Israel/Zionism
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas: The Triumph of Life
The Triumph of Life is Rabbi Irving Greenberg’s magnum opus—a narrative of the relationship between God and humanity as expressed in the Jewish journey through modernity, the Holocaust, the creation of Israel, and the birth of Judaism’s next era.
Greenberg describes Judaism’s utopian vision of a world created by a God who loves life, who invites humans to live on the side of life, and who enables the forces of life to triumph over death. The Bible proclaims our mission of tikkun olam, repairing the world, such that every human image of God is sustained in the fullness of our dignity. To achieve this ideal, Judaism offers the method of covenant—a realistic, personal, incremental partnership between God and humanity across generations in which human beings grow ever more responsible for world repair.
Greenberg calls on us to redirect humanity’s unprecedented power in modernity to overcome poverty, oppression, inequality, sickness, and war. The work of covenant requires an ethic of power—one that advances life collaboratively and at a human pace—so that the Jewish people and all humanity can bring the world toward the triumph of life.
Choosing Life: On Judaism, Covenant, and the Future of Humanity
An online conversation facilitated by Rabbi Elie Spitz with renowned scholar Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, exploring powerful insights from Rabbi Greenberg’s new magnum opus, The Triumph of Life. Together, they delve into Judaism’s evolving response to modernity, the Holocaust, the founding of the State of Israel, and the emergence of a new era in Jewish thought. Rabbi Greenberg reflects on the covenantal partnership between God and humanity, the central role of human dignity, and Judaism’s enduring call to embrace life and engage in tikkun olam—repairing the world. This intimate dialogue offers a profound and hopeful vision of responsibility, renewal, and the sacred work of shaping a better future.
“Unbreakable Bond” – Understanding The Enduring US-Israel Alliance
What are the historical, cultural, strategic, and values-based foundations that sustain the enduring US-Israel alliance? Host Gil Troy and historian and theologian R. Yitz Greenberg discuss the key factors that underpin, and the historic moments that have shaped the partnership between the United States and Israel.
“Yom Ha’atzmaut”
1:16
This lecture, delivered on and about Yom Ha’atzmaut, focuses on the celebration of the creation of the State of Israel. Judaim is a religion based on re-living past events and anticipating a future redemption. Where does the State of Israel, by no means perfect, fit? And further, what is the relationship between the Holocaust and the State of Israel?