Q&A: Teaching a ‘Medicine and Jewish Law’ Course by a Secular Person
Teaching a ‘Medicine and Jewish Law’ Course by a Secular Person
Question
Hello Rabbi,
In nursing study tracks intended for religious men and women, there is a course called ‘Medicine and Jewish Law’ (nursing on the Sabbath, abortions, organ donation, and the like).
Is there any problem with the class being taught by someone who is expert in the subject, but is not committed to Jewish law?
If there is a problem with that, would excluding him from teaching the class be considered discrimination (legally or morally)?
Thank you!
Answer
Questions regarding legality should be directed to legal experts. As for morality, there is a concern that although he is knowledgeable, he may still not present the correct picture for various reasons. If not for that, there would be no problem with his teaching. If such a concern exists, then this is not discrimination. Beyond that, the material being taught is not mathematics; it leaves room for judgment. Someone who is not committed to Jewish law cannot teach halakhic judgment.
Discussion on Answer
Because he is prone to fail. Commitment to halakhic values affects interpretive judgment, which is made up of text and reasoning.
It follows that when one learns Torah from the mouth of Acher, one can learn arguments from him, but one cannot learn Torah-based judgment from him. (And that fits with Rabbi Yohanan’s requirement of “for the priest’s lips should guard knowledge, and they should seek Torah from his mouth; for he is a messenger of the Lord of Hosts,” and with the fact that in his rules of halakhic ruling he rules not like Rabbi Meir against any one of his colleagues. Also, judgment is learned “from his mouth.”)
Thank you, Rabbi.
In principle the material is defined; there are presentations that describe various cases and various halakhic solutions, and the lecturer is supposed to expand on what is written in the presentation, not to resolve new cases that require fresh judgment.
Do you still see a problem in such a case with a lecturer who does not observe Torah and commandments?
By the way, what would be the case of a formerly religious lecturer who is no longer observant (that’s not the case here)? Since he knows the field, can he teach it, or not?
If so, then it doesn’t seem that there is a problem. In any case, what is studied at the university is not halakhically binding.
It’s a bit strange to hear from you the sentence: “What is studied at the university is not halakhically binding.” After all, in your view, what a rabbi says is not binding either; at most he shares his knowledge, and what is binding is the Jewish law, not the rabbi’s halakhic ruling.
So what’s the difference between a rabbi’s lecture and a university lecturer’s lecture?
If the questioner were a scholar, the question would not have come up. Since he isn’t, he will presumably rely on what he learned (not as formal authority but as knowledge from an expert). That is what the discussion is about. Halakhic knowledge that you learned at the university cannot be relied upon in practice.
“Someone who is not committed to Jewish law cannot teach halakhic judgment.” Why? [Is it because someone who is not committed to Jewish law is prone to fail in weighing halakhic judgment? Or because the teacher’s halakhic judgment cannot be evaluated? (Why can’t it be, and even if it can’t, so what?)]