| Translation | Original |
|---|---|
| It has been enacted that in every place in which Jews live, the community sets aside a fund for care of the sick. When poor people are ill and who cannot afford medical expenses, the community sends them a doctor to visit them, and the medicine is paid for by the communal fund. | בכל מקום ומקום שישראל יושבים, ליחד קופה לביקור חולים, והוא שהחולים העניים שאין ידם משגת להוצאות רפואתם, הקהל שולחים להם רופא לבקרם והרפואות מכיס הקהל ונותנים להם מזון הראוי לחולים דבר יום ביומו כפי ציווי הרופאים. |
1. What does this text teach about communal responsibility?
2. What can you infer from this text about the Jewish ruling on universal health care?
3. Although American Jews no longer use one communal fund, the idea of communal funding still exists (eg. Jewish federations, foundations). What is your community's communal fund? How is it allocated?
(The Tzitz Eliezer is a responsa written by Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, a 20th century rabbi born in Israel, who wrote extensively about medical ethics.)
[AJWS translation]
1. Do doctors always have the opportunity to save lives?
2. How often does insurance (or lack thereof) interfere with a doctor's ability to uphold the commandment of pikuach nefesh (saving a life)?
1. What does this text imply about the Jewish understanding of health care?
2. Who determines "appropriate" prices for medications in this country?
| Original |
|---|
| The fact...that more than 40 million Americans have no health insurance is, from a Jewish point of view, an intolerable dereliction of society's moral duty. The Torah, the Prophets, and the Rabbis of our tradition all loudly proclaim that God commands us to take care of the poor, the starving and the sick. Given the current costs of health care, almost all of us fall into that category. On both moral and religious grounds, then, we simply cannot let the present condition continue; we are duty-bound to find a way to afford health care for all American citizens. |
1. What is Rabbi Dorff's argument? Do you draw his same conclusions upon reading the Jewish texts above? Why or why not?
2. Is universal health care a concern for the American Jewish community or are we only obligated to care for other Jews? How might you argue in either direction?
[Rabbi Dorff is the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University and chair of the Conservative Movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.]
This source sheet was created on On1Foot, an online database of Jewish texts for social justice, a project of American Jewish World Service.
On1Foot users can:
- Search and browse hundreds of biblical, rabbinic, and contemporary Jewish texts about social justice,
- Create custom source sheets using the texts and suggested discussion questions,
- Upload new texts
- Comment on existing texts
Please visit our website, www.On1Foot.org, and stop by our booth here at LimmudNY! Additionally, Lisa Exler, AJWS Senior Program Officer, will be offering a demo of On1Foot at her session, “Moving Beyond: ‘Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue” (Monday, 8:15-9:30 AM in Room Hudson III).