The first Shabbaton took place in the University of Illinois on the Champagne/Urbana campus on March 5th and 6th, 2010.

Rabbi Yaakov Weiner, JCR Dean, was the Scholar-in-Residence and delivered lectures regarding the topics:

• Contemporary issues of medical ethics through the prism of the Torah, Selecting a child for genetic health, gender and cosmetics,
• Prophylactic surgery: when to test and when to act, and
• Taking care of the sick and elderly

Participants were actively involved in the lively discussions. Below are some of their reactions.

“I loved the Shabbaton! I found the topic of the Jewish view on bioethics very interesting. Rabbi Weiner was a great speaker. Previously, I had never researched or learned about the Jewish view on this topic, and now I am glad that I am better informed.”

“The Shabbaton this weekend was a wonderful, meaningful experience. I felt that the Rabbi was immensely knowledgeable while also being an engaging speaker who had my attention for the beginning to the end of every lecture. The case studies he presented brought up very challenging moral dilemmas to the group.”

“the most interesting part of the Shabbat was listening to Rabbi Weiner speak, I was not aware of the Jewish perspectives on 21st century medical ethics.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed this Shabbaton. Rabbi Weiner did a phenomenal job of showing the practical implications of Judaism on medical ethics. Understanding concrete examples of how the Bible applies to medical situations goes to show that while Judaism is thousands of years old, it still applies today in technologically advanced situations.”

If you are interested in planning a Shabbaton Program,
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