Between the Lines: Torah and Technology
Part of Between the Lines: Author Conversations from The Library of JTS
What does Judaism teach about killer robots? Cultured meat? Genetically engineered people? What does it mean to rest on Shabbat when electronics are embedded all around? In a pandemic, whose life should be saved first? Can a person be declared dead after the brain has ceased to function, even if the heart continues to beat on life support? How can ancient religious norms address the radically transformed reality of a technocentric society? In this volume, Torah and Technology: Circuits, Cells, and the Sacred Path, Rabbi Daniel Nevins draws on 3,000 years of biblical and rabbinic texts to respond to pressing questions of contemporary life. These essays are presented in the form of responsa, or rabbinic guidance for Jews committed to practicing halakhah, but they are also of interest to any person who confronts ethical quandaries in our technocentric times.
Rabbi Nevins spoke with Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, to discuss the book and how the responsa are a window into Jewish history—material and scientific history, culture, politics, society, and more. They explore such topics as the impact of religious responses to technological change in the broader society; what most worries them about emerging technologies; and how the Torah itself will change as a result of this encounter.
About the Author
Rabbi Daniel Nevins is Head of School at Golda Och Academy, a PK–12 school in West Orange, New Jersey. Previously, he served as Pearl Resnick Dean of the JTS Rabbinical School, and as senior rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Rabbi Nevins has been a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards for 25 years, and is known for landmark halakhic opinions related to sexuality, disability, bioethics, and technology.
