What does the halacha say about donating organs? The Model Beis Din team imagined a world in which selling organs is legal, and our students spent months researching and delving into the sugyos that discuss the halachic and moral ramifications of organ sales. The Model Beis Din competition, hosted by Lander College for Men, hosted yeshiva high schools from around the country to debate this halachic topic on Sunday, March 5. Rabbi Noach Goldstein (Rosh Beit Midrash, YU Torah Mitzion Kollel), and Rabbi Ari Zucker coached the talmidim through the sugya and helped them prepare to debate the merits and drawbacks involved in selling organs with sources ranging from Gemaras to modern-day poskim.
The team debated the defending champions, Mesivta of Philidelphia, and the Hillel Yeshiva of Pittsburgh. The highlight was a personal discussion in learning with Lander Rosh Yeshiva, Hagaon Rav Yonassan Sacks shlita. After the debate, they ventured to Main Street in Queens for a taste of Jewish life in New York, before returning home.