The Jewish Publication Society

10/15/2026

What's the point of God if God doesn't intervene?

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg has spent more than sixty years wrestling with the meaning of faith after the Holocaust, and one of his central claims is that God increasingly expects human beings to take responsibility for the world rather than waiting for divine intervention. But if that's true, what role does God actually play? And what does it mean for covenant, religious obligation, and prayer?

In this conversation with Rabbi Scott Kahn and the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast, they discuss Rabbi Greenberg's understanding of Judaism as a religion that demands that we "choose life"; why he has significantly revised his famous idea of the "voluntary covenant"; why he believes God's increasing hiddenness represents not divine absence, but a more mature stage in the relationship between God and humanity; and what all of this means for the relationship between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews.

This is a wide-ranging conversation about God, Torah, the Holocaust, religious pluralism, Christianity, human responsibility, and what faith means in a world where God may not intervene in the ways that we expect.

Tune in on Youtube on the Orthodox Conundrum channel, or on other podcast platforms.

Rabbi Irving "Yitz" Greenberg is a preeminent Jewish thinker, theologian, and activist, and the author of several books including his award-winning magnum opus, THE TRIUMPH OF LIFE: A NARRATIVE THEOLOGY OF JUDAISM (JPS, 2024), and the new two-volume collection of essays, LIFE AGAINST DEATH.

10/14/2026

Join our friends at Wisdom Without Walls this fall for fascinating conversations with JPS authors, presented in partnership with JPS.

Interested in virtual Jewish learning? Join us this autumn and learn from renowned thought leaders on fascinating topics on contemporary Jewish issues. The next conversation is tonight, October 7, at 7PM ET. Check it out: www.wisdomwithoutwalls.org

10/08/2026

"In a collection of essays spanning six decades, the 93-year-old thinker argues that Israel’s mission is not simply to thrive, but to wield power without sacrificing human dignity."

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg sat with The Times of Israel to discuss LIFE AGAINST DEATH, his new two-volume collection of essays reflecting a lifetime of pioneering activism and Jewish thought. These influential works recognized as classic in his oeuvre identify turning points in Jewish life, along with policies key to successful Jewish living in the modern world. This collection includes new introductions to each essay, two previously unpublished essays, behind-the-scenes stories, as well as Greenberg's evolving thoughts and insights on the relevance of the core principles in our changed times.

Read the full interview at timesofisrael.com/after-oct-7-rabbi-yitz-greenbergs-post-holocaust-theology-faces-its-biggest-test/.

Rabbi Irving "Yitz" Greenberg is the author of several books including his award-winning magnum opus, THE TRIUMPH OF LIFE: A NARRATIVE THEOLOGY OF JUDAISM (JPS, 2024). Learn more about Rabbi Greenberg's work at JPS.org.

In a collection of essays spanning six decades, the 93-year-old thinker argues that Israel’s mission is not simply to thrive, but to wield power without sacrificing human dignity

10/07/2026

10/05/2026

"October 7, Three Years Later: What Have We Learned?"
With Dr. Rafael Medoff
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM ET
Presented by Wisdom Without Walls in partnership with The Jewish Publication Society

Three years after October 7, what have we truly learned—and what are we still refusing to confront? Join historian Rafael Medoff for a sharp, unflinching conversation examining the political failures, military realities, and human consequences that continue to shape Israel and the Jewish world. This timely discussion challenges assumptions, surfaces hard truths, and asks what must change moving forward. Medoff is the author of THE ROAD TO OCTOBER 7: HAMAS, THE HOLOCAUST, AND THE ETERNAL WAR AGAINST THE JEWS (JPS, 2025), and founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, in Washington, D.C. He has written 20 books about the Holocaust, Zionism, and American Jewish history.

Exclusive 25% program discount for JPS readers with discount code jps2425 at the link below. Register for the conversation at wisdomwithoutwalls.org/rafael-medoff-2/.

