Talks & Entertainment

Sarah Hurwitz, former head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, was the quintessential lapsed Jew until, at age thirty-six and after a tough breakup, she attended an introductory class on Judaism on a whim. She was blown away by what she learned: beautiful rituals, helpful guidance on living an ethical life, conceptions of God beyond the judgy bearded man in the sky—none of which she had learned in Hebrew school or during the two synagogue services she grudgingly attended each year.

That class led to Jewish meditation retreats, Shabbat dinners with Orthodox families, and a years-long journey in pursuit of answers to her biggest questions. What she found transformed her life, so she wondered: How could there be such a gap between the richness of what Judaism offers and the way so many Jews like her understand and experience it?

With her new book, Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality and a Deeper Connection to Life — In Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There), Hurwitz is on a mission to share the profound insights she discovered on everything from Jewish holidays, ethics, and prayer to Jewish conceptions of God, death, and social justice.

In this interactive conversation with Hurwitz and Rabbi Aaron Potek, uncover more about the relevance of Judaism today. Together, they’ll discuss (and debate) the most exciting, important, challenging, and inspiring aspects of Judaism and talk about why it’s worth participating in this rich and complicated tradition.