Conversations with Rabbi Dr Akiva Tatz

Why are we coronating God as King on the day of judgement? Why do we do tshuva on Yom Kippur after judgement has been decided? What should we be focusing on on Rosh Hashana?

One of the most important teachers of Jewish Thought in the last 500 years. Hear about his life,  his writings and his philosophy, in a new 2-part series. Plus an exciting opportunity to join Rabbi Tatz for 4 days in Prague this November '22. Link to episodes - www.jle.org.uk/podcast

What should we make of near death experiences? Can one desecrate a body to save a life? Can one break shabbat to restore someones sight? Hearing? Organs like the heart that needs to be taken when still beating, can one transplant if they're legally dead? Which organs is one allowed to transplant from a deceased person?

Is one allowed to receive an organ transplant from a non kosher animal? If one receives an ovarian transplant, who's children are they? If one transplants a head or a brain, who are you?! If a person didn't have a heartbeat and comes back to life after CPR, did you save a life or revive the dead? Do they need to remarry their spouse? Did their children inherit their assets? When exactly is the moment of death?

Does God allow us to make decisions about our life? If someone doesn't want medical treatment, can one treat without their will? What happens when Jewish Law disagrees with Medical Law?

What is the purpose of humour? The Torah has many references to laughing- why? Why do Jews have a good sense of humour? Why is Purim a time of hilarity and laughter?

Can we all be traced back to one mother? Can people be identified on a population basis? Where we come from? Can snippets of bones be taken to prove a Jewish body?

Can one use DNA to identify remains? To allow a married woman to get remarried? Can we incriminate based on DNA?

Amazing new developments in Genetics Technology.  Can families with known genetics diseases be helped? Is it morally incorrect to produce children with disadvantages?

Why it is so important? What are we screening for? What type of screening to do?

How should parents bring our their children's uniqueness? What if someone feels bland and talentless? Can one change completely in later life? etc...

Is Judaism a system designed to produce clones? Must everyone be the same? Is every human being absolutely necessary for the world to function? Why has art and music overtime moved from structured to chaos? Has learning Torah become more difficult overtime?

How should one navigate sibling rivalry? If a child is struggling and lives at home, how to shelter other children? Should one move country for better education? + many more...

What are the qualities of character most important to instill in one's children? How does one make children feel loved? How should one reward children?  Why do schools not physically punish anymore?

The background of raising children (Chinuch). How does one healthily discipline children? What to do if you don't agree to the schools methods of chinuch?

Why are there less divorces among ultra orthodox if they know each other for much less time than secular? At what point in seeking a partner should you contemplate compromising? The marriage is very difficult- at what point can/should one contemplate divorce? Are all marriages fixable? A couple have a big life decision to make- where to move to, kids education etc- fiercely opposing views- how does one decide? 40 days nishmas, amuka there are countless segulos for finding one’s partner- should one do them? Do they help?

Is it important to have an intelligent partner? Are previous traumas, broken relationships damaging? What is the main ingredient necessary for a beautiful and loving marriage?

How important is it to be similar to one's partner? What if he/she is nearly perfect but something disturbs you? How long should one date before marriage?

Why should one get married? Is it biblical commandment? What are the non negotiables when seeking a marriage partner?

If a patient is terminally ill with Covid or another disease- is treatment always required? Can treatment ever be withheld or withdrawn - let’s say if the patient doesn’t want it? Can one take strong drugs for pain that could potentially be dangerous?

How do we decide who gets treated when we simply don’t have the resources to treat everyone? Do we ever prioritise for example treating many vs a few somewhere else? Young over old? Men vs Women?

How are we supposed to trust the pharmaceutical companies? Should we be worried about the risks of the vaccine? How does medical intervention and halcha work together?

Why is Torah the focus of jewish identity? What’s the difference between the oral law and the written law? What is “gemara”?

What really happened at Sinai? What is real faith and how was it established there? Was that only for the Jews? How about the non-jewish nations, what’s their purpose?

What does counting down achieve? The torah says count 50 days, why do we not count the 50th day?