B'nai B'rith Forum
Are We Jews by Choice or Necessity?
Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg moderates a discussion with Jewish intellectual and author Maurice Samuel in response to the question “are we Jews by choice or necessity?” Samuel argues that not only is the question inherently faulty, but that it is also vague and imprecise in a way that aptly mimics the “perplexity and vagueness of Jewish identity.” He reframes the question to examine whether Jewish identity is sustained through inner or outer necessity, that is, through the hostility of the outer world or by the personal affirmation of the inner. The lecture is followed with questions from Hertzberg and the audience.
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