Rabbi Professor Elliot Dorff of the University of Judaism to discuss Judaism and Stem Cell Research at Fairfield University

Rabbi Professor Elliot Dorff of the University of Judaism to discuss Judaism and Stem Cell Research at Fairfield University

Image: Elliot Dorff "We have a duty to seek to develop new cures for diseases," said Rabbi Professor Elliot Dorff, a top authority on Conservative Jewish ethics, particularly regarding stem cell research, who is also this year's Judaic Studies Scholar in Residence for Fairfield University's Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies of the College of Arts and Sciences. Rabbi Dorff will deliver a lecture on "New Issues in Bioethics: Stem Cell Research and Genetic Screening." on Monday, November 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University. This free lecture is made possible by a gift from David and Edith Chaifetz of Fairfield, Connecticut.

Rabbi Dorff co-chairs the bioethics department at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. In 1993, he served on the Ethics Committee of Hillary Rodham Clinton's Health Care Task Force. In 1997 and 1999, he testified on behalf of the Jewish tradition on the subjects of human cloning and stem cell research for the President's National Bioethics Advisory Commission.

"We have a duty to heal and, as corollary to that, to develop our means to heal," Rabbi Dorff stated in a paper for the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly in 2002, maintaining that stem cell research is encouraged. "Genetic materials, including embryos, lack the status of a person or even part of a person." In 1999 and 2000, Rabbi Dorff was part of Surgeon General David Satcher's commission to Call to Action for Responsible Sexual Behavior, and from 2000 to 2002 served on the National Human Resources Protections Advisory Commission. Today he is President of Jewish Family Service in Los Angeles.

Rabbi Dorff has published more than 150 articles on Jewish thought, law and ethics, as well as ten books, most recently "Love Your Neighbor and Yourself: A Jewish Approach to Modern Personal Ethics" in 2003 and "To Do the Right and Good: A Jewish Approach to Modern Social Ethics," winner of the 2003 Jewish Book Award in Contemporary Jewish Life.

Rabbi Dorff was ordained as a Conservative rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1970 and received his Ph.D. in philosophy with a dissertation in moral theory from Columbia University in 1971.

"It's an honor to be hosting Rabbi Dorff's lecture," said Ellen Umansky, Ph.D., the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies and Director of the Judaic Studies Program at Fairfield University. "With the nation divided over stem cell research, it's invaluable to hear someone so well-versed in the ethical, religious and legal issues surrounding this subject. I thank David and Edie Chaifetz for making the Scholar in Residence program possible."

The lecture is open to the public, but space is limited and reservations are requested. For information and to register, please contact Judaic Studies at Fairfield University at (203) 254-4000, ext 2066.

Posted On: 10-13-2005 10:10 AM

Volume: 38 Number: 42