Stern College for Women – Judaic Studies
Rabbi Dr. Richard Hidary
rhidary@yu.edu
Jewish Ethics
The Jewish tradition provides an ethical system which has influenced much of the world throughout its centuries of development. This course will explore the foundations of Jewish ethics and attempt to find a set of principles for deciding ethical issues. We will delve into a few of the most relevant and widely argued cases of ethical controversy and seek guidance from Jewish sources that relate to these matters. Throughout, we will focus on primary sources and survey the various methodologies used by modern posekim and ethicists to interpret and apply these ancient texts to modern contexts.
Requirements:
(1) Attendance, prompt arrival and class participation are assumed. Anything more than two absences or three lates will lower your grade.
(2) Preparation and Participation: Homework assignments and quizzes based on readings to prepare may be given throughout the semester. The purpose of these is to make sure you keep up with the preparation. In addition, students will be selected randomly each class to read and explain the required texts. (10%)
(3) Exams. A midterm (40%) and a final (40%) will assess your grasp and retention of material as well as give the class an opportunity to review and notice patterns that recur through many topics.
(4) One 8-10 page final paper on any topic in Jewish ethics that we did not cover in class. The paper should cite at least five primary sources and two books or articles. Along with the paper, which explains the texts, provides rationales for various sides of the argument, and comes to some conclusion, you should also include a source sheet that you could use to teach this subject. Please confirm your topic with me before you start writing. All papers are due on April 15th. Students will give a 5 minute presentation of their research at the end of the semester. (10%).
Required Texts: (1) Tanakh
(2) Course Packet available at Tower Copy East, 370 3rd Ave & 27th.
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-4:00PM or by appointment. Please email rhidary@yu.edu with any questions or concerns.
Introductions
1. T. January 19 – Introduction to the Course - Slides
Course Requirements
Definitions, Mapping out the field
2. Th. January 21 – Introduction to Jewish Sources - Slides
Required Reading: Lawrence Schiffman, From Text to Tradition. Hoboken: Ktav, 1991, pp. 177-200 and 220-239.
Wikipedia on “ethics.”
3. T. January 26 – The Foundations of Jewish Ethics
Prepare Primary Sources
Metaethics, Normative Ethics
Rabbi Moshe Shamah, “The Basic Principle of Religion.”
Moshe Halbertal, “Human Rights and Membership Rights in the Jewish Tradition,” in Judaism and the Challenges of Modern Life, Continuum: 2007, pp. 179-187.
Vegetarianism
4. Th. January 28
Prepare Primary Sources
Required Reading: Abraham Isaac Kook, “A Firm and Joyous Voice of Life” in Walters and Portmess eds., Religious Vegetarianism, Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001, 118-121.
Cohen, Alfred S., “Vegetarianism from a Jewish Perspective,” Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society 1,2 (1981) 38-63.
5. T. February 2
Required Reading: Richard Schwartz, Judaism and Vegetarianism, Micah: 1988, pp. 1-12, 65-76, 84-109.
Suggested Reading: J. David Bleich, “Vegetarianism and Judaism,” Tradition 23, 1 (1987) 82-89.
Abortion
6. Th. February 4
Prepare Primary Sources
Required Reading: David Feldman, “This Matter of Abortion,” in Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995, pp. 382-391.
7. T. February 9
Required Reading: Menachem Elon, Encyclopedia Judaica, s.v. “Abortion.”
Environmentalism
8. Th. February 11
Required Readings: Norman Lamm, “Ecology in Jewish Law and Theology,” in Torah of the Earth: Exploring 4,000 Year of Ecology in Jewish Thought, Jewish Lights 2000, pp. 103-126.
Tsvi Blanchard, “Can Judaism Make Environmental Policy? Sacred and Secular Language in Jewish Ecological Discourse,” in Judaism and Ecology, pp. 423-48.
DVD
Guest Speaker: Jack Doueck
Business Ethics
9. T. February 16
Prepare Primary Sources. Bring a Tanakh to class.
Required Reading: Hershey Friedman, “Biblical Foundations of Business Ethics,” Journal of Marketing and Morality 3,1 (2000) 43-57.
10. Th. February 18
Required Reading: Sinai Deutch, “Business Competition and Ethics: Predatory Pricing in Jewish Law,” Dine Israel 17 (1993-4) 7-33.
11. T. February 23
Required Reading: Ricky Cohen, “Ethics in Business,” The Edah Journal 2:1 (2002) 1-5.
Guest Speaker – Ricky Cohen
Truth and Lying
12. T. March 2
Prepare Biblical Sources
Required Reading: Joseph Rackman, “Deception in Genesis,” Jewish Spectator 60,4 (1996) 38-42.
13. Th. March 4
Prepare Rabbinic Sources
Required Reading: Mark Dratch, “Nothing but the Truth?,” Judaism 37,2 (1988) 218-228.
