I am excited to announce the publication of my latest book, No Time for Neutrality: American Rabbinic Voices from an Era of Upheaval!
It is available for purchase on Amazon.
The book is a compilation of the best rabbinic writings from the second half of the 2010’s, an extraordinary period of upheaval in the U.S., as pluralistic democracy and human rights came under sustained assault. In this volume, a diverse group of over 35 of America’s leading rabbis (representing every major Jewish denomination, spanning several generations, and encompassing many backgrounds, and identities) diagnose what is broken in our nation and world and contribute to a vision for a just and inclusive future.
Contributors include Bradley Shavit Artson, Jonathan Blake, Sharon Brous, Geoffrey D. Claussen, Aryeh Cohen, Dianne Cohler-Esses, Nate DeGroot, Abe Friedman, Laura Geller, Rachel Greengrass, Shai Held, Corey Helfand, Lauren Grabelle Hermann, Lauren Holtzblatt, Andy Kahn, Sharon Kleinbaum, Michael Rose Knopf, Claudia Kreiman, Sandra Lawson, Andrea London, Jack Moline, Jesse M. Olitzky, Jonah Dov Pesner , William Plevan, Robin Podolsky, Victor Hillel Reinsten, Danya Ruttenberg, Sid Schwartz, David Segal, Jeremy D. Sher, Abby Stein, Zachary Truboff, Arthur Waskow, Joey Wolf, and Shmuly Yanklowitz.
The publication could not have come at a more important time. The seemingly endless COVID-19 pandemic still rages out of control. The threat to democracy in the U.S. and around the world is evident and relentless. Environmental damage is catastrophic and increasingly irreversible. Especially as off-term and mid-term election season looms in the U.S., we need the timely and timeless rabbinic wisdom contained in No Time for Neutrality now more than eve
Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to support the work of T’ruah and HIAS, two national Jewish organizations whose critical work in many ways inspired this volume and continues to inspire us to the sacred work of social justice and human rights in the U.S .and around the world.
Here is some great advanced praise for the book:
“The passionate words of these rabbis echo our ancient prophets. They call on us to fight racism, antisemitism, and bigotry; to seek justice and equality for all citizens; and to open our hearts to all. May we heed their call!” -Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, Chief Executive Officer, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and The Rabbinical Assembly
“At 77, I have witnessed two times of major upheaval in the United States: the 60s and the Trump presidency. In both cases, I had serious concerns that the pluralistic, ever progressing America I knew and loved would not survive, that democracy itself would, as Plato warned, become the rule of the mob. This book gives us keen intellectual analysis as well as forms of emotional catharsis about what happened during the Trump presidency as well as serious proposals for how to fix what was broken and ensure the continued existence and flourishing of the America that we know can be and want it to be.” – Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Rector and Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy,
American Jewish University
“Contained in this volume is the wisdom from some of today’s leading rabbis. In their teachings, and in their actions, our rabbis guide us through a troubled world. They help us understand the roles we play as citizens and Jews, and they inspire us to act according to our values. Sometimes, the easiest way to respond to distress and conflict is to do nothing, to shirk from leadership. Some of our leaders merely make shallow symbolic gestures that play to the appetites of political hobbyists. But the rabbis who get into the trenches to bring torah and wisdom to difficult situations, they are the strength of our communities. They help empower our values.” -Eitan Hersh, political scientist and author of Politics is for Power
“As historians assess the Trump era, No Time for Neutrality will provide a unique perspective on the pushback of the Jewish left, an often overlooked, under-appreciated, yet critical part of the resistance.” – A. Donald McEachin, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
And Ruth Messinger, former president of, and current Global Ambassador for, American Jewish World Service says, “This in the book we did not know we were waiting for. it recognizes the terrors of our time—Donald Trump’s rise to power and his malignant leadershp, explosions of highly visible racism and anti-Semitism, COVID 19 in all its ugly and divisive ramifications and the Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021—and it steers a steady course among these vast shoals, calling us to action because it is central to our faith...In each sermon and every article we are reminded by rabbis rooted in text that we have both a right and an obligation to protest injustice, to call out hate, to speak truth to power—and, yes, to do these things even when they are hard and unpopular.”
Rabbi Michael Rose Knopf 