Astral Codex Ten

Talmud

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Talmud

Article

Talmud is a recurring book in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 2 times across 2 issues between February 22, 2022 and October 19, 2022. The archive places it in contexts such as “anything not explicitly prohibited in the Bible and Talmud is assumed to be permitted”; “The Talmud - Berakhot 61a - says that ‘a person has two kidneys”. It most often appears alongside Bay Area, Bible, Elizabeth.

Metadata

  • Category: Books
  • Mention count: 2
  • Issue count: 2
  • First seen: February 22, 2022
  • Last seen: October 19, 2022

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Links For February
February 22, 2022 · Original source
Judaism is lenient on genetic engineering as "Jewish tradition posits that man was created in the 'image of G-d' to be a partner with G-d in mastering and perfecting himself and the natural world" and Judaism has a "general principle that anything not explicitly prohibited in the Bible and Talmud is assumed to be permitted." Rabbi Dr. Avraham Steinberg, the co-chair of Israel's National Bioethics Council, writes, "As long as the act of perfecting the world does not violate halakhic prohibitions, or lead to results which would be halakhically prohibited, then we are given a mandate to use science and technology to improve the world." Genetic engineering of course is not halakhically prohibited. He "believes that we should proceed with ... genetic engineering [even if it is non-life-preserving] as long as we believe that the benefits to man outweigh the risks."
Inline links: Judaism is lenient on genetic engineering, Rabbi Dr. Avraham Steinberg
Another Bay Area House Party
October 19, 2022 · Original source
“Oh no, it’s more complicated than that. The Talmud - Berakhot 61a - says that ‘a person has two kidneys, one of which counsels him to do good, and the other counsels him to do evil.’ If the Sages are right, then someone who gives away one of their kidneys would end up either totally good or totally evil.”
“Oh no, the Talmud is very clear, the left kidney is the evil one. And most surgeons take the left kidney, because it has a longer associated renal vein.”