This talk explores the evolving Jewish engagement with genetic technologies through an anthropological lens. Tracing responses from initial halachic debates over permissibility to growing communal norms of obligation, the lecture highlights how religious law, medical innovation, and culturally sensitive health practices intersect to shape Jewish life today.

Dr. Lea Taragin-Zeller is a cultural anthropologist with research interests in religion, gender, science and reproductive politics. She is Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies and Public Policy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and former Jewish Chaplain at the University of Cambridge. Her book “The State of Desire: Religion and Reproductive Politics in the Promised Land” (NYU Press, 2023) was awarded a Jordan Schnitzer Book Award by the Association of Jewish Studies (AJS) in 2024. She has ongoing research projects aimed at developing a model of inclusive science and health communication for religious minorities.