Vayishlach 5781 And Eisav ran towards him, embraced him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him, and they wept. (Bereishis 33:4) The word “Vayishakeihu” (“and he kissed him”) in this Pasuk, has dots on top of all the...
Yom Kippur 5780
Rabbi Yosef SprungGenetic Engineering
Vayetzei 5781 And Yaakov then took fresh shoots of poplar and hazel and chestnut. He peeled white streaks in them, laying bare the white of the shoots. And he set up the rods which he had peeled, in the troughs, in the...
O Say Can You See
Toldot 5781 And it came to pass, when Yitzchak had become old and his eyes dimmed from seeing… (Bereishis 27:1) There is broad and extensive Halachic discussion of blindness. One of the important topics is the...
Davening Doctors
Chayei Sara 5781 And Yitzchak went out to converse in the field towards evening. (Bereishis 24:63) Medical personnel often work long shifts which may extend through an entire interval for Tefila. This gives rise to the...
Got Milk?
Vayera 5781 And she said, “Who is the One Who said to Avraham, ‘Sarah would nurse children’? For I have borne a son in his old age!” (Bereishis 21:7) In the not-too-distant past, breastmilk was the only available source...
Paying a Mohel
Lech Lecha 5781 This is My covenant which you shall keep between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. (Bereishis 17:10) One of the fundamental principles of Mitzva...
Destroying Embryos for Research
Noach 5781 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for man was formed in the image of God. (Bereishis 9:6) According to R’ Yishmael, this Pasuk is the source for the Issur of abortion: It was...
Cadaveric Dissection and Autopsy in Halacha
Bereishit 5781 And Hashem formed the man of dust from the earth, and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life; and man became a living being. (Bereishis 7:2) The bond between the body that is created from the “dust of...
האם מותר לאשה לסרב לעבור טיפולי פוריות?
פרשת נח תשע”ט וְאַתֶּם פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ שִׁרְצוּ בָאָרֶץ וּרְבוּ בָהּ (בראשית ט, א). מצות פריה ורביה נחשבת לאחת המצוות המרכזיות והחשובות בעולמו של היהודי. וכך כותב בספר החינוך (מצוה א): משרשי המצוה, כדי שיהיה...
דמי אחיך צועקים: על חובת האחריות של רופא בקבלת החלטות קריטיות.
פרשת בראשית תשע”ט בפרשתנו, פרשת בראשית, מוכיח הקדוש ברוך הוא את קין על הריגת הבל אחיו: וַיֹּאמֶר מֶה עָשִׂיתָ קוֹל דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ צֹעֲקִים אֵלַי מִן הָאֲדָמָה (בראשית ד, י). במשנה במסכת סנהדרין, לז...
Rabbi Yosef Sprung