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Some ashkenazim carry genes that could lead their children to develop Tay-Sachs disease. For this reason many ashkenazim get genetic testing - I believe that this is dictated by halacha.

Do sephardim need to get tested as well? If a sefardi is thinking of marrying an ashkenazi is there a difference to the above question or do both partners need to be ashkenazi for this to be a problem?

mbloch
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Ani Yodea
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  • "I believe that this is dictated by halacha" - you'll need to give some strong support for this line. Given that the entire science of genetics is under 200 years old, you'll be hard pressed to find a classical source mandating testing. – Salmononius2 Apr 11 '16 at 18:49
  • @Salmononius2, I believe it's a simple matter of preventing a sakanah. – Ani Yodea Apr 11 '16 at 18:50
  • "Preventing a sakanah" is a very broad term. Who said one is obligated to do everything that prevents a sakanah? Additionally, claiming that something is a Halachic requirement could carry with it severe consequences. – Salmononius2 Apr 11 '16 at 18:56
  • I'm not great with understanding genetics. However, if I recall my bio correctly, when a gene is dominant, isn't there a possibility that that can be passed down to the next generation, regardless of ancestry? – DanF Apr 11 '16 at 19:00
  • There are, incidentally, people who oppose genetic testing on the basis of halacha cc @Salmononius2 – MTL Apr 11 '16 at 19:02
  • @DanF You meant recessive -- most of the screening done for Jews is for recessive genes, where having a single gene of a pair is not a problem (and is also not a problem to pass on to progeny), but would manifest itself if a child were to receive 2 of this pair, one from each parent. – MTL Apr 11 '16 at 19:04
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    To explain my vote to close; I voted to close as "about Jews," because without clarifying the halachic basis of the question, the way the question is written suggests (at least to me) to be about the science and best practice of genetic testing (ie is there a concern of TS by Sefaradim? How about just one Sefaradi parent?) – MTL Apr 11 '16 at 19:06
  • This is a bio/medicine question with "I believe that this is dictated by halacha" thrown in so it's not (IMO) technically off-topic. (I mistakenly closed it, canceling @Shokhet 's closure vote, and then reopened it on seeing the technical on-topic-ness of it.) Shokhet, if you can vote to close again, then by all means do so if you wish. If you wish to and cannot, then let me know. – msh210 Apr 11 '16 at 19:08
  • @Shokhet My thinking, initially also,. Does sound like a science question. But, I'm not yet sure. Thanks for the correction. I told you my genetics knowledge isn't great. Amazing I'm still alive :-0 – DanF Apr 11 '16 at 19:08
  • As a Sephardi who recently got married. Most genetic testing agencies don't have a large database for Sephardic testing as our likelihood for certain diseases are #1 more rare, #2 most of those diseases aren't fatal, #3 and the diseases that we share with Ashkenazim are enacted differently (for example, there was a disorder than Ashkenazim are screened through a DNA test i believe, whereas i needed to be checked with a saliva sample). So there shouldn't be any issue of a Sephardi marrying an Ashkenazi – Aaron Apr 11 '16 at 19:08
  • In any event, the people who are experts in this question will be over at the [health.se] site, not here. So I can move it there for you if you want, Ani Yodea, so you get better answers. – msh210 Apr 11 '16 at 19:08
  • @msh210 I can't vote to close (I think each regular user only gets one close vote + one reopen vote per question). My comment is still here, though – MTL Apr 11 '16 at 19:10
  • As a side note, Dor Yeshorim does have a separate battery of tests for Sefardim. Does this indicate that since DY only does things "in conjunction with rabbinical council" that it is necessary for Sefardim to undergo genetic screening? Still trying to get a sense of the question – MTL Apr 11 '16 at 19:19
  • @Shokhet It appears from what they say that it is permissible and they recommend testing, but they are not saying that it is required. THey are only saying that they think it is a good idea (the way they do it). – sabbahillel Apr 11 '16 at 20:05
  • @sabbahillel I don't know. If you think that's enough info to post an answer go for it – MTL Apr 11 '16 at 20:09
  • @Shokhet My comment doesn't answer the question as asked. It only says what I see from Dor Yeshurun. – sabbahillel Apr 11 '16 at 20:16
  • @sabbahillel Sorry, I misunderstood your comment. My bad – MTL Apr 11 '16 at 20:17
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it asks about the propensity of various diseases among different populations. This is not a question about Judaism – mevaqesh Aug 14 '16 at 17:22

2 Answers2

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There are different diseases that run in Sephardic families, such as Thalassemia and Glycogen Storage Disease.

It stands to reason that if it's advisable for Ashkenazim to get tested against their common diseases, the same would apply for Sephardim respectively. This is also what I've heard from some Jewish educators and medical professionals, though I haven't asked for permission to name them.

Shalom
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  • While there is ground for a pair of Sephardim to get genetically tested, this doesn't show that a Sephardi needs to get checked if marrying an Ashkenazi. – Aaron Apr 11 '16 at 23:08
  • Neither set of genepic diseases are 100% exclusive of the other and so testing is positive regardless of background. If one gets tested before dating someone you can call and see if your numbers are compatible if you have had the blood work done – Dude Apr 11 '16 at 23:21
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There are two issues here

  1. Are Jews permitted to test for genetic diseases before getting married? Are they required to?
  2. Does this apply differently for Ashkenazim and Sefardim?

The answer to the first issue is that it is permitted and even recommended by some for Ashkenazim because of the prevalence and terrible consequences of Tay-Sachs. See for instance

  • R Moshe Feinstein and R Tendler views here
  • R J. David Bleich here (as well as a mention of Dor Yeshorim who tests according to R Moshe's psak)
  • Nishmat here
  • a very complete article by Dr Fred Rosner, the Jewish medical ethicist,there

On the second, I had looked into this before getting married. Since I am Ashkenazi and my wife is Sefardi, Tay-Sachs doesn't apply and I decided not to test further as the frequency of other genetic diseases is much lower than other risks you accept when having kids (e.g, Dow).

Of course you should CYLOR for your specific situation and not rely on stranger's opinions even if they are well-intended and writing on respected sites.

mbloch
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