acceptable and legislatively sanctioned throughout most of the civilized world. Dr. Rosner is Director, Department of Medicine, Queens Hospital Center, Affiliation of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center: and Professor of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, State University of New York at Stony Brook. Rabbi Tendler is Professor of Talmud, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary; Professor and Chairman, Department of Biology, Yeshiva College; Professor of Medical Ethics, Yeshiva University; Rabbi, Community Sytlagogue, Monsey, New York. DETERMINING DEATH 15 In a classic 1968 article on brain death,' an Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School recommended four criteria: unreceptivity and unresponsivity, no movements, no reflexes, and a flat electroencephalogram. This paper was reprinted as a "Landmark Article" in 19841 with an accompanying perspective editorial) which states: The Harvard Committee report likely spawned more medicolegal discussion and action than any other publication. Almost every legal entity has had to deal with this new concept of death, and most medical standards for death of the brain originated, with some modifications, from the criteria set forth in this article.
    [Show full text]