Jewish Roots of American Liberty - by Wilfred M McClay & Stuart Halpern Hardcover

Book Synopsis

For much of American history, an impassable gulf seemed to separate Jews and Christians, keeping their respective peoples and cultures far apart. But in recent decades that has begun to change.

The rise of a militant secularism, one equally hostile to Israel and to America's Judeo-Christian values and institutions, has unexpectedly drawn Jews and Christians closer together. In the face of a common civilizational threat, the study of the two traditions' joint contributions to the West has risen to the fore. Jewish Roots of American Liberty illustrates how the free institutions, principles, and liberties that we value so much in today's America--including Christianity itself--are securely grounded in Jewish antecedents.

The twenty-one chapters that comprise this book offer a sampling of the many ways--Biblical, cultural, literary, and political--that the Hebraic tradition has contributed to the treasury of American self-understanding. Topics range from the titanic influence of the Hebrew Bible on the political culture of the American Founding, to the distinctly Hebraic vision of figures like John Milton, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Abraham Lincoln, to the Biblical heroes whose examples run through the canon of the American imagination, and more.

Suitable for both classroom use and stand-alone reading, the highly accessible contents of Jewish Roots of American Liberty will inform and inspire those who want to illuminate the bond between the American and Jewish stories and convey the blessings of that bond to a rising generation.

Review Quotes

"Both secularists and religionists insist that America is a nation of freedom. In the midst of our raging debates over the meanings of America and its freedom, this book shows persuasively that neither America nor freedom can be separated from their Hebraic roots. All Americans, both religious and secular, will learn from this volume much they did not know about both the American project and its connection to the God of Israel."

--Gerald McDermott, author of A New History of Redemption

"From Lincoln to the Liberty Bill, this volume is brimming with revelations about the Judaic dimensions of our national life. Its contributors remind us afresh that the Jewish tradition is profoundly central to America's own."

--Andrew Porwancher, author of The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton

"Jewish Roots of American Liberty presents an overwhelming case that the Hebrew Bible and Jewish ideas have had a tremendous influence on the American republic since its origins. The book's rich and varied contents suggest that a fresh and ecumenical recovery of the biblical message is the most promising path forward for an American national restoration."

--Josh Hammer, author of Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West

"As the nation prepares to mark the Declaration's semiquincentennial, this thoughtful book offers timely insights into the ideas that made America great."
--The Wall Street Journal

"This invaluable anthology richly documents the Hebraic contribution to the United States of America--the Blue and White in the Red, White and Blue. A comprehensive sourcebook, it is certain to intrigue students and reward the teachers who must vie for their attention. I've ordered several copies for friends and family."
--Ruth Wisse, Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Comparative Literature Emerita, Harvard University