Medical Issues and Halacha

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  1. From minor ailments to major medical crises: Dealing with unexpected health situations on Shabbos can be challenging.

    Through his Hebrew-language halachah sefarim, Rabbi Avrohom Yaged has earned a stellar reputation for clarifying complex halachah topics in an easy and understandable way. Rabbi Yaged is a dynamic rav who has become the address for many modern-day questions.

    Now, for the English-speaking public, Rabbi Yaged brings us Refuah on Shabbos, which includes both the general principles of healing on Shabbos and the halachos of how to deal with specific medical situations.

    In writing the sefer, Rabbi Yaged worked closely with Harav Yaakov E. Forchheimer, the senior halachic authority of Beis Medrash Govoha, who reviewed all the halachos, and whose piskei halachah appear throughout the sefer.

    What is considered a life-threatening situation? How high does fever have to be to pose a danger to life? What if a child needs stitches? What about painkillers or medicines? May an allergic person carry an Epi-pen? What are the halachos of going to the hospital on Shabbos to give birth?

    Refuah on Shabbos discusses these and so many other halachos, offering clear guidelines to help navigate this complex and vital subject.

    Refuah on Shabbos includes a comprehensive index to ensure easy access to the relevant halachos, as well as detailed sources for those looking for a deeper understanding of the topic. Refuah on Shabbos is an essential "halachic first aid manual" a practical guide that should - yes, that must -- be on the bookshelf of every Jewish home. Learn More

  2. The discussions begin with “What are the parameters of the obligation to guard health?” but don’t end there. This incredible work — the fruit of years of specialization in medical halachah by Rabbi Micha Cohn — covers a wide range of topics, such as preserving health and safety, mental health, technology, genetics, end-of-life issues, and much more.

    In his encyclopedic and engaging style, Rabbi Cohn finds sources, parallels, and examples from the length and breadth of Jewish life and scholarship to illustrate contemporary questions and issues. Though extremely practical, Healing in Halachah is not a common guide to medical halachah; it is a unique, thought-provoking overview and appreciation of these complex issues. Of great interest to patients, caregivers, and medical professionals, this valuable work is an indispensable resource to all those fascinated with Torah guidance in the realms of medicine and mental health.

    “The purpose of this work is to open the eyes of the reader…and give direction as to when and how to present questions to a halachic authority.”

    Rabbi Reuven Feinstein, Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva of Staten Island

    “Truly an amazing work!”

    Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Rav, Bais Medrash Gevul Yaavetz

    “This is an important work, written with great depth, especially [regarding] end of life according to halachah.”

    Rabbi Noach Issac Oelbaum, Rav, Kahal Nachlas Yitzchok

    Rabbi Micha Cohn is the rav of Bais Medrash Kol Yaakov of Oakley Hills in Jackson, New Jersey, a maggid shiur at the Mesivta of Long Beach, and a posek for Kof-K Kashrus Supervision. Rabbi Cohn has a longstanding interest in halachah relating to medicine and mental health. As a close talmid of Rav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l, he had the opportunity to discuss many intricate questions in medical halachah with the rosh yeshiva. In 2012, Rabbi Cohn started a medical halachah email for medical and mental health providers. In 2016, the emails were adapted into Healing in Halachah, volume 1, and was published by Mosaica Press. This is the second volume in this series. Learn More

  3. Written by experts in the field, this journal is an exploration of the intersection of halachah, medical ethics, and contemporary medical issues, and offers insights into the application of halachic principles to complex medical situations.

    Foreword

    Alan Kadish, MD

    Editor’s Preface

    Edward Lebovics, MD

    Risk Assessment in Halachah

    Rabbi Mayer Twersky

    Management of Profound Multi-Organ Failure

    Rabbi Prof. Avraham Steinberg, MD

    Allocation of Scarce Resources

    Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz

    Adult ECMO and Mechanical Circulatory Support

    Jonah (Yonah) Rubin, MD; Rabbi Dr. Jason Wiener, BCC

    Halachah’s View of the Requirement to Follow the Established Standard of Care

    Rabbi Moshe Rotberg

    Medical Uncertainty in Halachah

    Rabbi Boruch Fogel

    COVID-19 Vaccines: Clinical Trials

    Rabbi Dr. Zvi Loewy

    Bikkur Cholim and the Contagious Patient

    Rabbi Ephraim Glatt, Esq.; Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD

    The Role of Medical Expertise and Rabbanim in the Pandemic

    Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky

    Confronting the Pandemic in the Community

    Rabbi Mordechai Willig

    Dishonest Acquisition of Potentially Life-Saving Care

    Rabbi Yossi Sprung; Judah Eisenman

    Vaccinating Adults and Children against COVID-19 in Israel and the US

    Zvi Ryzman

    Vaccine Hesitancy in the Orthodox Jewish Community

    Sarah H.D. Becker, MD


    Othering the Jews during the Calamitous Black Death of the 14th Century and the COVID-19 Pandemic of the 21st Century

    Margot Lurie; Edward C. Halperin, MD, MA Learn More

  4. Join Rabbi Yosef Sprung as he explores contemporary medical halachic topics through essays connected to the weekly Parshah. Ranging from medical emergencies on Shabbos to assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy to autopsies and end-of-life issues, these fascinating discussions, written in a user-friendly style, are sure to captivate every reader, from layperson to physician.

    For almost two decades, Rabbi Sprung has served as the senior halachic assistant and Rosh Beis Medrash for HaGaon Rav Asher Weiss shlit”a . He is also the founder of the Beis Medrash Govoha for Medical Halacha in conjunction with the Technion American Medical School in Israel.

    “The author is extremely knowledgeable about these topics, and indeed, the essays are clear and enlightening... I am certain that many will benefit and gain from this sefer.”

    HaGaon Rav Asher Weiss shlit”a Learn More

  5. With his mastery of halachah, leadership, and open heart and door to every Jew who needs him, Rav Asher Weiss, shlita, has quickly become known as one of the leaders of our generation.

    In this compendium of Rav Weiss’s maamarim and teshuvos, numerous medical halachic issues are addressed.

    Some of the topics included are:

    The obligation of proper hygiene and of preventative measures

    Relying on scientific and medical knowledge in halachah

    Appropriate conduct during an epidemic

    Endangering oneself to provide aid to one whose life is not in jeopardy

    Volunteering for experimental treatment

    The degree of liability for someone who infected others

    Cremation versus donation of a body for scientific research

    Allocation of tzedakah funds between yeshivos and hospitals

    HaGaon HaRav Asher Weiss, shlita, is a towering Torah giant and one of the world’s leading Torah sages and orators. Rav Weiss possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of Jewish law and is known for his eloquence, insight, and clarity. His lectures are broadcast throughout Israel and across the globe to tens of thousands, and he speaks to all types of Jews. One of the world’s leading authorities in the area of medical halachah, he is contacted regularly by rabbis and Torah scholars from around the world, spanning the full spectrum of Jewish life, for his rulings and advice in all areas of Jewish law. Learn More

  6. Navigating The Halachic Challenges For Patients, Family Members, And Visitors

    HALACHOS FOR THE HOSPITAL

    No one wants to be confined to a hospital on Shabbos, and the stress of illness should not be exacerbated by confusion regarding halachic observance. This sefer takes the patient, family member, and visitor by the hand and helps them navigate these challenges with clarity at every level.

    How does one deal with automatic lights when entering a restroom or hospital stairwell?

    How may one light Shabbos candles in a hospital room, where fire is absolutely prohibited?

    What are the problematic issues with kosher food being left unattended in a hospital refrigerator or microwave?

    If one is released on Shabbos, how is he or she permitted to travel home?

    AND RECOVERY

    There are numerous halachic issues for those who are recovering from illnesses or have other medical conditions.

    Who may eat or take medications on a fast day?

    When should a pregnant woman break her fast on Yom Kippur?

    What types of non-kosher or chometz medications (on Pesach) rnay be taken?

    May one walk in the street on Shabbos (out of the eruv) wearing reading glasses or a hearing aid, or with crutches or an insulin pump?

    What is one's obligation to recite hagomel after an operation?

    Extensively sourced, this sefer simplifies, clarifies, and provides the answers to these and a myriad of other halachic quandaries for the layman and scholar alike. Learn More

  7. In this fascinating book, Rabbi Zvi Ryzman of Los Angeles deals with a fascinating array of modern halachic dilemmas – and deals with them in a fascinating way. In response to Covid-19, what is the status of backyard minyanim? Before long, artificial meat made from stem cells will be on the market – what is its kashrus status? May one desecrate Shabbos to save property from looters? May one daven from a cell phone?

    Rabbi Ryzman discusses these and many other relevant questions by marshaling a dazzling array of halachic sources, from Talmudic, halachic and contemporary sources. Brilliantly – often surprisingly – he shows how classic sources apply to today’s situations. He weaves them all together in tapestry that is engrossing and extraordinary. The depth and quality of the reader’s understanding of the halachic process will be astoundingly improved.

    This book is unique and its author is a marvel.

    Zvi Ryzman insists that he not be called a rabbi, although he is in the top rank of Torah scholars. He calls himself an ish asakim, a businessman. Indeed, he is the embodiment of the Rabbinic teaching that one should combine Torah with commerce — yet he gives priority to the beis midrash over the office. Reb Zvika is a scholar, teacher, lecturer, author, and philanthropist. He is a winner of the Jerusalem Prize for his many Hebrew volumes of Ratz KaTzvi. His halachah shiurim in Israel and America are attended and acclaimed by renowned rabbinic leaders. He has a fertile mind, is an original thinker and has a passion to share his brilliance with others, through the written and spoken word.

    In this extraordinary book, he educates and stimulates – and shows us that halachic principles are eternally enlightening. Learn More

  8. Rabbi Professor Avraham Steinberg is a pediatric neurologist, a rabbi, and an ethicist. He is currently the director of the Medical Ethics Unit and the chairman of the IRB at Shaare Zedek Medical Center. He is also the head of the Editorial Board of the Talmudic Encyclopedia.

    Steinberg is the author of the Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics (in Hebrew and English) and Ha’refuah K’halachah (in Hebrew). He is the laureate of the prestigious Israel Prize and the Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem award (Yakir Yerushalayim). Involved with many public committees and legislations in Israel concerning medical ethics, Steinberg has discussed many modern issues in medicine with the Gedolim, including Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, Rav Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, zt”l, Rav Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg, zt”l, Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, and many others. He has published many of their halachic rulings on these issues.

    Ari Judah Ciment, son of Larry and Helen Ciment, is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary and critical care medicine. He has been practicing in Miami Beach, Florida, since 2008. In addition to many medical field achievements, he has been an invited grand rounds lecturer for several hospitals and universities. As a medical ICU attending in a residency teaching program, he regularly teaches classes on a variety of topics, including pulmonary embolism, sepsis, ARDS, and now COVID novel therapies.

    Dr. Ciment is currently president of the medical staff with the Mount Sinai Medical Center and is on the board of the Hebrew Academy of Miami Beach, serving on their medical committee. In addition, he served as adjunct professor on Jewish medical ethics at Touro College and has arranged several medical ethics symposiums, most notably, with the renowned ethicist Rabbi Avraham Steinberg as well as BU ethicist Michael Grodin.

    Dr. Ciment is the author of Pirkei Dr. Ari (Mosaica Press, 2019), which blends the weekly parashah with an ethic from Pirkei Avos. His hobbies include basketball, tennis, guitar, and studying Talmud. He lives with his wife, Elissa, and their three children, Tehila, Jack, and Sam, in Miami Beach, Florida. Learn More

  9. Being a caregiver for a loved one who is ill or aging is a very important role, and yet, it is a very daunting one. As a caregiver, one is given the opportunity to help his or her loved one in ways that have never been previously applicable. At the same time, the responsibility is very great, and there is so much to learn. There are medical and legal issues. There are practical implications. And much, much, more.

    This book is a compilation of articles that offers information, inspiration, and understanding. It contains advice from rabbis, doctors, lawyers, other professionals, and laypeople offering various perspectives about this overwhelming topic.

    When Caring Counts Most: A Guide for Jewish Caregivers will empower you with confidence and knowledge, helping you and, in turn, your loved one.

    BONUS! Includes a pamphlet in English and Spanish that provides guidance for aides on the special considerations of working in a Jewish home environment. Learn More

  10. Teeth & Dentistry in Halachah
    Hard-to-Find Halachah for Everyday Living

    Does one recite Shehecheyanu when he receives dentures?
    Is one permitted to brush his teeth on a fast day?
    In what instances can a dentist perform dental work on Shabbos?
    Do teeth with fillings need to be kashered before Pesach?
    Do teeth that fall out need to be buried?

    Teeth and Dentistry in Halachah is a groundbreaking, comprehensive book dealing with all facets of teeth. From hashkafic insights into the pain babies experience when teething, to detailed historical information about teeth and brushing, to fascinating vignettes about how gedolim viewed their teeth, this book brings a whole new dimension to a part of our body that we take so much for granted.

    Written in a clear and concise format by noted author Rabbi Moishe Dovid Lebovits, this book is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to know about the many halachos related to teeth and dentistry.

    • Includes Special Supplement: Writing Sefarim and Related Halachos Learn More

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