Public Policy and Social Issues: Jewish Sources and Perspectives

(Hardback)

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Designing public policies to meet the needs of a diverse society is challenging, and the variety of necessary perspectives are often clouded by competing ideas about social responsibility, personal freedom, religious beliefs, and governmental intervention. Here, prominent Jewish scholars and commentators address various social issues and public policies from a Jewish perspective, using Jewish sources and documents to elucidate responses and propose solutions that are in keeping with Jewish law as set out by the major documents of the Jewish faith. Abortion, stem cell research, welfare reform, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and other hot-button issues are topics of primary concern to politicians, lawmakers, religious leaders, and ordinary citizens alike. Designing public policies to meet the needs of a diverse society is challenging, and the variety of necessary perspectives are often clouded by competing ideas about social responsibility, personal freedom, religious beliefs, and governmental intervention. Here, prominent Jewish scholars and commentators address various social issues and public policies from a Jewish perspective, using Jewish sources and documents to elucidate responses and propose solutions that are in keeping with Jewish law as set out by the major documents of the Jewish faith. Their conclusions about ways to consider issues of public concern and private consideration, and their adherence to conservative politics, may surprise readers. What emerges is the notion that Jewish thought can contribute to the American political discourse and is available to anyone looking for answers to today's toughest questions. Creating a public policy to address social issues that is both responsible and morally guided can be a difficult proposition for lawmakers. Making personal decisions about these same issues can be even more difficult as people struggle for guidance. Addressing many of the issues that are hotly debated in the media and in the corridors of our government, conservative, reform, and orthodox commentators carefully outline an approach for lawmakers and individuals. This approach incorporates Jewish law into a public policy philosophy that is both conservative-leaning and politically available. Taken as a whole, the essays underscore that Jewish tradition mostly (albeit not invariably) leads one to the politically conservative side of the aisle.

Reviews

.,."All of these essays provide the reader an excellent introduction to traditional Judaism's voice on a number of our nation's most controversial topics. Moreover, the authors present this material in a manner which is accessible and thought provoking for both the scholar and the average reader."-Ira N. Forman Executive Director, the National Jewish Democratic Council co-editor, Jews IN American Politics
.,."This volume warrants the attention of all those who are genuinely interested in learning from the sources, no matter what their political orientation, and who are dissatisfied with rhetorical gimmickcry and the substitution of buzzwords for genuine scholarship in too much of what passes for explication on authentic Jewish view."-Norman Lamm President, Yeshiva University
"A fine representation of Judaism as a living tradition rich in values. The book articulates the nuanced pluralism of Jewish tradition, the power of tradition to address the political and ethical issues of modern life, and that at its foundations Judaism aims at the improvement of human life and the world."-Abraham H. Foxman National Director, Anti-Defamation League
"Offers lively commentary on the relationship between Jewish tradition and policy perspectives. In my opinion, this book is an indispensable guide to questions of law, tradition, and common sense using the Judaic experience as a backdrop....For anyone curious about how to answer the perplexing questions of our time, e.g. euthanasia, biotechnology, abortion, family responsibility and foreign policy using a canvas of Jewish tradition, this book must be read."-Herbert I. London President, Hudson Institute
"Rarely have the rich insights of Jewish law and tradition into America's most urgent domestic and foreign policy challenges been so lucidly presented. Whether you agree with all the political conclusions or not, these essays provide a benchmark for analysis and debate. From Marshall Breger's provocative introduction, through learned discourses on bioethics, the environment, economic justice and international affairs, this volume should be widely used by Jewish and political leaders alike."-Rabbi David Saperstein Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
"This is an extraordinary set of essays on virtually every hotly discussed issue of American public policy, from abortion through welfare programs. What gives the book a shocking, bracing air is that "a distinctly Jewish public policy" as the Editor puts it, "is going to seem very different from what is generally thought of as American Jewish politics.""-Michael Novak, George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy American Enterprise Institute
"This is just what one would expect from Marshall Breger and the exemplary group of scholars he has assembled: an engaging, insightful, and instructive collection of essays on the lessons our faith teaches about contemporary ethical and political questions, from abortion and welfare to biotechnology and environmental protection. [It] reminds us that no matter how complex, vexing, or partisan the question may seem, we can always find guidance in the timeless wisdom of Jewish law."-Senator Joe Lieberman, D-CT
"While Jews and Christians often start from different religious world views the value systems expressed by the two religions are remarkably similar--especially in areas of personal responsibility, sexual morality, euthanasia and social justice. This volume of essays aptly makes clear that authentic Jewish values often (albeit not always) track "conservative" positions held by traditional Christians. The essays are well-written and make a compelling read."-Ken Connor President, Family Research Council
"An excellent resource for understanding the Jewish position, or positions, on controverted social questions, including euthanasia, abortion, sexual ethics, family, welfare, and the market economy....[m]any Jews are indifferent to what is authentically Jewish, but for serious Jews and for public discourse in a society in which Judaism matters, it is useful to lay down the markers that identify a distinctive tradition, whiich is what this book succeeds in doing."-The Public Square
[T]he ability of Jews to adapt politically and survive intact as a people has in part been based on the Jewish ability to infuse the Jewish tradition into the modern world.-Jewish Book World
An excellent resource for understanding the Jewish position, or positions, on controverted social questions, including euthanasia, abortion, sexual ethics, family, welfare, and the market economy....[m]any Jews are indifferent to what is authentically Jewish, but for serious Jews and for public discourse in a society in which Judaism matters, it is useful to lay down the markers that identify a distinctive tradition, whiich is what this book succeeds in doing.-The Public Square
"The ability of Jews to adapt politically and survive intact as a people has in part been based on the Jewish ability to infuse the Jewish tradition into the modern world."-Jewish Book World
"[T]he ability of Jews to adapt politically and survive intact as a people has in part been based on the Jewish ability to infuse the Jewish tradition into the modern world."-Jewish Book World

Author Bio

MARSHALL J. BREGER is Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America. He was Special Assistant to the President during the Reagan Administration. He has served as Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and as adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He writes a regular column for Moment magazine and has published widely on Jewish and legal issues and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Shma, Commentary, Reform Judaism, Midstream, and other Jewish periodicals.