Jonathan D. Sarna

Explores the little-known connection between Lincoln and the Jews Lincoln and the Jews provides the first full-scale history of Abraham Lincoln's relationship with American Jews. Newly republished in a second revised edition and incorporating rarely seen historical manuscripts and documents, the volume explores how Lincoln's remarkable regard for American Jews affected his path to the presidency and his policy decisions once in the White House. Lincoln counted Jews among his closest friends and, as president, placed Jews in positions of authority and both extended and protected Jewish rights. The first edition of Lincoln and the Jews won three prizes and was hailed by famed Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer as "the definitive study of a long-neglected aspect of Civil War history and Lincoln biography." This edition features little known and rarely seen documents, including some not included in the earlier edition, as well as new research and material, including a new preface highlighting the theme of antisemitism and insights which can be gleaned from this history for today. Lincoln and the Jews affirms that Lincoln's warm relationships with Jews not only broadened Lincoln personally, but, in effect, broadened America. A groundbreaking work, this stunning volume contributes to Civil War-era Jewish American history and uncovers a new facet to Abraham Lincoln's legacy.

Over a career spanning forty years, David G. Dalin has written extensively about the role of American Jews in public life, from the nation’s founding, to presidential appointments of Jews, to lobbying for the welfare of Jews abroad, to Jewish prominence in government, philanthropy, intellectual life, and sports, and their one-time prominence in the Republican Party. His work on the separation of Church and State and a prescient 1980 essay about the limits of free speech and the goal of Neo-Nazis to stage a march in Skokie, Illinois, are especially noteworthy. Here for the first time are a collection of sixteen of his essays which portray American Jews who have left their mark on American public life and politics.

Jonathan Sarna’s meticulously documented centennial history presents the personalities and the controversies, the struggles and the achievements behind a century of publishing by America’s foremost publisher of Jewish books in English. Sarna’s engaging blend of anecdote and analysis contextualizes the Jewish Publication Society within American Jewry’s evolving social, political, and cultural history. He demonstrates that the society has been a major factor. Sarna recounts the inspired struggle of the Jewish Publication Society’s founders, a group of genteel Philadelphia philanthropists including Cyrus Adler and Mayer Sulzberger, who believed fervently in the need to educate their immigrant coreligionists with Jewish books in the new vernacular. He also tells the story of Henrietta Szold, best known for her later achievements as the founder of Hadassah and Youth Aliyah. Szold worked doggedly for twenty-three years as the society’s first editor until a shattered love for a JPS author became the catalyst that led her to Palestine and Zionist leadership. Here too are fascinating accounts of the long deliberations and intense work that produced the authoritative JPS Bible translations of 1917 and 1985, translations acceptable to all major branches of Judaism. Sarna also recounts the controversy surrounding the 1973 publication of The Jewish Catalog, a project developed by the bold JPS editor Chaim Potok. The Catalog, embodying the spirit of the Jewish counterculture, not only became the best-selling JPS book after the Bible, but it also showed that JPS could meet the challenge of a new generation as it moved toward its second century.

Coming to Terms with America examines how Jews have long “straddled two civilizations,” endeavoring to be both Jewish and American at once, from the American Revolution to today. In fifteen engaging essays, Jonathan D. Sarna investigates the many facets of the Jewish-American encounter-what Jews have borrowed from their surroundings, what they have resisted, what they have synthesized, and what they have subverted. Part I surveys how Jews first worked to reconcile Judaism with the country’s new democratic ethos and to reconcile their faith-based culture with local metropolitan cultures. Part II analyzes religio-cultural initiatives, many spearheaded by women, and the ongoing tensions between Jewish scholars (who pore over traditional Jewish sources) and activists (who are concerned with applying them). Part III appraises Jewish-Christian relations: “collisions” within the public square and over church-state separation. Originally written over the span of forty years, many of these essays are considered classics in the field, and several remain fixtures of American Jewish history syllabi. Others appeared in fairly obscure venues and will be discovered here anew. Together, these essays-newly updated for this volume-cull the finest thinking of one of American Jewry’s finest historians.

Jonathan D. Sarna’s award-winning American Judaism is now available in an updated and revised edition that summarizes recent scholarship and takes into account important historical, cultural, and political developments in American Judaism over the past fifteen years. Praise for the first edition: “Sarna . . . has written the first systematic, comprehensive, and coherent history of Judaism in America; one so well executed, it is likely to set the standard for the next fifty years.”—Jacob Neusner, Jerusalem Post “A masterful overview.”—Jeffrey S. Gurock, American Historical Review “This book is destined to be the new classic of American Jewish history.”—Norman H. Finkelstein, Jewish Book World Winner of the 2004 National Jewish Book Award/Jewish Book of the Year

A photo essay of the oldest Jewish communities of the New World, as seen through the remaining historic synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in the Caribbean. This photographic essay highlights the little-known history of the first Jewish communities established in the New World dating to the 1600s. Award-winning photographer Wyatt Gallery documents the oldest synagogues and cemeteries on Barbados, Curacao, Jamaica, St. Thomas, St. Eustatius, and Suriname through his singular style of photos with histories written by Stanley Mirvis. The enclaves, formed by Sephardic Jews who fled the Catholic Inquisition, became so influential that they helped fuel the success of the American Revolution and partially finance the first synagogues in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. Once home to thousands, today these historic communities are rapidly dwindling and could soon disappear. Only five historic synagogues remain in use, and many of the cemeteries have been damaged or lost to natural disasters, vandalism, and pollution. These photographs bear witness to the legacy of New World Judaism and provide a record for future generations.

