Rabbi appointed to ethics committee

AS Rabbi Ralph Genende finishes up his 14 year stint at Caulfield Shule and begins his new role as senior rabbi at Jewish Care, he is also taking on another new position – religious adviser to the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of Health and Human Research (DHHR), which monitors the ethical implications of research involving humans.

He told The AJN that he was “attracted to this position because of its high level examination of ethical issues of contemporary relevance,” as well as “its commitment to research driven conclusions”.

Proud to be able to contribute to Australian society in a practical way, he said, “I believe it’s a critical component of Judaism’s outreach to interact with the world around us. It’s part of the imperative of tikkun olam (doing our bit to heal and better the planet we inhabit) and an exemplification of Modern Orthodoxy’s commitment to Torah ve Chochma, the synthesis of Torah wisdom and universal wisdom.”

Reflecting on the anniversary of the passing of former chief rabbi of the Commonwealth Lord Jonathan Sacks who embodied these principles, Rabbi Genende acknowledged his inspiration and that of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik in this new endeavour.

“It’s an honour to have been selected from a very large pool of applicants and I hope I will bring credit to our Jewish community and be a Kiddush Hashem,” he said.