Reproductive Rights and Jewish Tradition Warning: These texts contemplate real-life circumstances and are particularly graphic and may be disturbing to some readers. Here again, as in the issues I raised in the previous days’ kavanot, while there is clearly a distinction between a woman’s life and that of her developing fetus, Judaism is not without ambivalence when it comes to how we apply these ideas to modern methods of birth control and the termination of a pregnancy. As with so many ethical issues, texts that come to us from antiquity do not speak directly to the technical abilities of our generation. Often values have to be inferred and, of course, are open to a variety of conclusions. When the threat to a pregnant mother’s life is evident, Judaism favors the mother up until the moment that the infant appears through the birth canal. Here is a classic Talmudic text: [...]

Immigration and Jewish Tradition – It’s Not Always What You Think! Just as we discovered in the brief survey of Jewish sources reflecting environmental values, traditional Jewish attitudes towards immigrants are complex. Our history is one of wandering; from the stories of crossing the Red Sea to our own ancestors crossing the Atlantic Ocean, we are certainly global nomads. Our history alone speaks to many about the need for Jews to embrace and support the immigrant. However, ancient Jewish tradition is surprisingly ambivalent in its treatment of non-Israelites (and non-Jews) who might be resident in the Holy Land. First, consider some texts that are famously, embracing of foreigners. Exodus 12:49 declares: “There shall be one law for the native and stranger who lives among you.” Deuteronomy 1:16 also declares that judges should: “Hear out your fellow and decide justly between any person and a fellow Israelite or a stranger.” Clearly these principles seek to establish a [...]