15-21 Apr

Q: Are a childless husband and wife prohibited by halakha from using medical technology to change their fate because that would be interfering with the Divine plan?

ABSTRACT

Scientific breakthroughs are giving hope to many who once only dreamed of having a family, while simultaneously creating a host of dilemmas for halakha (Jewish law) to decide. The particular focus of our discussion will be the establishment of parenthood in two particular contexts.

What establishes a male as the father of a child? Is it the act of sexual intercourse, which in many modalities is nonexistent, or the contribution of the sperm that fertilizes the egg? What if a male's sperm fertilizes the egg only after the man has passed on? Does Judaism consider the deceased donor to be the father? A more complicated matter is the issue of maternal status. This issue arises, in particular, with a surrogate mother where the egg donor and the host are different women. Who is the mother of the child? The woman who genetically contributes or the one who nurtures the embryo through the gestational period? This affects various issues, not limited to, the definition of the child's family, issues of Jewish identity, and the identification of prohibited incestuous relationships.

Rabbi Akiva suggests that we must play an active roll in changing the fate of those challenged. When possible, we should be involved in imitatio Dei and act upon the suffering confronting us. Just as G-d has the power to heal and end suffering, when we have the capacity, we are obligated to do the same. One is forbidden to take a providential view on life to suggest that any person's suffering is G-d's will and thus ordained. In the case of infertility, we are to recognize the opportunities given to us by science, and as agents of G-d, use these opportunities to realize our dreams for overcoming the tragedy of infertility….

While a married couple having difficulty conceiving may use the gifts of science, it is important to recognize the risks. Halakha responds to those risks by not demanding that couples engage in infertility treatments in order to have children. If a couple wishes to forego these difficult procedures, halakha understands and supports such a decision. This is evident from a Tosafot in Pesahim. Tosafot suggests that a male who needs to undergo medical procedures in order to become circumcised is not mandated to do so-even though without the procedure the individual will be unable to participate in several mitsvot (Torah commandments) including the eating of the Paschal lamb).

BIO
Rabbi Kenneth Brander is senior rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue; dean of the Boca Raton Judaic Fellows Program; and the founder of the Yeshiva High School of Broward and Palm Beach County.

Additionally, he is the adjudicator for the Boca Raton community mikveh, cochairman of the ORB/South Palm Beach County Va'ad Hakashrut. He has received many awards for his community service, including the Yeshiva University Wexner Rabbinic Leadership Award in 1999. Rabbi Brander studied at Yeshivat Shaalvim in Israel and then received his BA in computer science and mathematics from Yeshiva University. He continued his studies as a fellow in the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1986. Then he continued as a postgraduate fellow in the Yadin-Yadin Kollel, a program which prepares rabbis to become Jewish judges. During his years of study he had the distinction of serving as the personal aide to Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Recently, he received an advanced level of ordination from the Puah Institute of the Israeli rabbinate, acknowledging the rabbi's particular expertise in issues of medical bioethics.

Rabbi Brander has authored many articles in various scholarly journals and also co-edited The Yeshiva University Haggadah. He is married to Rachel Tambor Brander. They are blessed with four children.

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