The Miami International Torah & Science Conference

Absolute Standards in a Age of Relativity

In blessing the first conference great success, the Lubavitcher Rebbe circled the word “relativity” in the title of the conference. He noted that Einstein’s Theory of Relativity developed from his study of the nature of light. Just as physical light provides a measure of absoluteness to the physical world, so-on the spiritual plane-does the light of the Torah and its commandments provide us with an absolute standard. This is epitomized by the lights we kindle on Hanukka, when the Miami Torah and Science conferences are held.

The First Miami Torah & Science Conference was held during Hanukka of 1987 at the Sheraton Hotel of Bal Harbour. Its proceedings were published in 1990 by Feldheim Publishers under the title Fusion: Absolute Standards in a World of Relativity. An abbreviated version of the conference lectures was published in a booklet Absolute Standards in a World of Relativity and distributed in thousands of copies by the London Friends of SHAMIR.

The Second International Miami Torah & Science Conference was held December 24-26, 1989 at the Sheraton Hotel of Bal Harbour. (No proceedings were published.)

The Third International Miami Torah & Science Conference was held December 14-16, 1999 at Florida International University in Miami. It was sponsored by Prof. Nathan Katz (Chairperson of the Department of Religious Studies of FIU); Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar (The Shul of Bal Harbour and The Aleph Institute in Miami); Prof. Herman Branover and Mrs. Ilana Attia (B’Or Ha’Torah Journal of Science, Art & Modern Life in the Light of the Torah, Jerusalem); the Greater Miami Jewish Federation; the Central Agency for Jewish Education of Miami; and the Jewish Chaplaincy Service of Miami.

The 1999 conference featured sessions in Jewish medical ethics; physics, math & Torah; and the humanities vs. Torah. Rabbi Professor Moshe Tendler described the new ground-breaking field of stem cell research. Although use of stem cells could bypass the halakhic danger of the possibility of removing organs from a live donor; the medical problem of transplantation disease; and the socio-economic dilemma of organ scarcity-the Church opposes stem cell research and the US Congress has prohibited government funding for it. Jewish law, though, has no objection to it and Science magazine has proclaimed stem cell research to be the most outstanding development in biology in the past millennium.

Prof. Fred Rosner, MD discussed Jewish legal and ethical aspects of genetic engineering and cloning. Prof. Miryam Wahrman; Prof. Daniel Kantor; Tobiy Gurvich, MD; and Rabbi Kenneth Brander discussed biological, medical, halakhic and ethical aspects of the possibility of cloning human beings.

A fourth conference is scheduled for Hanukka 2001 in Miami.

The proceedings of the Third International Miami Conference on Torah & Science will be published in B’Or Ha’Torah. The medical ethics; mathematics; and some of the humanities papers will appear soon in issue BHT 12E. The physics & Torah and the rest of the humanities papers will be in issue BHT 13E. A hardcover volume of the complete proceedings will also be published.

 

 December 14-16, 1999

The Ballroom of the Kovens Convention Center, North Campus
Florida International University in Miami Florida
Followed by a Shabbaton at the Bal Harbour Shul, Miami Beach

Florida International University, Department of Religious Studies
     Professor Nathan Katz, Professor and Chair

The Shul of Bal Harbour and The Aleph Institute
     Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar

B'Or Ha'Torah Journal of Science, Art & Modern Life
     in the Light of the Torah
     Professor Herman Branover, Editor-in-Chief
     Ilana Attia, Managing Editor
Greater Miami Jewish Federation
     Jacob Solomon, Executive Vice-President

