Written by Josh Forman, Head of Science, Education & Outreach
Rosh Hashanah is known as the Jewish New Year, but it is much more than the turning of a calendar. It is a time for reflection, renewal and possibility, a chance to consider where we have come from, where we are going and how the choices we make today will shape tomorrow.
New beginnings are woven throughout this Chag. The sound of the shofar calls us to wake up, reflect and act. We wish one another a sweet new year with the understanding that we each have the opportunity to shape the future.
That message extends far beyond our personal lives. We are living through one of the most significant transformations in the history of medicine.
For much of human history, healthcare has been reactive. Doctors have done, and continue to do remarkable work diagnosing disease, relieving suffering and extending life, but treatment usually begins only after illness had taken hold.
Today, that is changing.
Advances in genetics are ushering in a new era of preventative medicine. By understanding the information written within our DNA, we can identify inherited risks before symptoms develop. BRCA testing identifies people at increased risk of inherited cancers, while pre-conception carrier screening gives couples the opportunity to prevent severe inherited genetic conditions from affecting future generations.
We are already seeing what this future looks like. Through the NHS Jewish BRCA Screening Programme, almost 44,000 people came forward for testing, and more than 740 individuals were identified as carrying a BRCA gene variant associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer. Instead of discovering that risk only after diagnosis, they can now access enhanced surveillance and, where appropriate, risk reducing interventions. For Jnetics, which has long advocated for equitable access to BRCA testing within the Jewish community, seeing this pioneering programme become a permanent NHS service has been a powerful demonstration that preventative genomic medicine is no longer a vision for the future but a reality today.
This summer also marked another milestone. Following a campaign by Jesy Nelson after her twins were diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, the NHS announced that SMA will be added to England’s newborn heel prick screening programme. Detecting the condition in the first days of life allows treatment before irreversible nerve damage occurs, dramatically improving outcomes.
These are not isolated successes. Israel has long offered population carrier screening and countries around the world are expanding genomic screening programmes. Medicine is increasingly identifying risk before symptoms appear, giving people the opportunity to act instead of simply reacting.
For generations, medicine asked, “How do we treat this disease?” Increasingly, it is asking, “How can we prevent it?” Genetics is helping turn prevention from a broad public health message into personalised healthcare.
For the Jewish community, this shift has particular significance. Because of our shared ancestry, certain inherited genetic conditions are more common amongst Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish populations. Previous generations often had no warning and few answers. Today, genetics gives us the opportunity to act before disease changes lives.
Knowledge, however, is only valuable if we choose to use it.
Judaism has always placed extraordinary value on preserving life. The principle of pikuach nefesh, that protecting life overrides almost every other religious obligation, reminds us that caring for health is not merely a personal choice but a shared responsibility. If we can reduce suffering and protect future generations, embracing that knowledge becomes an expression of one of Judaism’s deepest values.
At Jnetics, we see this transformation every day through education, carrier screening and our work supporting access to BRCA testing. Our aim is simple, to help people understand their inherited genetic risks early enough to make informed decisions.
This is not science fiction. It is happening now.
As we begin another year, perhaps we should think about more than the fresh starts we hope to make in our own lives. We should also recognise the new beginning taking place across healthcare. Future generations may look back on this period as the moment medicine changed from waiting for illness to understanding risk and preventing disease before it develops.
The shofar calls us to look forward with hope. Genetics gives us another reason to do exactly that.
May this be a year of health, hope and new beginnings for ourselves, our families and generations yet to come.
Shanah Tovah.
