HOPE: Why 250 Years of American Jewish History Gives Us Optimism with Nicholas Lemann

A presentation by Professor Nicholas Lemann as our series celebrating 250 years of Jewish life in America concludes on Dec 14.

This is not a happy moment in the American Jewish community. Antisemitic incidents are steeply on the rise, and the treatment of Israel and Zionism as villainous has rapidly become mainstream, in ways that make our place in American life feel much less comfortable and secure. As the extended celebration of our country’s 250th birthday draws to a close, what can we feel hopeful about?

Returning, Nicholas Lemann’s family history and memoir, published earlier this year, tells the story of an ultra-assimilated Jew from the Deep South who finds his way to a deep and fulfilling Jewish life. It’s a story that runs against the grain of the moment.

For this session, Lemann will talk about his book and his own journey, and also about our collective need for a new period of Jewish renewal, in which we deepen our engagement with Jewish study and practice and with the Jewish community, rather than depending on a light-duty form of Jewish identity that has shown itself to be insufficient in a troubled time.