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Q&A: Work that conflicts with Jewish law

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Work that conflicts with Jewish law.

Question

Hello Rabbi,
As part of my work as a social worker, I encounter cases where the patients’ wishes run against Jewish law. As a social worker, first and foremost I am committed to the wishes of the patient; on the other hand, as a religious person I am committed to Jewish law. I wanted to know what I am supposed to do in a situation where a patient wants to come out of the closet but does not have the courage? Or a woman who is interested in having an abortion?
Thank you very much.
P.S. On a much more important topic :), who is the Rabbi betting on this year to win the NBA championship?

Answer

I seem to recall that Rabbi Sherlo has articles dealing with exactly these issues. It is worth looking for them. In general, coming out of the closet is not a prohibition. The prohibition is engaging in homosexual relations. Therefore, if in your opinion as a therapist coming out will improve his mental state, then in my opinion you should encourage him to do so. He is that way whether he comes out or not, and your role is not to convert him but to help him achieve the best quality of life possible in his given situation. So in my opinion, in most questions there is no real dilemma. First and foremost, the patient’s welfare. In rare cases this involves a prohibition, and then there is room to deliberate. Of course, regarding abortion the situation is different, but there too you can present the woman with the different options and their implications, and in the end she has to decide. The decision is hers, so there is no prohibition on your part here. In the worst case, you can even lay out the possibilities and their implications before her, and then also tell her your opinion as a religious person. But in the end she makes the decision in light of her own values.
It is very hard to bet. There are lots of surprises there. As you get closer to the finals, the matchups are much more evenly balanced, so it is harder to predict what will happen. Oklahoma, which led the standings, always seemed to me like a balloon that would burst at the end, but maybe that is just my conservatism (because the team’s roster does not predict its achievements. But sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts). The same is true of Cleveland. In each of them there is one superstar, but that is about it. In short, I am not equal to the task. But there is definitely something to look forward to. I dodged the question, but it is what it is.

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