Speaker Profile Rabbi Gideon Weitzman

Rabbi Gideon Weitzman is the Director of the Puah Institute in the US and the Head of the English Speaking Section of the Puah Institute for Fertility and Medicine in Accordance with Halacha in Israel. He was born in Britain and studied in Yeshivat Beit El, receiving Rabbinic Ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. On completion of his studies, he founded the Kansas City Community Kollel and served as the first Rosh Kollel. On his return to Israel, he started working for the Puah Institute, and he has taught in a variety of educational institutions teaching kindergarten through to grandparents. He is also the Rabbi of the Merkaz Modiin Synagogue in Modiin. Rabbi Weitzman is a Visiting Associate Principal in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and teaches in the Gruss Kollel and the Midrasha for Women. He has published numerous articles on a variety of topics, he is a regular contributor to the annual halachic compendium Techumin. Among his articles are "The Various Methods of Sperm Extraction and their Relevance in the Eyes of the Halacha" and "Tubal Ligation for a Woman Undergoing IVF". He has also published papers in medical journals such as "Genetic Counseling for the Orthodox Jewish Couple Undergoing Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis" published in the Journal of Genetic Counseling and "Withdrawal of Life Sustaining Treatment for Newborn Infants from a Jewish Perspective" published in Early Human Development, as well as a number of book chapters. He writes a weekly column in the Jewish Press and the Torah Tidbits and answers several "Ask the Rabbi" websites. In addition he has published three books on the philosophy of Rav Kook. He has spoken at many major rabbinic organizations such as the Agudas Yisroel of America, the Young Israel and the Rabbinic Council of California as well as many academic forum such as the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Columbia Medical Center, and Cornell Medical Center, where he has shown a synthesis between medicine and halacha. Recently he has developed and taught online courses for rabbis in Chabad and alumni of Yeshiva University to educate them regarding fertility treatments and the interface with halacha. Rabbi Weitzman is a popular speaker and has been invited by many communities worldwide to address them on a wide range of topics.