Introduction
In the last fifty years there has been a minor revolution in the field of Halachic-medical literature. From articles scattered throughout the Halachic literature, through collections of articles dedicated to the laws of medicine, to professional concentrations in medicine and Halachah, in an encyclopedic structure or in a classical arrangement according to the order of the sections of the Shulchan Aruch.
However, the revolution was not limited to the formal structure of this professional literature, but was also reflected in the institutionalization of medicine and Halachah as a multidisciplinary profession, combining physicians with higher Torah education and rabbis with extensive medical education in Halachic medical research centers. A bidirectional conversation had developed between major Poskim and senior physicians in Israel and in the Diaspora, and in assimilating Jewish humane principles in complex health and medical laws of the Knesset of Israel.
During these years, new concepts related to medicine and Halachah were born. The concept of Jewish Medical Ethics born at the end of the second decade largely overlapping with medicine and Halachah, but is not entirely identical to it. Even medicine and Hebrew law, which is a common branch or descendant of medicine and law and of medicine and Halachah, is not a synonym for his Halachic father. To increase the confusion we also encounter the concept of Medicine in Judaism whose use sometimes overlaps with medicine and Halachah, sometimes with Jewish medical ethics and sometimes constitutes an overall definition of these two areas, and even more.
General Medical Ethics
Since the start of recorded human history we have found reference to medical-moral problems in the form of laws, regulations, guidelines and 'oaths', formulated for physicians, or by physicians. We find such a reference among the various ancient peoples – in the laws of Hammurabi in Babylon, in Egyptian papyri, in Indian and Chinese cultures, and among the ancient Greeks, led by Hippocrates.
The ancient ethical-medical codes were usually formulated by a single person, or a small group of people, and usually these were doctors. During the medieval period, various other weeks were formulated in which ethical-medical rules were assimilated. In the new era, some see the works and writings of Thomas Percival, published in 1803, as the first ethical-medical basis on which the professional codes of ethics in the United States and the Western world were built.
It is worth distinguishing between ethical rules that draw their power from moral systems only, and "ethical codes" created, among other things, to regulate labor relations and safeguard the interests of members of various professional guilds.
Medical ethics, in its modern professional form, developed rapidly in the second half of the 20th century, after the Western world began to digest information about the horrors of World War II. It is based on multidisciplinary concepts that include medicine, philosophy, religion, law, history, psychology, sociology and education. If in the past the practice of medical ethics was the domain of only a few, most often it was the doctors themselves who dealt in this field, then in recent years this industry has gained much momentum and the practice of medical ethics has become the domain of many, both experts in the field , the media, and others.
It is worth noting that many of the studies and opinions in the field of modern medical ethics originate in the United States and the United Kingdom. Eastern Europe or the Far East. There is no logic or fairness in assuming that the practices and views of some Western countries should dictate to other countries a moral policy on medicine, or ways of thinking and resolving ethical dilemmas. This is certainly true as far as differences between Western secular views There are profound differences between the Western secularist approach and all religions, and not necessarily between it and Judaism.
In its very nature, secular ethics differs from any legal-secular or religious system. For every legal system usually determines a verse position on a question that arises before it, even if there are disagreements between the judges or between the teachers of Halachah. In contrast, in the opinion of many ethicists, ethics does not purport to decisively decide moral dilemmas, but rather to sharpen problems, define the sides of the question well, and offer logical alternatives to its solution.
Jewish Medical Ethics
Until a few years ago, there was no unique concept or separate reference to medical ethics in Halachah. The rules of medical ethics are derived directly from the rules of Halachah of Jewish law, and will be applied to the medical field just as the same principles have been applied to the economic or social field. However, in light of the development of the medical ethics industry in the world of world thought, there was a need to set aside a place for this industry also within Judaism, and the term 'Jewish medical ethics' was coined. The first to coined this term and use it was Rabbi Israel (Emanuel) Jakubowicz in his classic book Jewish Medical Ethics (New York: Bloch Pub., 1959); 2nd ed., 1975. In fact, Rabbi Jakubowicz's research deals with a comparative Halachic analysis of diverse issues in the field of medicine.
There is a fundamental difference between Jewish heritage and 'general' or 'secular' ethical teachings in relation to the source of authority of rules of moral conduct. It can be generalized and said that in the Jewish tradition the source of the system of laws and morals is the Torah, while the 'secular' source of these systems is human reason, which cannot be detached from the subjective feelings of man.
