RIETS Launches New Master’s Degree in Bioethics and Jewish Law

The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary launched a new master’s degree in Bioethics and Jewish Law. Starting in the Fall of 2025, this remote program will train students to integrate Halacha with contemporary medical and ethical dilemmas.

According to the Yeshiva University website, participants in the master's degree include rabbis, healthcare professionals and community leaders who view medical and ethical questions through a halachic lens. The program is directed by Rabbi Kalman Laufer – faculty at Yeshiva University’s Isaac Breuer College and Stern College – and will build upon the certificate program, which launched in the fall of 2023. Graduates of this program will be trained to contribute to hospitals, schools, synagogues, and community settings. 

“Our vision is for students to gain not only deep academic knowledge but also the ability to apply that knowledge in meaningful ways. We want graduates to feel prepared to assist their families, communities, and institutions through complex ethical questions while communicating effectively with both poskim and healthcare professionals,” Rabbi Laufer told The Commentator. “The unifying goal is to empower graduates to be thoughtful, trusted advocates for Torah values in healthcare and beyond.”

The certificate degree consists of two semester-long courses — Bioethics and Jewish Law 1 and 2 — spanning from September to April. Along with in-person classes, participants take part in twelve online weekly sessions. The cost for the certificate degree is $6,000.

The master's degree expands on this model, requiring 30 credits for completion. This program can be completed in one year and is more in-depth than the certificate program, providing participants with “the analytical skills and textual grounding needed for advanced application in clinical, communal, or academic settings,” the program’s website noted.

This fully remote program requires students to complete six credits from the certificate degree and to take four core and elective courses. Courses include “Death and Dying” with Rabbi Dr. David Shabatai and “Diminished Capacity” with Rabbi Laufer. Other faculty members involved in the program include Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner, the senior rabbi at Cedars-Sinai and Knesset Israel Synagogue; Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman, a professor of emergency medicine and chair in Jewish medical ethics at YU; and Rabbi Dr. David Shabtai, the rabbi of the Sephardic Minyan at Boca Raton, with degrees in medicine, public health and rabbinics.

To conclude the master’s degree program, students must complete a capstone thesis: a project spanning two semesters, achieved with the assistance of a faculty advisor. The cost for this program differs from the certificate program, charging tuition at the REITS per-credit rate. 

“We have more than 30 students enrolled across our certificate and master’s courses for this coming fall, with a few spots still available,”  Rabbi Laufer said. “The challenges of modern healthcare intersect with halacha in ways that are deeply personal and often urgent. Patients, families, healthcare professionals and our communities at large need people who can navigate those challenges with both Torah knowledge and practical ethical training.” 

“Medical decisions are among the most serious halachic questions a person will ever face,” Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz told YUNews. “This program will enable rabbinical students and health care professionals to present the most complex questions with clarity and understanding of the issues at hand, and is designed to inspire a deep sense of Yiras Shamayim in dealing with the nuanced challenges.”

Harry Meister, who graduated from YC in May 2025 and is beginning his MPhil in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, is an inaugural member of the master's degree program. Reflecting on his goals for the program, Meister told The Commentator, “I have been looking for a program that blends medical ethics and halacha for a few years now. I wrote my undergraduate thesis in medical ethics, halacha, neurology, and neuroscience, which are also the areas I’m studying in graduate school. … There are many Catholic medical ethicists, and I think it’s very important that there exists a program for Jewish medical ethics.”

Photo Caption: Rabbi Kalman Laufer, director of the RIETS Graduate Program in Bioethics & Jewish Law

Photo Credit: Yeshiva University