Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler, professor of Jewish medical ethics, professor of biology, and rosh yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, will give a medical ethics shiur via Zoom on Sunday morning, November 22, at 10 a.m. The title of the program, which is sponsored by Congregation Agudath Sholom of Stamford, is “Two Patients, One Respirator—Are Some Lives More Equal Than Others?”
Rabbi Moshe Kurtz, the assistant rabbi of Congregation Agudath Sholom and a student of Rabbi Tendler when he attended Yeshiva University, said: “We are indeed privileged to be able to host Rabbi Dr. Tendler for an important shiur on a very challenging topic. He is the leading expert on medical ethics as it pertains to Jewish law.”
Rabbi Tendler is the author of “Practical Medical Halacha,” a textbook of Jewish responsa to medical issues, and “Pardes Rimonim,” a book about the laws of taharat mishpacha. Rabbi Tendler has been one of the most vocal supporters of Jewish organ donation and a strong advocate for brain-death criteria to be adopted as an acceptable definition of death under Jewish law. He has written extensively on euthanasia, infertility, end-of-life issues and circumcision.
In addition to his position at Yeshiva University, he also is the spiritual leader of the Community Synagogue in Monsey and chairs the bioethical commission of the Rabbinical Council of America and the Medical Ethics Task Force of UJA-Federation of Greater New York.
“Rav Tendler is a close rebbe of mine,” said Rabbi Kurtz. “I have had the privilege of studying many of the critical responsa of Rav Moshe Feinstein with Rav Tendler one-on-one. In addition to Rav Tendler’s unparalleled expertise in Jewish medical ethics, we look forward to hearing some of the behind-the-scenes deliberations that he had with his father-in-law, Rav Moshe Feinstein.”
To obtain the Zoom ID for the shiur, please visit the Agudath Sholom website at www.cas-stamford.org.
By Michael Feldstein