Shaare Zedek Medical Center was founded in 1873 by a committee of rabbis in Germany and the Netherlands. Preserves this tradition from the day it was founded until now.
The Institute for the Study of Medicine according to the Torah, founded in 1966, is named after Dr. Falk Schlesinger, the second director of Shaare Zedek Hospital, who embodied the aspirations of the founders and made them come true. True to the guidelines of its founders, the institute investigates medical problems according to the standards of Halacha.
With the development of the medical ethics profession in the world in recent years, there has also been an increased interest in the position of Jewish law on current issues of medical morality. As medical science advances, so do many new moral and halakhic problems. The Schlesinger Institute seeks practical solutions to moral and halakhic questions, both in general and in specific matters. The institute's staff consists of senior physicians and researchers along with smart students. There is also a consultation with the great arbitrators on many matters. This combination allows the institute to function professionally and efficiently. The institute sees its mission in introducing Torah values into the scientific medical systems.
International conferences
The Schlesinger Institute in Jerusalem and the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York collaborated in the organization of the first international conference on medicine, ethics and Halacha, which was held in Israel in 1993 with the participation of 450 representatives from all over the world. A special contribution to increasing cooperation between the various sectors.
The conference was prepared in an innovative structure based on the classic Jewish structure of questions and answers with the participation of rabbis and great lecturers from all over the world. The selection of practical issues in medicine discussed at the conference was wide and included, among others, AIDS, organ transplantation, male fertility, determining the time of death, birth defects, dentistry and psychiatry. This is combined with professional lectures in the various Harmoi and ethical fields.
The first conference book was published in Hebrew (301 pages) and English (346 pages), both hardcover. The book was published by the Schlesinger Institute in 1996 in a Hebrew and English edition (JME Book), and includes scientific, legal and ethical background articles, with halakhic answers from the greatest arbitrators on current medical issues, as presented during the conference.
In July 1996, the second international conference was held, which was prepared in a format similar to the first and dealt with many major issues such as surrogacy, complementary medicine, medical malpractice, limited resources, medical experiments and more. In addition, an evening of study was held on the halakhic doctrine in matters of medicine and halakhah, of the ruling of the late Gershaz Auerbach. A collection of articles on the subject of the second conference in Hebrew (730 pages, hardcover) and in English (265 pages) was published on the eve of the conference.
Studies and seminars
Since the first conference, a number of major conferences and seminars have been held – with accompanying articles and research books. This is for the sake of expanding and deepening in the various Medical-Halachic issues, such as gynecology, determining the moment of death, infectious diseases, color vision, circumcision and more. These events serve the audience of learners, arbitrators and physicians required for situations that combine ethics, Halacha and medicine
For a review (historical and theoretical) on the subject of medical ethics and Halacha, see: