Moshe David Tendler (August 7, 1926 – September 28, 2021) was an American rabbi, professor of biology and expert in medical ethics. He served as chairman of the biology department at Yeshiva University.[1]
In 1951, Yeshiva University's Samuel Belkin encouraged Tendler to lead the Great Neck Synagogue for one year as an intern, thereby becoming the community's first rabbi.[4] He later became the long-time rabbi of the Community Synagogue of Monsey, New York.
Tendler was the son-in-law of Moshe Feinstein, a world-renowned posek.[5] Some of Feinstein's "Iggerot Mosheh" responsa are addressed to his son-in-law. His wife, Shifra, died in October 2007.[6] Tendler died on September 28, 2021, in Rochelle Park, New Jersey.[2]
Medical ethics
Community Synagogue of Monsey
Tendler wrote and lectured widely on medical ethics. He translated various medical oriented responsa of Feinstein into English, even though Feinstein expressly forbade such translations.[7][8] Tendler advocated the theory that complete and irreversible cessation of function of the entire brain renders a person "physiologically decapitated", and they are thus considered legally dead according to Jewish law.[9] Tendler also asserted that once organ donation has been deemed permissible under the given conditions, it is indeed mandatory, falling under the rubric of the legal obligation of Jews to preserve the lives of others.[10] In addition, Tendler has written extensively on euthanasia, infertility, end of life issues, organ donation, and brit milah (Jewish circumcision). Tendler was a strong advocate for the use of a tube when performing metzitzah, suction of blood during circumcision.[11] Serving on an RCA panel on stem cell research, Tendler expressed respectful disagreement with the Bush administration's position.[12]
Tendler voiced his objection to the tactics employed by the New York divorce coercion gang, an outfit of rabbis that utilized kidnapping, and sometimes torture, to force Jewish men to grant their wives religious divorces, saying "The idea that a beth din can issue an order for coercion is baloney, a hoax." While conceding that he had had previous dealings with Mendel Epstein, a leader of that group, Tendler nevertheless characterized him as being "unreliable". Regarding Martin Wolmark, another member of that group, Tendler stated, "He's a very intelligent fellow, and he's American. I can't imagine him getting involved in such a dirty business."[13] Epstein was later convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping,[14] and Wolmark was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion.[15]
Tendler was responsible for the fact that modern-day Orthodox Jews in the United States and Israel generally do not consider swordfish to be a kosher fish. Kosher fish must have both fins and scales, and while swordfish are born with scales, they shed them as they grow into adulthood. Orthodox opinion began to shift in 1951, after Tendler examined swordfish and decided that it was not kosher due to the lack of scales. Tendler's opinion provoked strong debate among halakhic authorities during the 1960s.[16] Among Mediterranean Jews, however, there was a longstanding minhag of considering swordfish kosher. Swordfish was, and possibly still is, consumed by Jews in Italy, Turkey, Gibraltar, Morocco, Tunisia, and England[17]
