Witness from the Pulpit »

Harold I. Saperstein served as rabbi of Temple Emanu-El of Lynbrook, N.Y., from 1933 until his retirement in 1980. The specific contours of his career reflect a sustained effort to use the pulpit of this suburban temple to communicate a Jewish perspective based on personal encounters with great issues of the day-including the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust, the civil rights era, the McCarthy era, and other turning points in American history. The fifty-two sermons in this book have been selected, introduced, and annotated by Marc Saperstein, whose award-winning books on the history of Jewish preaching have established him as a leading expert on this subject. No other book illustrates as effectively the value of the sermon as a resource for understanding the challenges faced by American Jews at some of the most dramatic moments in the turbulent history of this century.

Author Biography: Harold I. Saperstein is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Emanu-El of Lynbrook, N.Y., where he served for 47 years. Marc Saperstein is the Charles E. Smith Professor of Jewish History and Director of the Program in Judaic Studies at George Washington University. He is the author of four books, including "Jewish Preaching 1200-1800" (1989) and "Your Voice Like a Ram's Horn" (1996), both winners of the National Jewish Book Award.