One of the most admired religious thinkers of our time issues a call for world Jewry to reject the self-fulfilling image of “a people alone in the world, surrounded by enemies” and to reclaim Judaism’s original sense of purpose: as a partner with God and with those of other faiths in the never-ending struggle for freedom and social justice for all. We are in danger, says Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of forgetting what Judaism’s place is within the global project of humankind. During the last two thousand years, Jews have lived through persecutions that would have spelled the end of most nations, but they did not see anti-Semitism written into the fabric of the universe. They knew they existed for a purpose, and it was not for themselves alone. Rabbi Sacks believes that the Jewish people have lost their way, that they need to recommit themselves to the task of creating a just world in which the divine presence can dwell among us. Without compromising one iota of Jewish faith, Rabbi Sacks declares, Jews must stand alongside their friends—Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and secular humanist—in defense of freedom against the enemies of freedom, in affirmation of life against those who desecrate life. And they should do this not to win friends or the admiration of others but because it is what a people of God is supposed to do. Rabbi Sacks’s powerful message of tikkun olam—using Judaism as a blueprint for repairing an imperfect world—will resonate with people of all faiths.

The crucial question for today's Jewish world, Kellner argues, is not whether Jews will have Jewish grandchildren, but how many different sorts of mutually exclusive Judaisms those grandchildren will face. This accessible book examines how the split that threatens the Jewish future can be avoided. For this second edition, the author has added a substantial Afterword, reviewing his thinking on the subject and addressing the reactions to the original edition.

Explores the meaning of Jewishness in light of the increasing assimilation of America's Jews and suggests ways to preserve Jewish identity.

A distinguished religious leader's stirring case for reconstructing a shared framework of virtues and values. With liberal democracy embattled, public discourse grown toxic, family life breaking down, and drug abuse and depression on the rise, many fear what the future holds. In Morality, respected faith leader and public intellectual Jonathan Sacks traces today's crisis to our loss of a strong, shared moral code and our elevation of self-interest over the common good. We have outsourced morality to the market and the state, but neither is capable of showing us how to live. Sacks leads readers from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment to the present day to show that there is no liberty without morality and no freedom without responsibility, arguing that we all must play our part in rebuilding a common moral foundation. A major work of moral philosophy, Morality is an inspiring vision of a world in which we can all find our place and face the future without fear.

The Jewish people, having survived for thousands of years in the most adverse circumstances, including the Holocaust and horrific terrorist attacks, is today also threatened by intermarriage and assimilation. Jewish communities throughout the diaspora are experiencing demographic decline: Why has this happened, and can anything be done to reverse the trend? Times have changed and that, in consequence, communal priorities need to change also. In Will We Have Jewish Grandchildren?, Rabbi Sacks issues an inspiring summons to collective action to counteract the prevailing trend of assimilation and hand on the age-old faith and traditions to a new generation.

This novel “unflinchingly confronts the issue of Jewish continuity in a diverse and changing America” (Anne Roiphe, author and journalist). Feminist icon Letty Cottin Pogrebin’s second novel is the story of Zach Levy, the left-leaning son of Holocaust survivors who promises his mother on her deathbed that he will marry within the tribe and raise Jewish children. When he falls for Cleo Scott, an African American activist grappling with her own inherited trauma, he must reconcile his old vow to the family he loves with the present reality of the woman who may be his soul mate. A New York love story complicated by the legacies and modern tensions of Jewish American and African American history, Single Jewish Male Seeking Soul Mate explores what happens when the heart runs counter to politics, history, and the compelling weight of tradition. “A beautifully written and heartwarming masterpiece.” —Menachem Z. Rosensaft, founding chair of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors “Cleareyed, courageous.” —Kirkus Reviews