10/01/2026

JPS is honored to announce the publication of Rabbi Yitz Greenberg's new 2-volume collection of essays, LIFE AGAINST DEATH. In these volumes, Greenberg curates, introduces, and reflects on the most important essays written over the course of his lifetime in the United States and Israel, from 1965 to 2025. These influential works recognized as classic in his oeuvre identify turning points in Jewish life, along with policies key to successful Jewish living in the modern world.

Greenberg begins by reflecting on the universal struggle of life against death in the world. Judaism and the Jewish people are meant to serve as an avant-garde in repairing the world by overcoming the enemies of life, including oppression and war.

Volume 1 presents essays on America and Israel, and Volume 2 explores the Holocaust and Jewish-Christian relations. New introductions to each essay narrate behind-the-scenes stories and breakthroughs formative to its contents, as well as Greenberg’s evolving thoughts, and insights on relevance of the core principles in our changed times.

Two essays have never been published before: “The Religious Significance of the State of Israel,” and “Israel and World Jewry After October 7.”

Readers will get to know Greenberg as a thought leader, an activist, a man, and a Jew.

Learn more at jps.org/books/life-against-death/.

09/30/2026

"Illuminated Scriptures: Reading the Torah Through the Qur’an"
Tuesday, October 6th at 7:00 PM ET
Presented by the Center for Jewish History in partnership with the American Sephardi Federation

Hosted in-person at the Center for Jewish History - 15 West 16th St., New York
How can reading sacred texts side by side deepen our understanding of both traditions?

Join the Center for Jewish History and the American Sephardi Federation for a timely conversation marking the publication of ILLUMINATING SCRIPTURAL CONNECTIONS: A QUR'ANIC COMMENTARY ON THE TORAH, an ambitious new work by interfaith leaders and scholars Rick Sopher and Abdulla Galadari. Drawing on all fifty-four weekly Torah portions, the book places the Torah and the Qur'an in dialogue, illuminating shared narratives, prophetic traditions, ethical teachings, and theological questions while thoughtfully exploring where the two texts converge and diverge.

Sopher, a leading figure in Jewish-Muslim dialogue, and Galadari, a scholar of Qur'anic hermeneutics, invite readers to encounter these foundational scriptures not as isolated traditions but as texts that have long spoken to many of the same questions about faith, justice, prophecy, and human responsibility. Their collaboration demonstrates how close reading and rigorous scholarship can open new pathways for understanding across religious communities.

Moderated by Mehnaz M. Afridi, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan University.

Learn more and register at programs.cjh.org/event/illuminated-2026-10-06.

09/29/2026

Temple Emanu-El's Center for Interfaith Dialogue hosts a conversation on ILLUMINATING SCRIPTURAL CONNECTIONS
Monday, October 5th at 6:30 PM EST
In-person at Temple Emanu-El - 1 East 65th St., New York, NY

Join Rabbi Joshua Davidson and interfaith speaker, Sabeeha Rehman, for a fascinating panel discussion with Dr. Abdulla Galadari and Rick Sopher, authors of ILLUMINATING SCRIPTURAL CONNECTIONS: A QUR'ANIC COMMENTARY ON THE TORAH.

The panelists will delve into the way that the Qur’an deals with characters and stories found throughout the Bible. Through a close reading of the text, they will demonstrate the close connection between Islamic and Judaic scriptures, discussing both the Qur’an’s deep reverence for the Torah and its dismay that some Jews did not adequately follow it. Book signing by author Rick Sopher to follow!

Learn more and register at https://emanuelnyc.org/calendar/center-for-interfaith-dialogue-interfaith-book-panel-on-illuminating-scriptural-connections/.

09/23/2026

Congratulations to author Michael Shapiro on his book KETUBAH RENAISSANCE being named a Distinguished Favorite for the 2026 NYC Big Book Award in Judaism.

Mazal tov, Michael!

Learn more and order this acclaimed book at jps.org/books/ketubah-renaissance/.