Care and Covenant: A Jewish Bioethic of Responsibility

by Jason Weiner

A bioethic of obligations and responsibilities, based on the Jewish tradition

The Jewish tradition has important perspectives, history, and wisdom that can contribute significantly to crucial contemporary healthcare deliberations. Care and A Jewish Bioethic of Responsibility demonstrates how numerous classic Jewish texts can add new ideas to the world of medicine today. Rabbi Jason Weiner draws on fifteen years of experience working in a hospital as a practitioner to develop an "ethic of responsibility."

This book seeks to develop an approach to bioethical dilemmas that is primarily informed by personal and communal obligations as well as social responsibilities. Weiner applies unique and inspiring values found in Judaism to encourage healthcare providers to remain dedicated to preventing harm and providing care to all. Each chapter investigates relevant philosophical questions such as what the expectations of a society or government are and what we should do when our obligations to others violate our own moral principles, safety, or ability to assist.

Care and Covenant provides analytical, philosophical, and evidence-based scholarship to guide discussions on ethics in healthcare.

130 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2023

Reviews

[Ben Rothke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rabbi Jason Weiner is the senior rabbi and director of the Spiritual Care Department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. As a board-certified chaplain, Weiner has a difficult job. While most patients leave the hospital, there are those that don’t. And dealing with those end-of-life and other bioethical issues brings with it a large set of complex problems.

In Care and Covenant: A Jewish Bioethic of Responsibility (‎Georgetown University Press), Weiner has written a fascinating monograph dealing with some of these contemporary issues and questions.

The book is about applying classical Jewish values to bioethical dilemmas. It also seeks to develop an approach primarily informed by personal and communal obligations and social responsibilities.

With this book and his article on Adult ECMO and Mechanical Circulatory Support in the Touro University Medical Halachah Annual journal, in addition to his book Jewish Guide to Practical Medical Decision-Making, Weiner has become one of the most perceptive writers on the topic.

While the book is intended for healthcare practitioners, bioethicists, and public health officials, the topic is, in fact, relevant to everyone, as ethics, in general, and bioethics, specifically, are relevant to all.

Two of the many bioethical cases the book details is when King Saul ordered the commanders of his army to execute all of the innocent priests in the city of Nov, as detailed in Samuel 1 22:17. They refused to carry out the king’s orders as there was no duty to obey him, as his order was inherently wrong.

Before that, the first recorded instance of bioethical civil disobedience was the midwives Shifra and Puah. Their fear of God motivated them to refuse to obey Pharaoh’s immoral order to kill all Jewish baby boys.

Weiner has written a fascinating book dealing with some of the most vexing and complex medical issues we face. Its only shortcoming is that at just over 100 pages, this book needs to be significantly longer given the breadth of topics and Weiner’s writing talents.

[Molly Sinderbrand · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a virtue ethicist, I was skeptical going in, but he sold me on the idea of responsibility bioethics. Well-cited and reasonable and informative. I really like this idea that religious ethics can inform our secular ethics and policies, and that it’s not just for a limited sphere or audience. Very Rabbi Lord Dr Sacks, z’’l. Gave me some good future reading as well.

Not much to critique. Title didn’t necessarily match the book though. Not many references to covenants ethics. And it read a little like a dissertation or collection of essays. I’d love to see each of the chapters in expanded.

Thanks for a great book, Rabbi Dr Weiner!