To Vaccinate or Not: A Jewish Approach

This class will look at the history of vaccinations in the Jewish religious community and analyze the Jewish ethical principles that surround the topic. We will focus on responsibility for one’s self, one’s inner circle, one’s community, and the global community at large, as well as the concept of herd immunity and pandemics according to Jewish law. We will also discuss treatment options dealing with such issues as availability, distribution, and prophylaxis. This seminar will also explore Buber’s I and Thou as it pertains to the subject matter.

ABOUT THIS SPEAKER: Rabbi Lila Kagedan is a dual Canadian and American citizen, the first Orthodox woman to adopt the title of rabbi. Rabbi Kagedan holds degrees and certificates from Midreshet Lindenbaum, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The University of Toronto, Harvard University, The Medstar Washington Hospital Center and Massachusetts General Hospital and is a Shalom Hartman Institute RLI fellow. She is also a Hadassah Brandeis Institute-Gender, Culture, Religion and Law Research Associate. She was ordained in 2015, by Yeshivat Maharat and in early 2016 assumed a post at the New Jersey Orthodox synagogue Mount Freedom Jewish Center. She is now the senior rabbi at the Walnut Street Synagogue in Chelsea, MA. She is also the founder of the Sulam School in Brookline, MA. Rabbi Kagedan is an instructor of bioethics at New York Medical College and is a clinical ethicist as well as a chaplain in hospitals and hospices. She is currently studying for Yadin Yadin smicha.