by Joel Rich
Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody-Halakha, Public Policy, and End-of-Life Dilemmas
Rabbi Dr. Yakov Yellin-A Code of Conduct for Business Consistent with Jewish Law and Tradition
Rabbi Yosie Levine-Rabbi Yosef Karo and the Making of the Shulhan Arukh
Dr. Daniel J. Lasker-How To Be A Jewish Philosopher
Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody-Halakha, Public Policy, and End-of-Life Dilemmas
https://torahinmotion.org/access-to-free-content?originaldest=/node/1001146
Part 1
What is our responsibility to the general community? Technically our concern are the 7 mitzvot but more generally what goes around comes around.
Religious liberty and abortion are examples where we need to carefully think about what we bring to the public sphere.
https://torahinmotion.org/access-to-free-content?originaldest=/node/1001146
Part 2
Examples where Judaism has values in addition to the sanctity of life. Perhaps some authorities’ extreme focus on sanctity of life is a reaction to the surrounding society’s lack thereof.
https://torahinmotion.org/tim-torah/halakha-public-policy-and-end-of-life-dilemmas-part-3
Part 3
The shulchan aruch gives examples of permitted and prohibited EOL interventions (eg removing salt from tongue), but it’s very difficult to extrapolate general rules for these cases for today’s medical knowledge/technology.
https://torahinmotion.org/tim-torah/halakha-public-policy-and-end-of-life-dilemmas-part-4
Part 4
Euthanasia/associated suicide is becoming more popular, perhaps as a result of autonomy becoming more of a core value (of Western liberal society?). Canada is continuing to ease its eligibility requirements. What are the limits on Jewish professional’s participation? When might halacha allow it? (double effect situations?)
Part 5
Posthumous organ donation depends on using brain death as the halachic definition of death. R Brody explains the objections to this definition and why he supports usage of this criteria.
Rabbi Dr. Yakov Yellin-A Code of Conduct for Business Consistent with Jewish Law and Tradition
Is halacha a floor and ethics a ceiling? Is halacha objective for the group and ethics subjective to the individual? How does an emphasis on rights vs obligations play in to the discussion?
Part 2
Examples of ethics beyond halacha: mchusar emuna, ein daat chachamim nocheh, mishepara, chassidim rishonim, darkei shalom/noam, midat sdom, midat chassidut, tikkun olam, taarumot and imitato dei.
Part 3
Focus on hakarat hatov and lfnim mshurat hadin as ethical standards. Chazal generally viewed economic activity as a positive. In this context they balanced employer and employee priorities.
Rabbi Yosie Levine-Rabbi Yosef Karo and the Making of the Shulhan Arukh
(Part 1)
Biography of R Yosef Karo (not a lot of contemporaneous evidence) prodigious output included magid meisharim (kabala was in the air in tzfat), kesef mishneh and responsa but the bet yosef was his magnum opus. Includes a summary of the introduction and approach and illustrative examples.
https://torahinmotion.org/tim-torah/rabbi-yosef-karo-and-the-making-of-the-shulhan-arukh-part-2
Part 2
What were R Y Karo’s goals in writing the shulacn aruch? One was to write a sefer of simple psak. His inclusion of kabala and ashkenazic sources may have been part of his effort to gain acceptance throughout the Jewish world.
Part 3
Biography of the Rama and his goal (mid-course correction from writing a complete sefer psak) of annotating R Y Karo to reflect ashkanaz (TBD) poskim, minhag and later authorities.
https://torahinmotion.org/tim-torah/rabbi-yosef-karo-and-the-making-of-the-shulhan-arukh-part-4
Part 4
Wy was the S”A accepted? (me-a combination of) hashgaha pratit, printing press invention, the Rama’s glosses, rabbinical acceptance and the quality of the work.
Dr. Daniel J. Lasker-How To Be A Jewish Philosopher
Part 1
Religious philosophy is about cohering revelation and reason. Christians and Moslems were in it early on (me-interesting – perhaps we only responded to a perceived threat from the outside but didn’t really see an intrinsic need?) R Sadya took revelation as a given and used reason to prove it. R Yehuda Halevi wrote the kuzari to prove us right. The Rambam wrote the moreh to show full correspondence between Aristotle (reason) and Jewish tradition.
https://torahinmotion.org/tim-torah/how-to-be-a-jewish-philosopher-part-2
Part 2
There are some classical proofs of HKBH’s existence, however philosophers must deal with how can something rise from nothing and how can HKBH “change” if he is perfect?
https://torahinmotion.org/tim-torah/how-to-be-a-jewish-philosopher-part-3
(Part 3)
How do we deal with questions regarding revelation? Why would it be needed by God? How can an communicate with us? R Y Halevi’s philosophy was that HKBH chose the Jews and thus we are qualitatively different (Shiites believed this about their Imams).
The Rambam believed Avraham chose HKBH and there was no inherent, existential element to our closeness. Implications for prophecy, sacrifices, language and converts all flow from these differences.
https://torahinmotion.org/tim-torah/how-to-be-a-jewish-philosopher-part-4
Part 4
How did Jewish philosophers deal with theodicy and free will? We see how Jewish philosophers paralleled the prevailing philosophies around them!
