Jonathan Sarna

An Old Faith in the New World: The History of American Judaism

A lively presentation on American Judaism from 1654 to the present by the acclaimed scholar who wrote the bestselling book on the subject, American Judaism: A History. Beginning in the colonial era, Sarna recounts the dynamic story of people struggling to be Americans and Jews. He shows how each generation of American Jews has had to wrestle anew with the question of whether its own children and grandchildren will remain Jewish. Bringing the story down to the present, he illustrates how the past can both inform and inspire.

That Obnoxious Order: Ulysses S. Grant and the Jews

On December 17, 1862, as the Civil War entered its second winter, General Ulysses S. Grant issued a sweeping order, General Orders #11, expelling “Jews as a class” from his war zone. It remains the most notorious anti-Jewish official order in American history. The order came back to haunt Grant in 1868 when he ran for president. Never before had Jews been so widely noticed in a presidential contest, and never before had they been confronted so publicly with the question of how to balance their “American” and “Jewish” interests. During his two terms in the White House, the memory of the “obnoxious order” shaped Grant’s relationship with the American Jewish community. In response, surprisingly, he did more for Jews than any other president to his time. How this happened, and why, sheds new light on one of our most enigmatic presidents, on the Jews of his day, and on America itself.

Children of the Stock of Abraham: George Washington's Correspondence with the Jews of Newport

In August of 1790, President George Washington made a state visit to Rhode Island, the last colony to ratify the Constitution. Visiting Newport, he listened patiently as different groups of citizens welcomed him to their city and gave voice to their hopes and concerns. Members of Newport’s beautiful synagogue stood among those bringing him greetings. Their letter and his remarkable reply to it stand as landmarks of American religious liberty. Many are familiar with the key words in Washington’s letter – “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance” – but there is much more to the correspondence than that. Guided by acclaimed historian Jonathan D. Sarna, we will unlock the deeper secrets of this correspondence, and its meaning for Jews and Americans of every faith.

Looking Ahead: American Judaism in the 21st Century

What are the central issues facing the American Jewish community in the decades ahead? In this provocative presentation, historian Jonathan D. Sarna examines key trends affecting Jewish life, particularly lesser-known economic, demographic, and religious changes that will affect American Jewry in the 21st century and beyond. He concludes with a call for a new mission for American Jews, and a discussion of how we can meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Born in Philadelphia, and raised in New York and Boston, Dr. Sarna attended Brandeis University, the Boston Hebrew College, Merkaz HaRav Kook in Jerusalem, and Yale University, where he obtained his doctorate.

Sarna is perhaps the field’s most prolific scholar.  He has published hundreds of scholarly articles, writes a column in the Forward  entitled “Now and Then” (because, he says, he produces it “now and then”) and has written, edited or coedited more than thirty books, including his newest, When Grant Expelled the Jews.  

He is probably best known for his acclaimed American Judaism: A History, winner of the Jewish Book Council’s “Jewish Book of the Year Award.”  It has been praised as being “the single best description of American Judaism during its 350 years on American soil.”