I received an announcement about a convention being held on Shabbos Nachamu. The convention is being held by the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists. What interested me was the listing of some of the topics that will be covered at the convention. From the advert:
Alcoholism in the Jewish Community
Alternative Health Care in the Jewish CommunityRabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt
Who Invented the Search Engine?Dr. Bella Weinberg
Epigenetics: The Maternal Influence on the 12 TribesRabbi Dr. Nachman Cohen
Conflict Resolution: Fighting Fair, Making Peace & Getting AlongDr. Samuel Juni
The Evolving Jewish Family: New Social, Financial & Technological ChallengesDrs. Sylvan & Marcy Schaffer
New Health Care Legislation: The Jewish Perspective Rabbi Dr. Moshe D. Tendler
Medical Care & Hysteria: Vaccines, Autism & the Jewish CommunityDr. Allen J. Bennett
Shabbos & Pikuach Nefesh Dr. Robert Schulman
Improving Exercise in the Developing Child Dr. Susan Schulman
The Ethics of Blogging Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Goldberg
Is Our Maror Really what the Torah had in Mind? Dr. Jon Greenberg
The Psychology of Jewish Guilt Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Lasson
Homosexuality in the Jewish Community Dr. Arthur Goldberg
These all seem to be topics that I've heard people express interest in hearing about/talking about, at least in the J-blogosphere and in the world that leans towards orthodox rather than further right. I'd hope that those giving the various speeches would publish them for a wider audience than just those attending the convention.
I've known about the AOJS for years but I also know that many have no idea that such an organization exists. Sadly, for some people you can't put Orthodox Jewish together in one name with Scientist. If you're interested in the convention or just finding out about the AOJS contact info is: 718.969.3669 or nachamu@aojs.org
2 comments:
My husband and I will be attending this AOJS weekend. You're right that many of the topics that will be covered are ones that people seem to be interested in but that no major jewish publications or organizations are covering with any depth or at all. The few times that a few of the subjects have gotten some public coverage there was mostly outrage or yells of disbelief that these were problems that needed addressing.
Very interesting mix of subjects and speakers. I don't know if this mix is typical of AOJS conventions, but I'm a bit surprised at the lack of representation of any of the "hard" sciences: seems like almost everything is social science based.
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