On Monday, October 15, Young Israel of Fort Lee hosted Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman for their monthly Lunch and Learn program. The lecture, presented to an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 60 attendees, focused on cutting-edge issues in Jewish medical ethics. With the upsurge of medical advances and new procedures, Dr. Reichman focused on the implications for Orthodox Jews. His presentation drew dozens of thought-provoking questions on a range of topics, such as living and after-death organ donation to the psychological impact of new medical innovations on families. Dr. Reichman even discussed the halachic implications of conceiving a child for the sole purpose of enabling his/her organ to be harvested to save a life of his/her sibling. The audience was left with a newfound appreciation for the complexities relating to modern medicine and halacha.

Dr. Reichman is uniquely qualified to explain medical ethics from a Jewish perspective. He is both a rabbi, ordained by Yeshiva University, and a doctor, having graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he is currently a professor. Dr. Reichman teaches both emergency medicine and Jewish medical ethics in Einstein’s Division of Education and Bioethics. His presentation was based on the book by Jodi Picoult, “My Sister’s Keeper.”