Homosexuality
14. T. March 9
Prepare Primary Sources
Required Reading: Norman Lamm, Encyclopedia Judaica Yearbook 1974, s.v. “Homosexuality.”
Uri C. Cohen, “Review Essay, Relating to Orthodox Homosexuals: The Case of Compassion,” in Tradition 40:3 (2007), pp. 76-92.
Suggested Reading: Barry Freundel, “Homosexuality and Judaism,” in Journal for Halakha and Contemporary Society 11 (1986), pp. 70-87.
Suicide
15. Th. March 11
Prepare Primary Sources
Required Reading: Benjamin Gesundheit, “Suicide – A Halakhic and Moral Analysis of Masekhet Semahot, Chapter 2, Laws 1-6,” Tradition 35,3 (2001), pp. 31-51.
16. T. March 16 - Midterm
Euthanasia and Organ Donation
17. Th. March 18
Prepare Primary Sources
Fred Rosner, “Euthanasia,”in Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995, pp. 350-362.
18. T. March 23
Rabbi Moshe Tendler et al., “Brain Death I: A Status Report of Medical and Ethical Considerations” and “Brain Death II: A Status Report of Legal Considerations” The Journal of the American Medical Association (1977).
Rabbi Moshe Tendler, “Halakhic Death Means Brain Death” Jewish Review (1990).
19. Th. March 25 – Donating Kidneys
Required Reading: Richard Grazi and Joel B. Wolowelsky, “Monetary Compensation for Donating Kidneys,” IMAJ 6 (2004), pp. 185-88.
Rabbi Eliezer Waldenburg - Tsits Eliezer 9:45.
Hakham Ovadia Yosef - Yehave Da`at 3:84.
Ethics of War
20. Th. April 8
Prepare Sources for “Peace as the Ideal”
Moshe Halbertal, “Monotheism and Violence,” in Judaism and the Challenges of Modern Life, pp. 105-113.
21. T. April 13
War in the Bible
Deut 20:1-20
Num 25:16-18 and 31:1-24
Required Reading: Shamah, Moshe, “Parashat Shoftim Part II: On the Warfare Passages of Deuteronomy 20,” and “Parashat Matot Part III: Numbers 31-32,” online at www.judaic.org.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4713466n&tag=related;photovideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGIZMV6xytg
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5345009n
22. Th. April 15
When can/should a country go to war?
Prepare Primary Sources
Required Reading: Aviezer Ravitsky, “Prohibited Wars in the Jewish Tradition,” In The Ethics of War and Peace: Religious and Secular Perspectives, ed. Terry Nardin, 115-127. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
***** Final papers due *****
23. Th. April 22
The State of Israel
Required Reading: Interview with Benny Morris, from Haaretz, January 9, 2004.
Moshe Halbertal, “The Goldstone Illusion,” The New Republic, November 6, 2009.
Student Presentations
24. T. April 27
25. Th. April 29
26. T. May 4
Schedule for the 2010 Stern Student Symposium on Jewish Ethics
Tuesday April 27
Medical Ethics Day: From the Cradle (and Before) to the Grave (and Beyond)
Jamie Schneider - Birth Control: Judaism's View on Using Oral Contraceptives
Tamar Schwarzbard - The Role of Sterilization in Judaism
Carry Schlaff - Conjoined Twins: May One be Killed to Save the Other?
Sarah Schwartz - Beauty is Pain: Examining Judaism's View on Cosmetic Surgery (Slides)
Shira Shapiro - Self Mutilation Specifically to the Flesh
Daniella Ginsburg - Cosmetic Surgery in the Realms of Judaism
Tziona Rosenzveig - Jewish View on Autopsies
Zeeva Levine - Autopsy
Thursday April 29th
Family Ethics: The Whole Mishpacha
Lauren Apfel - Adoption
Talia Rona - Surrogate Mothers
Rivka Jacobov - Polygamy or Monogomy
Laura Barnett - Polygamy and Judaism
Shani Gross - Ben Sorer uMoreh: The Rebellious Son
Ethical Dilemmas: No Win Situations
Odelia Rosenberg - Is there a Prohibition against Cannibalism?
Jessica Swedarsky - Stealing in Order to Save a Life
Ramona Rahimian - Lifeboat Ethics
Bracha Weissman - The Ticking Bomb Terrorist: An Ethical Dilemma
Tuesday May 4th
Dina deMalkhuta: When in America…
Rachel Aviv - Non-Jews in Judaism: Understanding Inequalities in an Egalitarian Age
Avital Pessar - A Fair Trial?
Elisa Karp - Capital Punishment: A New Issue?
Shifra Zack - Copyright Laws
Barbara Laniado - Astrology
Ilana Wilner - God Bless America: Celebrating Thanksgiving
Final – Sunday May 23 – 12:00PM
Resources: