AEGiS-APPJ: An Analysis of Some Social Issues Related to HIV Disease from the Perspective of Jewish Law and Values

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1990. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

An Analysis of Some Social Issues Related to HIV Disease from the Perspective of Jewish Law and Values

AIDS & Public Policy Journal 5, no. 3 (Summer 1990): 137-41
Benjamin Freedman

The author examines three ethical issues in the context of Jewish law: (1) the relationship between ethics, sin, and illness, raising issues of biblical ethics; (2) confidentiality and privacy issues and the problems associated with the unfamiliarity of the rabbinic ordering of values; and (3) the duty to care for the sick and dying, expressed in Talmudic literature through concrete anecdotes requiring abstract extrapolation. In spite of these difficulties, there appear to be directions of thought within the Jewish tradition that can help to determine the proper perspective upon the issue at hand, and a perspective that is distinctively Jewish. First, Judaism has, throughout history, emphasized the importance of maintaining the highest level of community safety and individual health. The basic principle has been that concerns for safety take precedence over other religious obligations. Second, Judaism has always seen duties toward the ill as community responsibilities rather than private concerns.
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