There is extensive reference in Rabbinic sources to proper morals and behavior, both amongst people (Bein Adam LeChavero) and between a person and G-d (Bain Adam LaMakom). Two main ways of teaching proper moral behavior: one in defined laws and binding rules of principle, the other in describing the behaviors of different individuals worthy of imitation.
In the Bible and in the Halachic literature, general principles have been established in the relationship between a person and his friend, such as 'and love your neighbor as yourself' – this is a great rule in the Torah; 'Love your fellow as yourself' (Leviticus 19:18), "Rabbi Akiva said: "This is a great principle of the Torah: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' (Lev. 19:18)" (Bereishit Rabbah 25) ; "… and [Hillel] said to him: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study" (Shabbat 31a); " Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD" (Duetoronomy 6:18); "Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate" (Amos 5,15); "And what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God" (Micah 6:8); "the righteous man is rewarded with life for his fidelity" (Habakuk 2:4); " So follow the way of the good and keep to the paths of the just" (Proverbs 2:20); "Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths, peaceful" Proverbs 3:17) and more.
The system of Jewish morality, like the Halachic system, is not satisfied only with theoretical rules, but fills them with individual practical content. The requirement of Halachah is that each one strive and strive to reach behavioral rightness towards others, and not to be content with abstract definitions of virtues.
Of the six hundred and thirteen commandments in the Torah, there are many commandments that can be defined as moral or ethical. A comprehensive list of such commandments is detailed in the Medical-Halachic Encyclopedia. These commandments address a variety of principles, including In speech and thought, protection of the weak populations in society, maintenance of proper trade and work ethic, fair and proper judgment, proper relations between him and her and more.
Guidance and moral instructions are scattered throughout the literature of Halacha and Midrash, and form the basis for organized moral teachings created in the Middle Ages and in modern times and for extensive moral literature. This literature deals in an orderly manner with the analysis, explanation and demonstration of proper behavior and the correction of a person's virtues.
In the middle of the last century, the Musar Movement (Tnuat Hamusar) was founded in Lithuania by Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (Lipkin) (1810-1883). It was a spiritual movement for the correction of morals and the pursuit of personal perfection. The principles of the movement have since penetrated most of the "Lithuanian" Yeshivot, and later in various forms also into Hasidic Yeshivot, and have influenced prominent figures in Israel and the Diaspora.
Hebrew Medicine and Law
"Hebrew Jurisprudence" (Mishpat Ivri) is a modern term, which includes the matters in the field of Halachah that are subject to legal rights and obligations. These matters are considered in other legal systems as well, in contrast to matters of religion and morality that are not considered legal matters in modern legal methods.
Hence, Medicine and Jewish Law is a common descendant of medicine and law on the one hand and of Hebrew Jurisprudence on the other. This profession deals with all issues related to medicine and law, with legal analysis based on the tools of Hebrew Jurisprudence. If we are content with a somewhat simplistic definition, it can be said that "Medicine and Jewish Law" deals mainly with the field of laws between a person and his friend, but hardly refers to the laws between a person and a place. For example: the duties of the doctor, the patient and society belong of course to this field, while the laws of medicine on Shabbat or Yom Kippur belong exclusively to the field of Medicine and Halachah.
Medicine and Halacha
The field of "Medicine and Halachah" is broader than the field of "Medicine and Hebrew Jurisprudence." It also includes matters in the field of Halachah that are subject to legal rights and obligations, as well as matters of religion and morality. In other words, this includes both laws between people and those between Man and his LORD. This field is broader than "Hebrew Jurisprudence" but more limited than the field of "Medicine in Judaism".
The meticulousness and distinction between the last two terms is ; For the most part, however, for practical purposes, it is customary to refer to these two expressions as synonymous expressions.
Medicine in Judaism
"Medicine in Judaism" is a broad professional field, which includes both the profession of "medicine and Halachah" and a branch of the profession of medical history, a branch that specializes in the medical history of the Jewish world and the historical elements scattered in Jewish literature for generations. Since 1985, a semester-long elective course called "Medicine in Judaism" has been held at the School of Medicine of the Hebrew University and the Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem. The course has two parts: historical and Halachic-Medical, and is given in collaboration between the Faculty of History of Medicine in the faculty and the Schlesinger Institute for the Study of Medicine according to the Torah.
See Jewish Medical Ethics by Prof. Steinberg.