Jewish Priorities: Table of Contents
A Unique Conversation Spanning Our Entire People.
Everything has changed—and a great deal has not. I’ve posted below the Table of Contents of Jewish Priorities in part to give a snapshot of where we were before the horrors of October 7, but also to show something no less urgent: That we have a lot to say, still today, about our future.
Some of the essays, of course, feel oddly evergreen—while others are frighteningly prescient. In cases where the pieces have since appeared online, I’ll add a link (and will update the online version as more are published).
Contents
Introduction: A New “Torah” for Our Time
David Hazony
1. TOWARD A GREEN ZIONISM
Rediscovering Herzl’s Environmentalist Vision
Yosef Israel Abramowitz
2. CULTIVATING COMMITMENT
A Four-Point Plan for Stronger Personal Ties with Israel
Sally Abrams
3. TIKTOK AND THE TALMUD
How to Connect Young People with Our Ancient Wisdom
Miriam Anzovin
4. THE POLITICS OF THE MIZRAHI MOTHER
A Proven Path to Living with Our Differences
Avishay Ben-Haim
5. CONFRONT THE NEW COSSACKS
A Jewish Political Survival Guide
David L. Bernstein
6. THE TYRANNY OF “IDENTITY”
Why DIY Judaism Is No Substitute for Tradition
Mijal Bitton
7. STAY SEXY
How to Rediscover Jewish Intimacy
Chana Boteach
8. THE NARROW BRIDGE
Embracing the In-Betweens that Make Us Human
Neshama Carlebach
9. PROUD JEW IN THE NBA
How Keeping Kosher Made Me a Better Basketball Player
Omri Casspi
10. RESCUE OUR RECIPES
Cultivating Jewish Joy Through Our Culinary Traditions
Jake Cohen
11. TOWARD A UNITED FRONT
Why We Still Need Consensus-Building Institutions
William C. Daroff
12. THE POWER OF SOFT WORDS
Relationships, Rather than Public Campaigns, Repair the World
Shlomo Elkan
13. SAY YES TO TRIBALISM
The Need for Solidarity in an Atomistic Age
Rachel Fish
14. MOVE TO ISRAEL
A Third Way for the Anxious Diaspora Jew
Blake Flayton
15. OUR BIBLICAL BIRTHRIGHT
Reclaiming the Land-of-Israel Narrative
Yishai Fleisher
16. TEACH THE IDEA OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
Protect Young Jews from the Intellectual Assault on Their Identity
David Gedzelman
17. REINVENT JEWISH GIVING
The Case for “Return on Investment” Philanthropy
Mark Gerson
18. WE ARE ALL REFUGEES
Jewish Lessons for a World on the Move
Roya Hakakian
19. HOW TO FIX “TIKKUN OLAM”
Why Judaism Can’t Be Reduced to Universalist Activism
Ammiel Hirsch
20. PRAISE THE LIVING JEWS
An Alternative to Holocaust Education
Dara Horn
21. THE KEY TO CONTINUITY
How to Forge New Links Across Generations
Laura Janner-Klausner and Ally Goldberg
22. NEEDED: MORE JEWS
Why We Should Actively Promote Conversion
Tal Keinan
23. THE MOUNTAIN OF SPICES
Recovering the Erotic Core of Judaism
Benjamin Kerstein
24. THE JEWISH SPIRITUAL QUEST
Finding God in the Twenty-First Century
Yossi Klein Halevi
25. ARGUE LIKE A JEW
Rediscovering the Rabbinic Art of Disagreement
William Kolbrener
26. SEPARATION OF CHALLAH
An Ancient Ritual Opens the Door to Our Mothers’ Wisdom
Lihi Lapid
27. EMBRACE THE CHAOS
Affirming the Edgy, Creative, Crazy Side of Being Jewish
Nolan Lebovitz
28. PRESTIGE ADDICTION
Stop Seeking Validation from Those Who Hate Us
Liel Leibovitz
29. TO DIE AS A JEW
Living Well in the Face of Mortality
Melanie Levav
30. WHY EXILE MATTERS
How to Rebuild Diaspora Culture Without Using Israel as a Crutch
Shaul Magid
31. THE VIRTUE OF INCLUSIVITY
We All Have Something to Contribute to the Mosaic
MaNishtana
32. THE END TO ASHKENORMATIVITY
Let’s Put Bagels-and-Lox Jewishness Behind Us
Hen Mazzig
33. AN AGGADIC JEW
Liberate the Power of Jewish Storytelling
Ruby Namdar
34. UN-HIJACK HUMAN RIGHTS
How a Movement Founded by Jews Can Be Restored
Hillel C. Neuer
35. DEEP ROOTS MAKE STRONG BRANCHES
Build Our Future by Investing in Our Common Heritage
Irina Nevzlin
36. EXPAND THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS
Cracking the Code of Coexistence
Houda Nonoo
37. MAKE FUN OF EVERYTHING
Why Humor Is the Key to Jewish Pride
Claudia Oshry
38. STRONG INDIVIDUALS MAKE STRONG COMMUNITIES
Why We Can’t Have One Without the Other
Fania Oz-Salzberger
39. TZEDAKANOMICS
The Power of the Haredi Social Safety Net
Eli Paley
40. SAVING THE JEWISH-PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE
Why We Must Fight for the Soul of the Left
Carly Pildis
41. STUDY THE TALMUD THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY
Forget Viral Videos. Find a Teacher. Open a Book.
