Dr. Zackary Dov Berger will be our guest scholar on Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18. Dr. Berger is Associate Professor in the John Hopkins Division of General Internal Medicine and has an active practice in primary internal care medicine. He specializes in Jewish bioethics, and patient-centered care and is an expert at integrating Jewish texts into his various practices. Please see below for event descriptions including our festive Havdalah/Dinner Reception. This weekend is generously Sponsored by the Mark E. Silverman Maimonides Award Endowment. 

In this series of three informal talks, based on first-hand experience in primary care and medical ethics, as well as Jewish literary and rabbinic learning, Zack Berger will provide a guided tour, inspiring and challenging, to what ethics can be, and should be, in the coming years - motivated and in tandem with Jewish concerns about individual and community.

Friday, May 17
Shabbat Evening Service, 6:30 pm (In Person & Virtual)
Is dialogue a social nicety or a meeting of the minds? What happens when two people try and reach a common destination together, be it health, Judaism, or the good life? Zack will talk about the ethical and medical concept of shared decision-making and how shared decisions can play a role in the enlightened Jewish life. 

Saturday, May 18
Torah Study, 9:00 am (In Person & Virtual)
What is a Jewish hospital, and what is the Jewish community's involvement, responsibility, and role in the health care of Jews and non-Jews-- and what does the experience of a Jewish community whether in US or Israel have to teach the other? This will be a text-based, approachable discussion session based on contemporary and historical sources both Jewish and general, and touch on notions of sacred space and time relevant to this week's Torah portion. 

Havdalah Dinner, 7:00 pm (In Person Only)
What are the frontiers of medical and Jewish ethics? You might be familiar with technical medical advancement, but Zack's contention, and topic for discussion, in this final session, is to bring ethics into a wider conversation with the fates and states of human beings and societies in the US and around the world. Using diverse sources from rabbinic texts, poetry, song, and prayer, Zack will bring us to a deeper understanding of what human solidarity can make possible. RSVP Here

You may attend our Shabbat service in person or virtually via Vimeo live. Find a how-to guide for Vimeo Live here. 

Click here for our Streaming page with the link to join us online and the service liturgy.