Start
March 24, 2021 - 7.00 pm
End
March 24, 2021 - 8.00 pm
What is the purpose of Jews in the world? The Bible singles out the Jews as God’s ‘chosen people’, but the significance of this has been understood in many different ways over the centuries, both by Jews and by non-Jews. The idea that the Jews have a unique role in human history has often marked them apart uncomfortably from others, and given rise to a yearning among Jews for normality rather than specialness. A sense of special purpose, however – as ethical teachers, intellectual or political energisers, or as agents of tikkun olam – has been a persistent theme in Jewish history. In this talk Adam Sutcliffe will explore the history of ’the Jewish Purpose Question’ from biblical times to the present, which is the subject of his new book What Are Jews For? History, Peoplehood and Purpose (Princeton University Press, 2020).
Date/time: 24 March 2021, 7.00pm-8.15pm (UK)
Cost: Free, but donations welcome
Venue: Online
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Adam Sutcliffe
Adam Sutcliffe is Professor of European History at King’s College London. He has published widely on Jewish history, the history of European thought and on history and memory. HIs earlier books include Judaism and Enlightenment (2003); Philosemitism in History (2011); and History, Memory and Public Life: The Past in the Present (2018).