Nir Lahav and Idit Groiss try to understand the Jewish collective responsibility for others. They argue that “The poor of your city come first” cannot come at the expense of “Repairing the World” (“Tikkun Olam B’Malchut Shaddai”). They suggest that there is no conflict between the options, but rather, it is a question of timing…
The author argues that Mordecai Kaplan’s notion of Jewish peoplehood is central to Judaism. However, she sees this notion as needing to be revisited and restructured; a reframing of the idea in order to give it more power and meaning in the 21st Century. For her, the term is not only about belonging or for…
As head of an organization for religious freedom and equality in Israel, Regev focuses on the threat to a sense of Peoplehood brought on by the lack of religious pluralism in Israel. He points to the conflict between Israel’s unifying role for world Jewry and its current laws that discriminate against “the overwhelming majority of…
The author compares different ways that scholars, writers and activists understand the concept of Jewish peoplehood and provides an analytic framing of the concept. Overall, he sees peoplehood as a concept invented by American Jewry and discusses what happens when it is imported into the Israeli context. He believes that peoplehood has the potential to…
Schusterman shares her family foundation’s approach towards the development of a virtuous cycle of vibrant Jewish life. “If we are successful, we will see a time when the vast majority of young people readily participate in Jewish life, draw on Jewish values to inform their worldviews and take on leadership roles in their communities. We…
The author argues that the new era of Israel-Diaspora relations isn’t a rejection of classical Zionism, but rather, it is the acceptance of the classical Zionist model propounded by the “cultural Zionist,” Ahad Ha’Am. He argues that Ha’Am’s notion is uniquely suited for the today’s generation of college-age Jews, the Millennials, who are the focus…
Rettig looks to the story of Cain and Able and the infamous “am I my brother’s keeper?” to explore the question “for whom are we responsible?” He suggests that from the Cain and Able story, “we learn the first lesson in human responsibility toward other humans and its relationship with deadly violence.” He suggests that…
At a time when Jewish communities have become increasingly anxious about weakening Jewish identity, one response strategy is to engage with the concept of Jewish peoplehood as a social phenomenon, in its varied contexts and processes. This volume offers an in-depth effort to address the concept of Jewish peoplehood since the initial attempts of early-20th-century…
Despite frequent dismal reports that young people today identify less and less with Israel, the author explains that those who do come and spend time in the country are affected by their stay. Based on this information, the author argues that the State of Israel can continue to play a powerful role because it is…