Uri Pilichowski
42. WHY JEWS NEED A COMMON LANGUAGE
A Plan for Universal Hebrew Literacy
Vardit Ringvald
43. ONLY THE JEWS CAN SAVE EUROPE
Why We Shouldn’t Quit the Continent
Simone Rodan-Benzaquen
44. THE SATMAR ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK
Hidden in Brooklyn, a Surprisingly Vibrant Communal Model
Armin Rosen
45. ZIONISTS ARE MADE, NOT BORN
The Fight for Israel’s Image Can Be Won. Here’s How.
Roz Rothstein
46. RAISING INQUISITIVE CHILDREN
Educate Kids to Ask Better Questions
Jodi Rudoren
47. THOU SHALT BE BEAUTIFUL
The Forgotten Jewish Ideal
Lizzy Savetsky
48. DON’T TAKE DEMOCRACY FOR GRANTED
Why We Must Not Be Politically Complacent
Dahlia Scheindlin
49. WANTED: A JEWISH TOLKIEN
Why We Need a New Mythology
Joe Schwartz
50. STRENGTHEN THE CHRISTIAN-JEWISH ALLIANCE
The Urgency of Overcoming Our Prejudice
Faydra L. Shapiro
51. THE RIGHT WAY TO COMMEMORATE THE HOLOCAUST
By Using It to Reclaim Our Nationhood
Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy
52. THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN OF JEWISH EDUCATION
The Power of History to Shape Our Kids’ Identity
Laura Shaw Frank
53. LET’S GET BACK TO SMASHING IDOLS
The Worship of Power Is More Dangerous Than Ever
Scott A. Shay
54. A WESTERN WALL FOR EVERYONE
Why Was I Arrested for Praying at the Kotel?
Hallel Silverman
55. LIBERATE OUR INSTITUTIONS
A New Organizational Paradigm
Andrés Spokoiny
56. A NEW PANTHEON OF HEROES
Without Stories of Courage and Sacrifice, We Can’t Have Jewish Pride
Michael Steinhardt
57. THE POWER OF “NO”
Judaism Began with an Act of Refusal. We Still Have a Lot More Refusing to Do.
Bret Stephens
58. THE CASE FOR JEWISH GUILT
Why Feeling Bad About Our Non-Observance Is Crucial for Passing the Torch
David Suissa
59. HOW TO BEAT THE NEW ANTISEMITISM
It’s Not About Human Rights. It’s About Soviet Propaganda.
Izabella Tabarovsky
60. IGNORE THE GLOBALISTS
Why Jewish Nationalism Drives Them Up a Wall
Gadi Taub
61. ZIONISM AS THERAPY
How the Movement’s Founding Texts Offer an Answer to Today’s Bullies
Einat Wilf
62. ON MORAL CONFIDENCE
How the Diaspora Lost Its Jewish Spine, and How to Get It Back
Ruth R. Wisse
63. RESPECT YOUR OPPONENTS
In Great Disputes, There Is No Solitary Truth
David Wolpe
64. A CURE FOR DIASPORA DELUSIONS
What We Can Learn About Ourselves from Soviet Immigrants
Alex Zeldin
65. THE CITY OF OUR DREAMS
Why Tel Aviv Is the Model for Jewish Life in the Twenty-First Century
Neri Zilber
Afterword by Adam Bellow
Acknowledgments
Copyright © 2023 Wicked Son. Reprinted with permission.