RIETS Graduate Halacha Programs Certificate and Master’s Programs in Bioethics, Business Ethics, and Jewish Law The RIETS Graduate Halacha Programs offer rigorous, applied Torah learning for those seeking to engage the most complex questions of contemporary life. Bioethics & Jewish Law Apply Business Ethics & Jewish Law Apply Business Halacha Curriculum Contact Us Artificial Intelligence Biotechnology Computer Science Cybersecurity Data Analytics and Visualization Digital Marketing and Media Mathematics Nursing Occupational Therapy Physician Assistant Physics Speech-Language Pathology Bioethics & Jewish Law The Bioethics & Jewish Law program equips students to understand how Halacha intersects with contemporary medical and bioethical challenges, preparing them to navigate complex moral dilemmas in healthcare, family, communal, and clinical settings. View Bioethics Certificate View Bioethics Master’s View Bioethics CoursesBusiness Ethics & Jewish Law The Business Ethics & Jewish Law program equips clergy, professionals, and community leaders with the ethical, analytical, and halakhic tools necessary to navigate contemporary business practice through the lens of Jewish legal thought.View Business Ethics Certificate View Business Ethics Master’s View Business Ethics Courses About the ProgramRIETS Graduate Halacha Programs are designed for students who want to bring deep Torah learning into conversation with the practical questions facing modern Jewish life. Through rigorous study of classical and contemporary sources, applied case analysis, and live discussion with leading faculty, students develop the tools to think carefully, communicate clearly, and respond responsibly to difficult halakhic and ethical questions. Why These Programs Matter Bioethics Focus Modern medicine raises urgent questions about fertility, end-of-life care, capacity, surgery, public health, emerging technologies, and the role of families, physicians, rabbis, and communities in medical decision-making. Business Ethics FocusModern business life raises equally serious questions about honesty, competition, markets, employment, finance, debt, acquisition, real estate, corporate structure, consumer protection, and communal responsibility. Bioethics & Jewish Law Objectives Students will learn to engage questions in: Fertility and infertility Surgery Death and dyingFetal life and abortion DNA and lineage Diminished capacity Defining death Public health and research ethicsHistory of Jewish bioethics Emerging technologies in Jewish bioethics Business Ethics & Jewish Law Objectives Students will learn to engage questions in: Workplace ethicsTheft and fraudJewish law fundamentalsReal estate development and acquisitionBrokerage in Jewish lawAcquisitionsConsumer protectionMarketingMonopoly power and market economicsDebt finance and rabbisCorporate structureInvestmentsEmployee rights and obligationsBusiness mediation Who Should ApplyThese programs are designed for:RIETS semikha students Rabbis and communal leadersPhysicians and healthcare professionalsBusiness professionalsEducators Chaplains and pastoral care professionalsGraduate students Shared ObjectivesStudents in RIETS Graduate Halacha Programs will: Develop fluency in key areas of applied Halacha. Learn to analyze contemporary dilemmas through classical and contemporary Torah sources. Understand the relationship between halakhic reasoning and broader ethical frameworks. Build confidence in applying halakhic principles to real-world cases. Strengthen their ability to communicate complex ideas with clarity and sensitivity. Prepare to serve as thoughtful resources in communal, professional, educational, and leadership settings. Advanced Certificate in Jewish Bioethics Includes: Two courses Bioethics & Jewish Law I Bioethics & Jewish Law II Offered in successive semesters Each course includes weekly online sessions and one in-person seminar Total cost: $6,000, or $3,000 per course Opportunities to meet with and learn from distinguished Roshei Yeshiva Master’s Degree in Bioethics & Jewish Law Includes: 30 credits Certificate/foundation courses Core courses Electives Capstone thesis Remote and synchronous learning Can be completed in one year full-time or over multiple years part-time Bioethics Course Breakdown Certificate/Foundation Courses — 6 Credits HAL 6301 Bioethics & Jewish Law I — 3 credits HAL 6302 Bioethics & Jewish Law II — 3 credits Core Requirements — 12 Credits HAL 6311 Fertility & Infertility (ART) — 3 credits HAL 6312 Surgery — 3 credits HAL 6313 Death & Dying — 3 credits HAL 6314 Fetal Life & Abortion — 3 credits Elective Requirements — 8 Credits Students choose from: HAL 6321 DNA & Lineage — 2 credits HAL 6322 Diminished Capacity — 2 credits HAL 6323 Defining Death — 2 credits HAL 6324 Public Health & Research Ethics — 2 credits HAL 6325 History of Jewish Bioethics — 2 credits HAL 6328 Emerging Technologies in Jewish Bioethics — 2 credits Capstone Thesis — 4 Credits HAL 6391 Thesis I: Research — 2 credits HAL 6392 Thesis II: Writing — 2 credits Advanced Certificate in Business Ethics & Jewish Law Includes: Two courses Business Ethics & Jewish Law I Business Ethics & Jewish Law II Synchronous online delivery $3,000 per course Certificate courses serve as the foundation for further master’s study Master’s Degree in Business Ethics & Jewish Law Includes: 30 credits 6 certificate credits 21 master’s course credits 3-credit thesis Four concentration areas: Real Estate Sales Finance Management Business Ethics Core Courses Workplace Ethics Theft and Fraud Jewish Law Fundamentals Business Ethics Concentration Areas Real Estate Real Estate Development and Acquisition Brokerage in Jewish Law Sales Acquisitions in Jewish Law Consumer Protection Marketing Monopoly Power and Market Economics Finance Debt Finance / Ribbis I Debt Finance / Ribbis II Corporate Structure Investments: Equity and Alternatives Management Employee Rights and Obligations I Employee Rights and Obligations II Business Mediation in Jewish Law Capstone Thesis Bioethics Faculty Rabbi Kalman Laufer Areas of expertiseShort one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Kalman Laufer Rabbi Kalman Laufer serves as faculty at both Yeshiva University’s Isaac Breuer College and Stern College for Women teaching courses in Medical & Business Ethics. Rabbi Laufer completed his Semikha (Yorah Yorah) at RIETS in 2017 and is currently pursuing Yadin Yadin (Dayanus) in the Rabbi Norman Lamm Kollel L’Horaah at RIETS under the auspices of Rabbi J. David Bleich and Rabbi Mordechai Willig. Rabbi Laufer graduated Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and a Master’s Degree in Accounting as well as a Master’s degree in Bioethics from Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Cardozo Law School. Rabbi Laufer focuses his studies in areas of Bioethics and Medical Halacha specifically working on Halakhic issues that arise in caring for parents suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia. He also serves as an independent member of the St. John’s Riverside Hospital Ethics Committee. Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman Areas of expertise Short one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he also teaches Jewish medical ethics, and holds the Rabbi Isaac and Bella Tendler Chair in Jewish Medical Ethics at Yeshiva College. He received his B.A. from Yeshiva University; M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and Rabbinic Ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. In addition to his full-time clinical practice in Emergency Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, Rabbi Dr. Reichman lectures internationally on Jewish medical ethics and Jewish medical history. He has edited numerous books and penned many book chapters and journal articles, and his book, The Anatomy of Jewish Law: A Fresh Dissection of the Relationship Between Medicine, Medical History and Rabbinic Literature was published jointly by Koren/OU/YU presses. Rabbi Dr. David Shabtai Areas of expertise Short one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Dr. David Shabtai Rabbi Dr. David Shabtai brings a unique combination of rabbinic scholarship, medical expertise, and public health training to the bioethics program. He received his B.A. from Columbia University; M.D. from New York University School of Medicine; M.P.H. from Brown University School of Public Health; and Rabbinic Ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, where he also completed the Wexner Kollel Elyon program. Rabbi Dr. Shabtai is a recognized authority in Jewish medical ethics, having authored Defining the Moment: Understanding Brain Death in Halakhah (Shoresh Press) and contributed chapters to numerous scholarly works on halakhic perspectives in modern medicine. He previously taught Jewish Perspectives on Bioethics at the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University, presenting monthly seminars for advanced rabbinical students on the intersection of science and Judaism. His practical rabbinic experience includes serving as Rabbi of the Sephardic Minyan at Boca Raton Synagogue, where he regularly