Can the teachings of Judaism provide a
sacred framework for repairing the world?
In this groundbreaking volume, leading
rabbis, intellectuals, and activists explore the relationship
between Judaism and social justice, drawing on ancient and
modern sources of wisdom. The contributors argue that American
Jewry must move beyond “mitzvah days” and other
occasional service programs, and dedicate itself to systemic
change in the United States, Israel, and throughout the world.
These provocative essays concentrate on specific justice issues
such as eradicating war, global warming, health care, gay
rights and domestic violence, offering practical ways to
transform theory into practice, and ideas into advocacy.
Rich and passionate, these expressions
will inspire you to consider your obligations as a Jew, as an
American and as a global citizen, while challenging you to take
thoughtful and effective action in the world.
Contributors:
Martha Ackelsberg, PhD • Rabbi
Rebecca Alpert, PhD • Diane Balser, PhD • Jeremy
Benstein, PhD • Rabbi Phyllis Berman • Ellen
Bernstein • Marla Brettschneider, PhD • Rabbi Sharon
Brous • Aryeh Cohen, PhD • Stephen P. Cohen, PhD
• Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, PhD • Aaron Dorfman •
Jacob Feinspan • Rabbi Marla Feldman • Sandra M. Fox,
LCSW • Julia Greenberg • Mark Hanis • Rabbi Jill
Jacobs • Rabbi Jane Kanarek, PhD • Rabbi Elliot Rose
Kukla • Joshua Seth Ladon • Arieh Lebowitz •
Rabbi Michael Lerner, PhD • Shaul Magid, PhD • Rabbi
Natan Margalit, PhD • Ruth Messinger • Jay Michaelson
• Rabbi Micha Odenheimer • Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
• Judith Plaskow, PhD • Judith Rosenbaum, PhD •
April Rosenblum • Adam Rubin, PhD • Danya Ruttenberg
• Rabbi David Saperstein • Joel Schalit • Rabbi
Sidney Schwarz, PhD • Martin I. Seltman, MD • Dara
Silverman • Daniel Sokatch • Shana Starobin •
Naomi Tucker • Abigail Uhrman • Rabbi Arthur Waskow,
PhD • Rabbi Melissa Weintraub
“A must-have book.... This anthology will probably play an important role in advancing the progressive agenda in ... American elections.”
—Association of Jewish Libraries
“An essential and engaging source to
read, study, refer to and strengthen our resolve. Let all who
care about justice or Judaism enter here.”
—Melanie
Kaye/Kantrowitz, PhD, author, The Colors of Jews:
Racial Politics and Radical Diasporism
Racial Politics and Radical Diasporism
“Unites the memory of yesterday with
the promise of tomorrow. Addresses all of us, here and
now.”
—Rabbi
Harold M. Schulweis, Valley Beth
Shalom
“Rich and passionate, these expressions will inspire you to consider your obligations as a Jew, as an American and as a global citizen, while challenging you to take thoughtful and effective action in the world.”
—Jewish Media Review
“A passion for justice infuses the
articles, and the inspiration of Abraham Joshua Heschel shines
through clearly…. Gives us hope for a reinvigorated
Judaism in the twenty-first century, and a world that will come
closer to redemption.”
—Professor
Susannah Heschel, author, Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus
“Marvelous … inspires us to do
more to bring about the changes that our world so desperately
needs.”
—Rabbi J.
Rolando Matalon, Congregation
B’nai Jeshurun, New York City
“Particularly noteworthy in exploring the role of social action and community organizing as a means of expressing one’s Jewishness and Judaism.”
—Jewish Book World
“Varied and interesting …
represents the cutting edge of the Jewish prophetic tradition
in our contemporary world. Read it and be inspired!”
—Rabbi
Arthur Green
“More than meets its mark.... [A] wonderful buffet of ideas, replete not just with tradition, but with innovative interpretations suited to a twenty-first century approach toward social action and reform. A must-have.”
—Publishers Weekly
Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, PhD, has fostered Jewish thinking about social
justice for over a decade as an editor at Tikkun and at Zeek: A Journal of Jewish Thought and Culture.
Margie Klein is
a passionate activist and budding religious leader. Founder and
director of Moishe House Boston: Kavod Jewish Social Justice
House, she is a student at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew
College. She is the founder of Project Democracy, a program
that mobilized 97,000 students to vote in the 2004 election.
Rabbi David Ellenson is president of Hebrew Union
College–Jewish Institute of Religion. A prolific author,
he is a recipient of the National Jewish Book Award.
