Theorizing Jewish Ethics

Jewish Medical Ethics and halakhah.

Risky Treatments: A Jewish Medical Ethics Perspective

The Jewish principle concerning a decision with regard to a dangerous treatment is as following: A patient who is estimated to die within 12 months because of a fatal illness is permitted to undergo a treatment that on the one hand may extend his life beyond 12 months, but on the other hand may hasten his death. There are, however, several limitations to this ruling related to the chances of su...

How Green Is Judaism? Exploring Jewish Environmental Ethics

Jewish medical ethics and end-of-life care.

While Judaism espouses the infinite value of human life, Judaism recognizes that all life is finite and, as such, its teachings are compatible with the principles of palliative medicine and end-of-life care as they are currently practiced. Jewish medical ethics as derived from Jewish law, has definitions for the four cardinal values of secular medical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficen...

Patient-centered Bedside Education and Traditional Jewish Law and Ethics

BACKGROUND Bedside rounds have long been a time-honored component of medical education. Recently, there have been various recommendations that residency-training programs further incorporate bedside teaching into clinical curricula. OBJECTIVES To compare these current attitudes regarding bedside education with the position of traditional Jewish law and ethics. METHODS Relevant medical journ...