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jewish law

Opinions Conflict on Ending Life Support

Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff November 6, 2003

The Florida case of a woman on life support for 13 years has put issues of how we die and when and how doctors and others should intervene on the front page. Whatever the courts say about that case, however, will only apply to federal and Florida law.

What would Jewish law say about such a case? That question is important because the issues raised in that case confront Jews often as they care for their parents, spouse and other loved ones and as they contemplate their own dying process.

The basic Jewish principle about these matters is clear: We are, on the one hand, not allowed to hasten the dying process, but on the other, we are not supposed to prolong it either.

New Mikvah Ain’t Your Bubbes Bath

Lisa Keys January 16, 2003

Some say Fanit Panofsky was destined to build a mikvah. In her native Morocco, her great-grandmother operated a mikvah. So, too, did her grandmother.

Gay Halacha

David Bianco January 16, 2003

Later this year, the Conservative movement\’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards will most likely reconsider the subject of homosexuality. As in the past, the extremes in these discussions are not listening to each other, and there\’s been no mention of an obvious problem with the proposals to make halacha more gay-inclusive. (Perhaps the problem just seems obvious to me because I move comfortably in both worlds, as a shomer mitzvot Jew who once identified as gay but now accepts the authority of halacha regarding human sexuality and has been \”openly celibate\” for more than a year.)

The Liebermans’ Tasty New Year

Beverly Levitt August 22, 2002

This year, 5763, Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbat, the weekly observance that Sen. Joseph Lieberman calls \”a sanctuary to put the outside world on hold and concentrate on what\’s really important — your faith and your family.\” And although Lieberman, who was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 2000, will experience the same joy he feels every Friday night as he takes off his watch and prepares to get into the Sabbath mood, during Rosh Hashana all activities are heightened — the prayers are longer, the conversation more intense, the urgency to evaluate the past year and make resolutions for a sweet New Year more palpable.

The ‘Contemporary’ Bar Mitzvah

Jane Ulman August 8, 2002

No, Jeremy, you cannot wear \’liberty spikes\’ to your bar mitzvah party,\” I say, referring to the hair-style that transforms my son\’s head into the Statue of Liberty\’s crown.

\”Mom, you don\’t understand,\” he says. \”Even when I\’m 50, I\’ll be spiking my hair.\”

Can We Find the Golden Mean?

David N. Myers May 17, 2001

In the opening book of his monumental code of Jewish law, Maimonides declared, \”We are bidden to walk in the middle paths which are the right and proper ways….\” The great medieval sage was articulating the golden mean, the principle that we should avoid extreme behavior, ethical or physical, at all times. The person who succeeds — indeed, who navigates between indulgence and self-denial — is, by Maimonides\’ standards, the wise one.

Jews and the Death Penalty

Jewish Journal March 9, 2000

Many people assume that Jewish law unequivocally advocates capital punishment, because of frequent references to capital crimes and capital punishment in the Torah. But while Jewish law supports the death penalty in theory, the Oral Law makes it difficult, and in most cases impossible, to execute someone for murder, says Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, director of the Jewish Studies Institute of Yeshiva of Los Angeles and the chair of Jewish law and ethics at Loyola Law School.

Jewish Law Cited in Death Penalty Case

Michael Shapiro January 6, 2000

A man who will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court next year that his planned execution in Florida\’s electric chair constitutes \”cruel and unusual punishment\” can point to a 2,000-year-old Jewish law when he pleads his case.

Tangled Web

Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky November 11, 1999

These are the weeks that we read of our heroes. The book of Genesis tells the stories of the faith and tenacity of the fathers and mothers of our nation for whom every day was another stride in the uncharted waters of living in covenant with God. It was their passionate determination to keep the vision of a righteous and holy people alive that ultimately produced the Jewish people. But it wasn\’t always easy.

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