Central Agency for Jewish Education of Miami

Jewish Chaplaincy Service of Miami

The Ballroom of Florida International University in Miami Florida

High School Students, University Students, & the General Public Invited

Schedule of Activities

Tuesday, December 14
OPENING
8:00-8:15 PM	Prof. Nathan Katz (Chair, Department of Religious Studies, FIU) Convener's Welcome
8:15-8:40 PM	Greetings
8:40-9:00 PM.	Prof. Herman Branover (Head of the Center for Magnetohydrodynamics Studies, Ben-Gurion University)
Remarks
9:00-9:45 PM	Keynote Speaker: Dr. Gerald  Schroeder (Physics, Weizmann Institute and Volcani Research Institute)
"Evolution: Bible Style"
9:45-10:30 PM	Keynote Speaker: Prof. Norbert Samuelson (Religious Studies, University of Arizona) "On the Symbiosis of Science & Judaism"
Wednesday, December 15
TORAH & SCIENCE SESSION
9:00-9:45 AM	Prof. Nathan Aviezer (Physics, Bar Ilan University) "Richard Dawkins & Darwinian Fundamentalism"
9:45-10:15 AM	Prof. Ruvin Ferber (Physics, University of Latvia) Prof. Herman Branover "Observer & System: A Unified View"
10:15-10:45 AM	Dr. Arnie (Aryeh) Gotfryd (Director, Gotfryd Group of Environmental Scientist, Toronto) "The Modern Convergence of Faith & Science: A Megatrend Explained"
10:45-11:15 AM	COFFEE BREAK
11:15-11:45 AM	Prof. Eliezer Zeiger (Biology, University of California at Los Angeles)
"A Role for Science in Torah Consciousness"
11:45 AM-12:15 PM	Dr. Alexander Poltorak (Physics, General Patent Corporation International) "Towards Reconciliation of the Cosmological Age of the Universe with the Torah View"
12:15-12:45 PM	Dr. Yaakov Hanoka (Physics, Evergreen Solar) "Continental Drift, Asteroid Impacts, and the Flood"
1-2:30	LUNCH
MATHEMATICS SESSION
2:30-3:00 PM	Prof. Shimon Silman (Mathematics, Touro College) "3-Valued Logic and the Messianic Era"
3:00-3:30 PM	Dr. Yossef (Marcio) Zukin (Industrial Design, PUC-Rio) "Artificial, Human & Infinite Intelligence"
3:30-4:00 PM	Dr. Ari Belenkiy (Mathematics, Bar Ilan University) "Mathematical Drash"
4:00-4:30 PM	David Wohl, (PhD Student, Mathematics and Computer Science, Touro College) "Algebraic and Differential Topology, Quantum Algebra & Relativity Theory in the Torah"
4:30-5:00 PM	Dr. Russell J. Hendel (Mathematics & Computer Science, Towson University) "Genesis 1 Discusses the Creation of Prophecy, not the Universe"
HUMANITIES AND TORAH & SCIENCE EVENING SESSION
8:00-8:45 PM	Keynote Speaker: Prof. Yitzchok (Irving) Block (Emeritus, Philosophy, University of Western Ontario) "G-d and Morality"
8:45-9:30 PM	Keynote Speaker: Rabbi Sholom Dovber Lipskar (Director, The Aleph Institute) "Spiritual Modality for Behavior Modification"
9:30-10:30 PM	Panel, "Does Modern Science Recognize G-d?", Moderator: H. Branover, Panelists : J. Huchingson, Y. Block, S. Lipskar, N. Aviezer, G. Schroeder, and A. Gotfryd
Thursday, December  16
MEDICAL ETHICS MORNING SESSION
9:00-9:45 AM	Keynote Speaker: Prof. Velvl Greene (Emeritus, Microbiology, Public Health & Medical Ethics, Ben-Gurion University) "Jewish Medical Ethics on the Threshold of a New Century: Trends & Challenges"
9:45-10:15 AM	Louis Flancbaum, MD (Chief, Division of Bariatric Surgery, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, NY) "Using Medical Ethics to Appreciate the Relative among the Absolute"
10:15-10:45 AM	Tobiy Gurvich, MD, DSc (Cardiology, Riga) Prof. Herman Branover, "The Soul & the Body: Judaism, Modern Medicine & Cloning"
10:45-11:15 AM	COFFEE BREAK
11:15-11:45 AM	Daniel Kantor (PhD Student, International Health & Medicine, Ben-Gurion University), Jonathan Kantor (MD/MSc Student, University of Pennsylvania) Prof. Jeffrey Kantor (Business Administration, Bar Ilan University) "Cloning Revisited: Blessing or Curse?"
11:45 AM-12:15 PM	Prof. Miryam Z. Wahrman (Biology, William Paterson University) "Is Human Cloning Kosher?"
12:15-12:45 PM	Rabbi Kenneth Brander (Boca Raton), "Artificial Insemination, Surrogate Motherhood & Jewish Law"
12:45-1:30	LUNCH
1:30-2:30	SPECIAL SESSION: Old Age & Torah Values
2:30-3:00	Dr. Tsvi (Victor) Saks (Applied Mathematics, IBM), "Infinity in Torah & Mathematics"
HUMANITIES AFTERNOON SESSION
3:00-3:45 PM	Keynote Speaker: Prof. James E. Huchingson (Religious Studies, Florida International University), "Nature or Creation?
Exploring the Question of Divine Action in the World"
3:45-4:15 PM	Prof. Baruch Bush (Law, Hofstra University), "Open your Eyes & See: Indeterminancy and Constructionism in the Social Sciences and Humanities, and the Construction of the Redemption"
4:15-4:45 PM	Prof. Emilie Passow (English Literature, Swathmore College), "Judaism & the Humanities: Partners in a Critique of Post-Modern Relativism"
4:45-5:15 PM	Rabbi Dov-Ber Haskelevich (Jewish History Research, Hoascanim), "Why is the Biblical Exodus not Mentioned in any Contemporaneous Egyptian Records & Inscriptions?"
5:15-5:45 PM	Rabbi Prof. Menachem Kovacs (Sociology, Montgomery College), "Finding G-d in the Sociology of Religion"
MEDICAL ETHICS EVENING SESSION
8:00-8:45 PM	Prof. Fred Rosner, MD, FACP (Director, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Queens Hospital Center), "Genetic Screening & Cloning"
8:45-9:30 PM	Rabbi Prof. Moshe Tendler (Chairman, Department of Biology, Yeshiva University), "Cell & Organ Transplantation: The Torah Perspective"
9:30-10:30 PM	Panel, "The Response of Jewish Law to Contemporary Medicine", Moderator: M. Wahrman, Panelists: F. Roser, M. Tendler, V. Greene
Close of Conference
Friday, December 17
10 AM	EXAM at The Shul of Bal Harbour for students who wish to receive academic credit for the conference

