Sarah Hurwitz: Reclaiming Judaism from Shame and Blame [Teshuva 3/6]

September 9, 2025

AI Summary

5 min read

In 2021, Sarah Hurwitz visited a college campus to speak with Jewish students. When she asked if there were any questions, a young woman raised her hand and asked, “How did you deal with antisemitism when you were in college?” Hurwitz was stunned. She had graduated in the 1990s and had never once encountered antisemitism on campus. The question forced her to reckon with how much the world had changed—and how little she actually knew about her own tradition. That reckoning became her new book, As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us.

Hurwitz, a former speechwriter for Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama, had already written one book about reconnecting with Judaism. But this second project emerged from a deeper layer of discovery. During COVID, she trained as a hospital chaplain and realized how much of her spiritual vocabulary was actually Christian—ideas like “spirituality” as a body-soul dualism, or spontaneous spoken prayer as the norm. She had absorbed these frameworks without knowing they weren’t Jewish. At the same time, she began to see that her own Jewish identity had long been a series of caveats: “I’m Jewish, but just cultural,” or “social justice is my Judaism.” She meant well, but she knew nothing about what Judaism actually said about social justice. She was, in her own words, “an alien to her own faith.”

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What you'll learn

1 (04:31) **Introduction: "As a Jew" and the Call to Be Knowing Jews** - David introduces Sarah Hurwitz and her new book, framing it as a call for all Jews to deepen their knowledge of Judaism, regardless of background.
2 (16:04) **The Awakening: Chaplaincy, Christian Normativity, and Campus Antisemitism** - Sarah describes the two key experiences that led her to write this book: chaplaincy training and a campus visit.
3 (21:08) **Political Identity vs. Religious Identity: The Same Old Argument** - Sarah explains that the current antisemitism from both the far-right and far-left is rooted in the same ancient conspiracy theory.
4 (25:55) **From "Adorably Jewish" to Understanding a Legacy of Persecution** - Sarah reflects on her past "humiliating" Jewish identity, realizing it was not freely chosen but a product of history.
5 (28:33) **The Entry Point: Rediscovering the Post-Biblical Textual Tradition** - Sarah describes how she found a substantive Judaism by discovering the vast world of post-biblical commentary, which had been downplayed in her upbringing.
6 (33:14) **Jewish History: The 19th Century and the Need to Understand Antisemitism** - Sarah identifies the 19th-century emancipation period and the roots of Christian anti-Judaism as the most illuminating historical periods for understanding the present.
7 (36:49) **The Future of Denominations: Beyond Ritual Practice** - Sarah explains why she chose not to frame the future of Judaism within the traditional denominational structures.

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Show Notes

This series is sponsored by Mira and Daniel Stokar.

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with writer Sarah Hurwitz—author of the new book As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us—about what it means to be a “knowing Jew.”

In a time when we often feel compelled to justify our Judaism to the world, being Jewishly educated is no longer a luxury but a necessity. In this episode we discuss:

What does a proud Jew professionally associated with the Democratic Party make of the state of contemporary politics?
Where should one begin in trying to be an educated and involved Jew with a strong Jewish home?
How can the mussar literature be a great starting point to people looking to deepen their practice?

Tune in to hear a conversation about claiming for ourselves the tradition that so many try to take from us.

Interview begins at 11:14.

Sarah Hurwitz served as a White House speechwriter from 2009 to 2017, first as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and then as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. She is the author of Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life – in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There) and As A Jew: Reclaiming Our Story From Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try To Erase Us.

References:

As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us by Sarah Hurwitz

Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life – in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There) by Sarah Hurwitz

The Mighty Ducks

Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar by Alan Morinis

Mesillat Yesharim by Moses Chaim Luzzatto