The attack by Hamas on Israel on Octo­ber 7 has drawn a clear and irre­versible demar­ca­tion in time. The Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty woke to an unrec­og­niz­able new real­i­ty on the 7th, wit­ness­ing first the hor­ror and sheer bru­tal­i­ty of the atroc­i­ties in Israel, fol­lowed imme­di­ate­ly by the stark and unprece­dent­ed rise in anti­semitism in its after­math. In the wake of what is often referred to as the world’s old­est hate, Amer­i­can Jews are expe­ri­enc­ing a shared and dis­ori­ent­ing whiplash, won­der­ing where this anti­semitism came from and where it might lead. But the Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty is also expe­ri­enc­ing some­thing pro­found and beau­ti­ful in this exis­ten­tial moment: even in this dark hour, they are dis­cov­er­ing a deep, abid­ing con­nec­tion to their com­mu­ni­ty, their cul­ture, and their faith. Draw­ing on the rich trove of Jew­ish his­to­ry and tra­di­tion, Rab­bi Elliot Cos­grove, helps read­ers make sense of this fraught and try­ing time. 

Knit­ting togeth­er sto­ry­telling with ancient teach­ings, Rab­bi Cos­grove helps nav­i­gate the land­scape of this new real­i­ty and under­stand how we got here, where we are today, and where we might go from here. For Such a Time as This is a guide for a new gen­er­a­tion that is rec­on­cil­ing the past with the present and fac­ing the unknown future with courage, spir­it, and unwa­ver­ing hope.