Behind the Ballot Box: On Healthcare (with Rabbi Len Sharzer)

With Election Day rapidly approaching, there are many issues of concern to each voter before they cast their ballot. But the Jewish voter is not monolithic. In each episode of “Behind the Ballot Box: Jewish Values and Our Vote,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky speaks to rabbis and Jewish communal professionals about a specific issue at stake in this election and why they believe it should be front and center in the minds of voters.

Host Rabbi Jesse Olitzky of Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ speaks with Rabbi Leonard Sharzer, MD about the future of healthcare in America and how November’s election, and the future of the Supreme Court may impact that. Rabbi Sharzer is Assoicate Director for Bioethics Emeritus of the Finkelstein Institute of Religious and Social Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary. In their conversation, they explore how the Jewish community — and the government — should act during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, how rabbinic tradition prioritizes healthcare over anything else, what Pekuach Nefesh (saving a life) really means, and what the rabbis say about medicare for all. Vote like your life depends on it, because as they acknowledge in their conversation about the future of healthcare in this country, for many, their life does depend on it.

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