Elliot N. Dorff (born 24 June 1943) is a Conservative rabbi, a professor of Jewish theology at the University of Judaism in California (where he is also Rector), author, and a bio-ethicist. June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... This article refers to Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason) means reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and God. ... The University of Judaism, informally known as the UJ, is a university with Jewish undergraduate, graduate, rabbinic, cantorial, and continuing education studies. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Dorff is an expert in the philosophy of Conservative Judaism, Bioethics, and acknowledged within the Conservative community as an expert decisor of Jewish law. Dorff was ordained as a rabbi from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1970. He earned a Ph.D in philosophy from Columbia University in 1971. This article refers to Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Bioethics is the ethics of biological science and medicine. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbī or rebbə; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Dorff is a prolific member of the Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and has written many responsa (opinion papers and legal rulings) on many aspects of Jewish law and philosophy. (There is a separate article on Conservative responsa.) Originally set up as the alumni association of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), the Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the official, international body of Conservative rabbis, with some 1400 members. ... Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. ... The Conservative responsa is the body of responsa literature of Conservative Judaism (also known as Masorti Judaism). ...

In the spring of 1993, Dorff served on the ethics committee of Hillary Rodham Clinton's Health Care Task Force, and in March 1997 and May 1999, he, along with other rabbis, testified on behalf on the Jewish tradition on the subjects of human cloning and stem cell research before the president's National Bioethics Advisory Commission. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Hillary Rodham Clinton (born Hillary Diane Rodham on October 26, 1947) is the junior United States Senator from New York, serving her freshman term since January 3, 2001. ...

In Los Angeles, he is a member of the Board of Jewish Family Service and has served as its vice president. He is also a member of the Institutional Review Board of Midway Hospital and the ethics committee at the Jewish Homes for the Aging and UCLA Medical Center. He is co-chairman of the "Priest-Rabbi Dialogue" sponsored by the Los Angeles Archdiocese and the Board of Rabbis of Southern California. Nickname: City of Angels Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Area    - City 1,290. ...

Dorff has written over one hundred articles on ethics, Jewish thought, Jewish law and custom, and bioethics. Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ethikos, meaning arising from habit), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of value or quality. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ...

One of the major trends in modern Jewish philosophy was the attempt to develop a theory of Judaism through existentialism. One of the primary players in this field was Franz Rosenzweig. Rozensweig's major work, Star of Redemption, gives a philosophy in which he portrays the relationships between God, humanity and world as they are connected by creation, revelation and redemption. Dorff takes the existentialist philosophy as Rosensweig as one of his primary starting points for understanding Jewish philosophy. Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Franz Rosenzweig (1886 - 1929) was one of the most influential modern Jewish religious thinkers. ...

On December 6th, 2006, the law committee accepted a paper by Rabbis Elliot Dorff, Daniel Nevins and Avram Reisner on homosexual marriage and ordination of homosexual rabbis, while it upheld the biblical prohibition on male intercourse.^[1] December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bibliography

• Responsa 1991-2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, 2001, The Rabbinical Assembly
• Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement 1986 - 1990, The Rabbinical Assembly, 2001.
• Life & Death Responsibilities in Jewish Biomedical Ethics, Aaron L. Mackler, JTS, 2000
• Contemporary Jewish Theology: A Reader Oxford University Press, 1999
• Matters of Life and Death: A Jewish Approach to Modern Medical Ethics Jewish Publication Society, 1998
• Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality: A Reader (With Louis Newman) Oxford University Press, 1995

References