Torah, Service, Deeds

As the twenty-first century continues to bring rapid changes to Judaism and Jewish affiliation, and as major challenges continue to mount within and well beyond the Jewish world, effective leadership increasingly requires familiarity and dexterity in multiple ethical areas: interpersonal, social, political, environmental, medical, and business. Torah, Service, Deeds presents essays on diverse approaches to the spectrum of ethical issues. Written by faculty and alumni from the transdenominational Academy for Jewish Religion California, the chapters demonstrate that a shared and genuine commitment to values and concerns can be expressed through varied lenses and applications. Each author is paired with another who has written on related themes. Following their essays, the two authors respond to one another, modeling pluralistic Jewish dialogue. It is our hope that this "simulated chavruta" (study pair) inspires readers to reach out to people of other stripes, Jews and non-Jews, to productively engage the issues of today.