Is Genetic Engineering in the Bible?

A Jewish view on synthetic biology

Shlomo Yaffe

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Is Genetic Engineering in the Bible?: A Jewish view on synthetic biology

Does Torah allow or prohibit genetic engineering? What are the sources in Torah to argue either way?

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Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe is a frequent contributor of articles and media to Chabad.org, is Dean of the Institute of American and Talmudic Law in New York, N.Y., and Rabbi of Congregation B'nai Torah in Springfield. Mass. Rabbi Yaffe has lectured and led seminars throughout North America, as well as in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

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Sharon New Jersey February 18, 2014

I love Torah Greg, I just completed reading Zecharia Sitchin, glad to hear another fellow jew is exploring and enlightened. Reply

Michael Swanger January 12, 2014

clones I have to disagree with the rabbi over the issues of clones. Clones are artificially created identities. Even if they appear human, act and reason as such, they are not human even if they read Torah. A soul does not make someone human as this rabbi implies. I am a body, have a soul (mind with emotions and reasoning) and I have a spirit. It is my spirit that is eternal and has not one thing to do with my mother or father. It came directly from HaShem and it enters the body generally in 40 days. Until my spirit entered this body I was an animal. Because the sole direct difference between an animal and a human being is the eternal spirit. I base this upon the fact that HaShem created animals out of dirt and called them into being. He made Adam out of dirt but breathed into him a spirit and gave Adam eternal life. Altho Adam died from sin, his body died but his spirit lives.>>also man has no right to genetic engineer anything. In doing so, he is playing G-D. Reply

Beverly Allgood Scottsdale July 18, 2019

in response to Michael Swanger:

Amen, I agree! Reply

Aleks Yaqubssohn April 24, 2025

in response to Michael Swanger:

being made in God's image and likeness, that means we are made with attributes of God, albeit limited, unlike His. that means among other ability to create, including create a being in our own image and likeness. in other words, we MAY 'PLAY GOD'. maybe even HAVE TO. also, Judaism believes that souls are not fully unique in that they are related to one another, sort of 'branching out' from one another. in that sense, you may consider your clones' souls 'branches of your original one'. Reply

Gregory Glavinovich Sacramento December 29, 2013

I love Chabad, Torah, fellow jews.rabbis,,however of course genetic engineering is in the Torah. (made in the image of...)
Enki is in the Torah = read Michael Tellinger - "Slave Species of god"
clay tablets discovered in the last 150 years in Iraq - translated by Zecharia Sitchin,
say Enki designed our DNA 200,ooo years ago so humans would be slaves in the gold mining - you are laughing....read the books. Sitchin (jewish) sold 3 milliion books.As a young boy, he asked his hebrew teacher in Israel - why are there Nephilim in the Torah? His teacher said - dont worry about it. Years later he became an expert in akkadian and sumerian. You read the clay tablets - recently discovered and then you can make an opinion. Go outside the box. YHVH the tetragamaton = composite of four gods (small g, not capitalized G) = Anu, Enlil, Enki, Marduk. Google each name as well as Anunaki, planet Nibiru before you make an opinion read Sitchin, Tellinger. 3000 years ago, Marduk was the leader of the egyptians, and Enlil was the leader of Moses. Enki son=wa Reply

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Is Genetic Engineering in the Bible?

A Jewish view on synthetic biology