Agudath professionals conference draws hundreds

Seeking to balance their professions alongside Torah guidelines, hundreds of participants attended Agudath Israel’s Halacha Conference for Professionals and the Business Community on May 15 in Brooklyn.

Topics such as wills and estates, organ donation, taxation and accounting, and abuse reporting were addressed in pairs with Agudath rabbis presenting alongside moderators accredited in medicine, law, family therapy, and accounting.

Noting the contrast that sometimes appears between Torah views and conventional judgment, Agudath Israel board chairman Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger quoted an example from famed prewar rosh yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, who argued that in certain life-saving situations, an older person would receive precedence over someone younger. ““We have to make our community aware of the rulings of da’as Torah on those issues that impact on our daily lives,” Rabbi Weinberger said.

Speaking on end-of-life care, Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger described the unprecedented legal challenges of following Torah guidelines in medical treatment of the elderly. “The conference addressed on how you and your loved ones should be treated according to Torah and not be left to languish and die,” said Rabbi Chaim Flink of Kew Gardens, who attended the conference. “Death should not be hastened.”

On the topic of abuse, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel, spoke in support of reporting abuse to authorities. “The Torah approves reporting abuse to authorities,” said Rabbi Flink. “It’s about preventing opportunities for abuse from happening.”