addressed medical halakhic queries and worked with organizations like Chayim Aruchim to liaise between families, rabbis, and hospitals. Rabbi Dr. Shabtai has coordinated vaccine policy committees for South Florida Jewish day schools and served on multiple medical advisory committees. His scholarly work appears in leading publications including the Medical Halachah Annual, Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, and Jewish Medical Ethics. Rabbi Kalman Laufer Areas of expertiseShort one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Kalman Laufer Rabbi Kalman Laufer serves as faculty at both Yeshiva University’s Isaac Breuer College and Stern College for Women teaching courses in Medical & Business Ethics. Rabbi Laufer completed his Semikha (Yorah Yorah) at RIETS in 2017 and is currently pursuing Yadin Yadin (Dayanus) in the Rabbi Norman Lamm Kollel L’Horaah at RIETS under the auspices of Rabbi J. David Bleich and Rabbi Mordechai Willig. Rabbi Laufer graduated Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and a Master’s Degree in Accounting as well as a Master’s degree in Bioethics from Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Cardozo Law School. Rabbi Laufer focuses his studies in areas of Bioethics and Medical Halacha specifically working on Halakhic issues that arise in caring for parents suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia. He also serves as an independent member of the St. John’s Riverside Hospital Ethics Committee. Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman Areas of expertise Short one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he also teaches Jewish medical ethics, and holds the Rabbi Isaac and Bella Tendler Chair in Jewish Medical Ethics at Yeshiva College. He received his B.A. from Yeshiva University; M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and Rabbinic Ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. In addition to his full-time clinical practice in Emergency Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, Rabbi Dr. Reichman lectures internationally on Jewish medical ethics and Jewish medical history. He has edited numerous books and penned many book chapters and journal articles, and his book, The Anatomy of Jewish Law: A Fresh Dissection of the Relationship Between Medicine, Medical History and Rabbinic Literature was published jointly by Koren/OU/YU presses. Rabbi Dr. David Shabtai Areas of expertise Short one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Dr. David Shabtai Rabbi Dr. David Shabtai brings a unique combination of rabbinic scholarship, medical expertise, and public health training to the bioethics program. He received his B.A. from Columbia University; M.D. from New York University School of Medicine; M.P.H. from Brown University School of Public Health; and Rabbinic Ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, where he also completed the Wexner Kollel Elyon program. Rabbi Dr. Shabtai is a recognized authority in Jewish medical ethics, having authored Defining the Moment: Understanding Brain Death in Halakhah (Shoresh Press) and contributed chapters to numerous scholarly works on halakhic perspectives in modern medicine. He previously taught Jewish Perspectives on Bioethics at the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University, presenting monthly seminars for advanced rabbinical students on the intersection of science and Judaism. His practical rabbinic experience includes serving as Rabbi of the Sephardic Minyan at Boca Raton Synagogue, where he regularly addressed medical halakhic queries and worked with organizations like Chayim Aruchim to liaise between families, rabbis, and hospitals. Rabbi Dr. Shabtai has coordinated vaccine policy committees for South Florida Jewish day schools and served on multiple medical advisory committees. His scholarly work appears in leading publications including the Medical Halachah Annual, Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, and Jewish Medical Ethics. Business Ethics Faculty Rabbi Josh Fagin Areas of expertise Short one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Josh Fagin Bio Text Rabbi Daniel Rapp Areas of expertise Short one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Daniel Rapp Bio Text Rabbi Josh Fagin Areas of expertise Short one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Josh Fagin Bio Text Rabbi Daniel Rapp Areas of expertise Short one-line description Read Bio Rabbi Daniel Rapp Bio Text Bioethics & Jewish Law Apply Business Ethics & Jewish Law Apply Request more info