This past week, students in Heichal HaTorah’s senior medical ethics course attended a full day of sessions at Chemed’s annual Medicine + Ethics Conference at the Stamford Hilton. The students enjoyed hearing lectures from leading figures in the world of medicine, ethics and Halacha, including Harav Hagaon Rav Asher Weiss, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt, Rabbi Dr. Akiva Teitz, Rav Yosef Veiner and numerous physicians, geneticists and ethicists who addressed cutting edge issues in the intersection of medicine and Halacha, with practitioners providing real life examples of how they are addressing these issues through the lens of Torah Halacha and hashkafa. Topics included gene editing, confidentiality in genetic screening, advanced reproductive technology, CRISPR, genetically modified organisms in Halacha and much more.

The Conference brought to life a semester of classes in which students discussed the halachic aspects of these issues with Rabbi Yehuda Willig and the science behind the issues by Heichal’s Chair of Sciences Deniera Goldenberg. After each session at the Conference, the Heichal students met with the lecturer and had an opportunity to discuss issues raised in the semester and also meet the person behind many of those halachic decisions. The students left the Conference energized and excited about being able to see how their classroom studies have real life application in the field.