Lectures | Author Events | Booksignings
Spertus invited participants to
join
Rabbi Jill Jacobs for two special programs,
one at Spertus and one in Highland Park.
A booksigning follows each program.
There Shall Be No Needy:
Pursuing Social Justice Through Jewish Law and Tradition
Sunday, June 27 at 2 pm
at Spertus, 610 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
In the midst of the economic collapse, Jews are looking to Jewish tradition for solace and for guidance in moving forward to create a better America. Rabbi Jill Jacobs weaved together Jewish wisdom, personal stories, and contemporary policy debates to address society’s most vexing issues and to bring clarity to the role that Judaism can play in American public discourse.
This was the 2010 Norman Asher Memorial Lecture. This annual program reflects the educational vision of the late Norman Asher, a biblical and Talmudic scholar, and a leading Chicago attorney and philanthropist.
“excellent examination of the Jewish response to contemporary issues of social justice”
Publishers Weekly
Hard Choices: Allocating Tzedakah in Difficult Times
Sunday, June 27 at 7:45 pm
at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, 1175 Sheridan Road, Highland Park
With the collapse of the global economy, many of us find ourselves with less money—because we are out of work, have experienced salary cuts, or have lost savings. At the same time, more people than ever need our personal and communal tzedakah. Rabbi Jill Jacobs shared approaches for making tzedakah choices, both through the lens of Jewish text and through a review of some practical decision-making strategies.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, author of There Shall be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition, is the Rabbi-in-Residence of Jewish Funds for Justice. A leading expert on Judaism and social justice, she writes and speaks on issues such as poverty, labor relations, housing issues, criminal justice, and environmental sustainability. Rabbi Jacobs was named to the Forward’s annual list of 50 most influential American Jews in 2006 and 2008, Jewish Week’s 36 under 36 in 2008, and Newsweek’s list of the 50 most influential rabbis in 2009. She spent the last year in Israel as a Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel Leadership Institute.