Spertus invited participants to join Rabbi Jill Jacobs for two special programs, one at Spertus and one in Highland Park.
A booksigning followed each program.

In the midst of the economic collapse, Jews are looking to Jewish tradition for solace and for guidance in moving forward to create a better America. Rabbi Jill Jacobs weaved together Jewish wisdom, personal stories, and contemporary policy debates to address society’s most vexing issues and to bring clarity to the role that Judaism can play in American public discourse.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, author of There Shall be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition, is the Rabbi-in-Residence of Jewish Funds for Justice. A leading expert on Judaism and social justice, she writes and speaks on issues such as poverty, labor relations, housing issues, criminal justice, and environmental sustainability. Rabbi Jacobs was named to the Forward’s annual list of 50 most influential American Jews in 2006 and 2008, Jewish Week’s 36 under 36 in 2008, and Newsweek’s list of the 50 most influential rabbis in 2009. She spent 2009 in Israel as a Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel Leadership Institute.