Valley Beit Midrash

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Elliot Dorff

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Drawing from Chapter 3 of the book, Ethics at the Center: Jewish Theory and Practice for Living a Moral Life, this session will explore how Western, Christian, and Jewish traditions understand the nature of the human being, and how these differing perspectives shape a wide range of moral issues.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Elliot Dorff, Rabbi (Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1970), Ph.D. in philosophy (Columbia University, 1971), is Rector and Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University. From 1974 to 2020, he taught a course on Jewish law at UCLA School of Law.  He has served on three United States federal government commissions -- on access to health care, on reducing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and on research on human subjects -- and he currently serves on the State of California's commission to govern stem cell research within the state.  He has chaired four scholarly organization: the Academy of Jewish Philosophy, the Jewish Law Association, the Society of Jewish Ethics, and the Academy of Judaic, Christian, and Muslim Studies.  He has served as a member of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards since December 1984, as its Vice Chair from 1997 to 2007, and as its Chair from 2007 to 2022, writing 30 responsa approved by the committee and several concurring opinions.  In Los Angeles, he is a Past President of Jewish Family Service and remains on its Board, and he is a former member of the Board of the Jewish Federation Council.  He has been a member of the Priest-Rabbi Dialogue sponsored by the Board of Rabbis of Southern California and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since its inception in 1973 and has co-chaired it since 1990.   In addition to awards given by several communal organizations in Los Angeles, he has been awarded four honorary doctoral degrees, the Leve Award of the UCLA Center for Jewish Studies, and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Journal of Law and Religion.  He has published over 200 articles on Jewish thought, law, and ethics, and he has written fifteen books on those topics and edited or co-edited fourteen more.  Since 1966 he has been married to Marlynn, and they have four children and eight grandchildren, who, he thinks, are more important than anything listed above.