On December 17, 1862, just weeks before Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, General Grant issued what remains the most notorious anti-Jewish order by a government official in American history. His attempt to eliminate black marketeers by targeting for expulsion all Jews "as a class" from portions of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi unleashed a firestorm of controversy that made newspaper headlines and terrified and enraged the approximately 150,000 Jews then living in the United States, who feared the importation of European anti-Semitism onto American soil. Although the order was quickly rescinded by a horrified Abraham Lincoln, the scandal came back to haunt Grant when he ran for president in 1868. Never before had Jews become an issue in a presidential contest and never before had they been confronted so publicly with the question of how to balance their "American" and "Jewish" interests. Award-winning historian Jonathan D. Sarna gives us the first complete account of this little-known episode including Grant's subsequent apology, his groundbreaking appointment of Jews to prominent positions in his administration, and his unprecedented visit to the land of Israel. Sarna sheds new light on one of our most enigmatic presidents, on the Jews of his day, and on the ongoing debate between ethnic loyalty and national loyalty that continues to roil American political and social discourse. (With black-and-white illustrations throughout.)"

Christmas is not everybody’s favorite holiday. Historically, Jews in America, whether participating in or refraining from recognizing Christmas, have devised a multitude of unique strategies to respond to the holiday season. Their response is a mixed one: do we participate, try to ignore the holiday entirely, or create our own traditions and make the season an enjoyable time? This book, the first on the subject of Jews and Christmas in the United States, portrays how Jews are shaping the public and private character of Christmas by transforming December into a joyous holiday season belonging to all Americans.Creative and innovative in approaching the holiday season, these responses range from composing America’s most beloved Christmas songs, transforming Hanukkah into the Jewish Christmas, creating a national Jewish tradition of patronizing Chinese restaurants and comedy shows on Christmas Eve, volunteering at shelters and soup kitchens on Christmas Day, dressing up as Santa Claus to spread good cheer, campaigning to institute Hanukkah postal stamps, and blending holiday traditions into an interfaith hybrid celebration called “Chrismukkah” or creating a secularized holiday such as Festivus.Through these venerated traditions and alternative Christmastime rituals, Jews publicly assert and proudly proclaim their Jewish and American identities to fashion a universally shared message of joy and hope for the holiday season. See also: http://www.akosherchristmas.org

'Jews in America' documents the remarkable story of the Jewish presence in the New World, from the time of Columbus to the 1920s, when the Jewish community in the United States was four million strong and an essential part of American society and culture. Drawing on a mix of contemporary books, manuscripts, globes, maps and engravings from the world-renowned collections of the New York Public Library, Jews in America is a vivid document of everyday Jewish-American life, worship, law, and commerce. It tells the fascinating story of the first Jewish immigrants' arrival in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in 1654 (later New York City), Jewish interaction with the four colonial powers in the Western Hemisphere (Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands and England), and on the ideas and beliefs that they influenced. The final chapter looks at the evolving cultural role of Jews in late 19th and early 20th century New York, especially the rise of the Yiddish theatre.

The inside story and practical lessons from one of the most exciting developments in contemporary Judaism. "Part description and part prescription, Empowered Judaism is a manifesto for transforming the way Jews pray and--more broadly--for building vibrant Jewish communities.... It] represents the latest chapter in an] uplifting history of religious creativity. This is a book that every Jewish leader will want to read and every serious Jew will want to contemplate."--from the Foreword by Prof. Jonathan D. SarnaWhy have thousands of young Jews, otherwise unengaged with formal Jewish life, started more than sixty innovative prayer communities across the United States? What crucial insights can these grassroots communities provide for all of us?Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, one of the leaders of this revolutionary phenomenon, offers refreshingly new analyses of the age-old question of how to build strong Jewish community. He explores the independent minyan movement and the lessons it has to teach about prayer, community organizing and volunteer leadership and its implications for contemporary struggles in American Judaism.Along with describing the growth of independent minyanim across the country, he examines: The roles of liturgy, space, music and youth in this new approach to prayerLessons to be learned from the concept of immersive, intensive Jewish learning in an egalitarian contextJewish values in which we must invest to achieve a vibrant, robust American Jewish landscape for the twenty-first century

