American Judaism Workshops

Instructor: Meir Soloveichik
Stipend: $500 (NYC area) and $1000 (non-NYC area), in addition to housing accommodation over Shabbat

About the Seminar

American life has been shaped and inhabited by Christians and Jews from its founding. In a variety of ways, Christianity permeates our ideas of freedom and responsibility, our understanding of religion, our cultural debates, and even some government policy. Yet this has not been an obstacle to Jewish flourishing. Indeed, on issues of Israel’s security and strengthening traditional morality, Christians have often been better friends of Jewish ideas and Jewish interests than many Jews.

Rabbi Meir Soloveichik will lead us through the various dimensions of the Jewish-Christian relationship—moral, theological, and political. On which issues should Jews approach Christians as friends and allies? In what ways will Christians and Jews forever be strangers? How can we motivate other Jews to make meaningful practical partnerships with our Christian neighbors?

American Ideas Papers

The American Judaism Workshops are meant to generate practical ideas to strengthen American Jewry, with participants leading the way. Each workshop participant will be asked to prepare and present his or her own concrete plan to address some of the great challenges and opportunities of American Jewish life. What can be done to secure the moral, intellectual, spiritual, political, religious, or demographic vitality of the Jewish people in America? What is your best idea?