CABS: Amy E. Schwartz “Can Robots Be Jewish and Other Pressing Matters of Modern Life”

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When Moment Mag­a­zine arrives every oth­er month, loy­al read­ers turn to its long-run­ning “Ask the Rab­bis” fea­ture. In this col­umn rab­bis of dif­fer­ent denom­i­na­tions — Inde­pen­dent, Human­ist, Jew­ish Renew­al, Recon­struc­tion­ist, Reform, Con­ser­v­a­tive, Ortho­dox, Sephardic, and Chabad — con­sid­er some of the most provoca­tive ques­tions of the day. Their respons­es span the range of mod­ern Jew­ish thought. Some­times they agree but not often. In these Solomon-like delib­er­a­tions, the rab­bis answer some of modernity’s press­ing ques­tions: Does Jew­ish anx­i­ety have a the­o­log­i­cal basis? Do sci­ence and Judaism con­flict? Is whistle­blow­ing a Jew­ish oblig­a­tion? Are there things that can­not be for­giv­en? Is Judaism good for women? Is there a Jew­ish way to par­ent? Is it kosher to tell a white lie? Should we edit our children’s genes? Can a robot be Jew­ish? Is democ­ra­cy Jew­ish? Does Jew­ish law for­bid racism? Do Jews believe in an after­life? Should there be an eleventh com­mand­ment and if so what should it be? Are Jews still expect­ing a Mes­si­ah? 

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You can purchase Can Robots Be Jewish through online retailers (Amazon) and in person at Barnes and Noble on 725, across from the Dayton Mall.

Amy E. Schwartz, a long­time edi­to­r­i­al writer and op-ed colum­nist at The Wash­ing­ton Post, is edi­tor of Moment Mag­a­zine’s “Ask the Rab­bis” sec­tion. Schwartz, who has worked at Harper’s, The New Repub­lic, and The Wil­son Quar­ter­ly is also the pres­i­dent of the mul­ti-denom­i­na­tion­al Jew­ish Stud­ies Cen­ter in Wash­ing­ton, DC.