 

SHABBATON at The Shul of Bal Harbour, 9540 Collins Ave., Surfside, FL
Tel (305) 868-1411, 868-6595, 794-6208, 868-7255
Fax (305) 861-2426          E-mail: sholoml@aol.com

ACADEMIC CREDIT
High school and university students who pass a qualifying exam of 50 multiple-choice questions on the contents of the keynote lectures may receive two academic credits from Florida International University. The exam will take place at 10 AM at The Shul of Bal Harbour, 9540 Collins Avenue, Surfside FL 33154, Tel.: (305) 868-1411, 868-6595, 794-6208, 868-7255, Fax: (305) 861-2426

The complete texts of the keynote lectures will be available a week before the conference from:

Prof. Nathan Katz, Chairman of the Department of Religious Studies, Florida International University, tel.: (305) 348-3909     fax (305) 348-1879     katzn@fiu.edu

REGISTRATION
Free admission to the lectures
$140 for full participants who wish to receive
a certificate and/or two academic credits.

Payable to the Conference on Science and Religion
Please send to
Rabbi Sholom Lipskar
The Shul of Bal Harbour
9540 Collins Avenue, Surfside, FL 33154,
Tel (305) 868-1411, 868-6595, 794-6208, 868-7255
Fax (305) 861-2426

The full participation registration fee includes: entrance to all sessions, two coffee breaks, two kosher boxed lunches, and copies of the proceedings to be published as special editions of B'OR HA'TORAH

ACCOMMODATION
Miami hotel information available from:
Faye at The Shul of Bal Harbour

B’OR HA’TORAH  is Published by SHAMIR
Professor Herman Branover, Editor-in-Chief