Rabbi David Shabtai, MD, the Vice President of the Institute for Jewish Research and Publication, is fascinated by the interaction and intersection of Judaism with science, health, and medicine. He is involved and consulted with on many Jewish health and medicine related issues, from fertility to end of life.
Graduating from Columbia College with a degree in biological sciences, David worked in a biological research laboratory, studying innate immunity, but more importantly, learning and practicing the scientific method and beginning to appreciate how the analytical Talmudic methodology could be applied to other areas of knowledge and scientific exploration. David then pursued both his medical degree from NYU School of Medicine and rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University. Being able to look at and analyze questions, challenges, and problems from both perspectives offers an integrative approach to approaching ethical challenges in medicine. After completing medical school, David was a member of the prestigious Bella and Harry Wexner Kollel Elyon at RIETS, prior to which he published his first book, Defining the Moment: Understanding Brain Death in Halakhah (Shoresh Press, 2012), which includes approbations from, among others, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, and from Rabbi J. David Bleich, who wrote: “Rabbi Shabtai must already be considered a ranking figure in the field of Jewish Bioethics. There is no doubt that he will become an eminent and eloquent proponent of authentic Jewish teaching in this area. The coming generation will be enriched by his erudition and expertise.”
He has held congregational rabbinic as well as educational roles, in both high school and higher education, in the sciences, Judaic studies, and ethics topics. He writes and speaks widely on a variety of health related and ethical topics, most recently publishing “Jewish Perspectives on Death by Neurologic Criteria,” in Death Determination by Neurologic Criteria, Advances in Neuroethics (Springer, 2022).
Rabbi David Shabtai, MD, has served on numerous health related committees and organizations, including school and synagogue related medical advisory task forces and committees at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Program for Jewish Genetic Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is currently part of a working group studying the ethical issues surrounding xenotransplantation and is active in the organ transplantation community.
As a current MPH candidate at Brown University School of Public Health, David is focusing on ways in which faith communities interact with public health and how Jewish law and thought approaches and deals with population health.
Together with this background and skill set, David is also an experienced book publisher, having brought more than 50 books to print in the last year. As Vice President of The Institute for Jewish Research and Publications, David hopes to bring his analytic focus and continued thirst for knowledge to further the Institute’s mission.