Main description:

Well aware of Jews having once been the victims of Nazi eugenics policies, many Jews today have an ambivalent attitude toward new genetics and are understandably wary of genetic forms of identity and intervention. At the same time, the Jewish tradition is strongly committed to medical research designed to prevent or cure diseases. Jews and Genes explores this tension against the backdrop of various important developments in genetics and bioethics-new advances in stem cell research; genetic mapping, identity, testing, and intervention; and the role of religion and ethics in shaping public policy.
Jews and Genes brings together leaders in their fields, from all walks of Judaism, to explore these most timely and intriguing topics-the intricacies of the genetic code and the wonders of life, along with cutting-edge science and the ethical issues it raises.

Contents:

Foreword by Mark S. Frankel
Introduction by Elliot N. Dorff and Laurie Zoloth
Part 1. Stem Cell Research
1. Summary of the Science of Stem Cell Research
Elliot N. Dorff and Laurie Zoloth
2. Applying Jewish Law to Stem Cell Research
Elliot N. Dorff
3. Divine Representations and the Value of Embryos: God's Image, God's Name, and the Status of Human Nonpersons
Noam J. Zohar
4. "Like Water": Using Genesis to Formulate an Alternative Jewish Position on the Beginning of Life
Yosef Leibowitz
5. Reasonable Magic: Stem Cell Research and Forbidden Knowledge
Laurie Zoloth
Part 2. Genetic Mapping and Identity
6. Summary of the Science of Genetic Mapping and Identity
Elliot N. Dorff and Laurie Zoloth
7. Folk Taxonomy, Prejudice, and the Human Genome
Judith S. Neulander
8. What Is a Jew? The Meaning of Genetic Disease for Jewish Identity
Rebecca Alpert
9. Yearning for the Long-Lost Home: The Lemba and the Jewish Narrative of Genetic Return
Laurie Zoloth
Part 3. Genetic Testing
10. Summary of the Science of Genetic Testing
Elliot N. Dorff and Laurie Zoloth
11. Genetic Testing in the Jewish Community
Paul Root Wolpe
12. Jewish Genetic Decision Making and an Ethic of Care
Toby L. Schonfeld
Part 4. Genetic Intervention
13. Summary of the Science of Genetic Intervention
Elliot N. Dorff and Laurie Zoloth
14. Some Jewish Thoughts on Genetic Enhancement
Shimon Glick
15. Curing Disease and Enhancing Traits: A Philosophical (and Jewish) Perspective
Ronald M. Green
16. Genetic Enhancement and the Image of God
Aaron L. Mackler
17. "Blessed Is the One Who Is Good and Who Brings Forth Goodness": A Jewish Theological Response to the Ethical Challenges of New Genetic Technologies
Louis E. Newman
18. Jewish Reflections on Genetic Enhancement
Jeffrey H. Burack
19. Mending the Code
Robert Gibbs
Part 5. The New Genetics and Public Policy
20. Religious Traditions in a Postreligious World: Does Halakhah Have Insights for Nonbelievers?
John Lantos
21. How the Unconscious Shapes Modern Genomic Science
Robert Pollack
22. To Fix the World: Jewish Convictions Affecting Social Issues
Elliot N. Dorff
Contributors
Index to Classical Sources
General Index