At the turn of the twenty-first century, the central question confronting Jewish leaders in America is simple: Why be Jewish? Jonathan D. Sarna, acclaimed scholar of American Judaism, believes that Why be Jewish?" is the wrong question. Judaism, he believes, is not so much a why" as a way ,a way of life, a way of marking time, a way of relating to the environment, to human beings, to family, and to God. Judaism is experienced through doing ,doing things Jewish, doing things for fellow Jews in need, doing things as a Jew to improve the state of the world. The more Judaism one does , the more one comes to appreciate what Judaism is . Using the Jewish calendar as his starting point, Sarna reflects on the major themes of Jewish life as expressed in a full year of holidays,from Passover in the spring to Purim eleven months later. Passover, for instance, yields a discussion of freedom Shavuot, a discussion of Torah Yom Kippur, the role of the individual within the Jewish community Chanukah, issues of assimilation and anti-assimilation. An essential brief introduction,or reintroduction,to the major practices of Jewish life as well as the many complexities of the American Jewish experience, this book will be essential reading for American Jews and the perfect gift for the holiday season.

Presents Jewish history from the turmoil and strife of Russia in the 1880's, to the great migration to the United States, the creation of the modern State of Israel, modern American Jewish life, and life in the Diaspora. Finally, a Jewish history book through which students can view their own lives and think about their futures! The History of the Jewish People, Volume 2 was developed and written by two esteemed scholars, Jonathan D. Sarna and Jonathan B. Krasner. This dynamic text (for grades 5-7) is a rich presentation of Jewish history from the turmoil and strife of Russia in the 1880's, to the great migration to the United States, the creation of the modern State of Israel, modern American Jewish life, and life in the Diaspora. Each chapter helps students consider how their lives compare with the lives of our ancestors, how each generation adapts Judaism to its time and place, and how the decisions of previous generations influence our own lives and decisions.The History of the Jewish People, Volume 2 brings these times alive through a dynamic array of famous personalities, diverse source material, clear and concise charts, engaging activities, thought-provoking questions, and exciting graphics, including maps and more than 80 full-color historical and contemporary images.

Reform Judaism is not the only religious group in America to make the summer camp experience a vital part of a faith community's effort to impart its values and beliefs to its adolescents, but perhaps no group relied more on summer camp as an adjunct to home and community for this purpose. Summer camp became an important part of Reform group identity, a bulwark against the attraction of assimilation into the greater society and mere nominal Judaism. These seven essays, which commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the first Reform Jewish educational camp in the United States (Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute [OSRUI], in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin) cover a wide range of topics related to both the Reform Judaism movement and the development of the Reform Jewish camping system in the United States. Donald M. Splansky's chapter on 'Prayer at Reform Jewish Camps' documents changes in prayer services that took place both at OSRUI and in the Reform movement in general; Michael Zeldin's 'Making the Magic in Reform Jewish Summer Camps' describes the educational philosophies employed at many camps and analyzes their effectiveness; and Jonathan D. Sarna's 'The Crucial Decade in Jewish Camping' explains how social, political, and cultural conditions paved the way for the Reform camping movement.

Presents Jewish history from our earliest ancestors in the Land of Israel to our dispersion in the Diaspora through the Jewish experience in America in the 1880’s. Finally, a Jewish history book through which students can view their own lives and think about their futures! The History of the Jewish People, Volume 1 was developed and written by two esteemed scholars, Jonathan D. Sarna and Jonathan B. Krasner. This dynamic text (for grades 5-7) is a rich presentation of Jewish history from our earliest ancestors in the Land of Israel to our dispersion in the Diaspora through the Jewish experience in America in the 1880’s. Each chapter helps students consider how their lives compare with the lives of our ancestors, how each generation adapts Judaism to its time and place, and how the decisions of previous generations influence our own lives and decisions. The History of the Jewish People, Volume 1 brings these times alive through a dynamic array of famous personalities, diverse source material, clear and concise charts, engaging activities, thought-provoking questions, and exciting graphics, including 16 maps and more than 115 full-color historical and contemporary images.

For the first time, Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience makes available critical documents which have shaped debate over religion and state issues throughout the course of American Jewish history. Following a comprehensive historical introduction, Professors Sarna and Dalin present a wide range of primary source materials articulating the different positions held within the American Jewish community on numerous past and present church-state issues: including former state Sunday Laws, or "blue laws"; dress code variations for Orthodox Jews in the military; kosher food for Jewish prisoners; school prayer; public displays of religious symbols; and whether all religious symbols should be removed from public arenas. The chapters proceed chronologically, from the colonial period to the present day, giving readers an understanding of the changes that occurred over several centuries. This book recovers the divergent voices and opinions of the American Jewish community, revealing that one single voice on these issues has never been capable of accommodating the rich variety of positions within the community. By gathering these divergent outlooks in one sourcebook, Sarna and Dalin offer a unique and well-documented look at a major aspect of being Jewish in America.