Sarah Hurwitz, "As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us" (HarperOne, 2025)

Oct 4, 2025

Sarah Hurwitz, a former White House speechwriter and author of 'As a Jew', explores her journey from a disengaged Jewish upbringing to a profound rediscovery of Jewish identity. She discusses the impact of antisemitism on Jewish self-perception and the evolution of antisemitic narratives over time. Hurwitz highlights the importance of Torah study for spiritual growth and shares inspiring stories that have guided her. She aims to engage readers of all backgrounds with Jewish wisdom while advocating for a deep, proud re-engagement with Jewish traditions.

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ANECDOTE

Late Return To Jewish Learning

Sarah Hurwitz discovered Judaism in her mid-30s after taking an intro class and it transformed her life.
That class led her to read hundreds of books, study with rabbis, and write Here All Along to share what she found.

INSIGHT

History Shaped Modern Jewish Identity

Hurwitz traces modern American Jewish identity to two thousand years of anti-Judaism and 250 years of assimilation choices.
She argues these forces erased vital post-biblical texts and reshaped how Jews saw themselves.

ADVICE

Study Rather Than Just Respond

Do not only react to antisemitism; dive deeply into Jewish texts and traditions instead.
Engage with scholars and contemporary projects to reimagine Judaism with curiosity and love.

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An urgent exploration of how antisemitism has shaped Jewish identity and how Jews can reclaim their tradition, by the celebrated White House speechwriter and author of the critically acclaimed Here All Along.

At thirty-six, Sarah Hurwitz was a typical lapsed Jew. On a whim, she attended an introduction to Judaism class and was astonished by what she discovered: thousands of years of wisdom from her ancestors about what it means to be human. That class sparked a journey of discovery that transformed her life.

Years later, as Hurwitz wrestled with what it means to be Jewish at a time of rising antisemitism, she wondered: Where had the Judaism she discovered as an adult been all her life? Why hadn’t she seen the beauty and depth of her tradition in those dull synagogue services and Hebrew school classes she’d endured as a kid? And why had her Jewish identity consisted of a series of caveats and apologies: I’m Jewish, but not that Jewish . . . I’m just a cultural Jew . . . I’m just like everyone else but with a fun ethnic twist—a dash of neurosis, a touch of gallows humor—a little different, but not in a way that would make anyone uncomfortable.

Seeking answers, she went back through time to discover how hateful myths about Jewish power, depravity, and conspiracy have worn a neural groove deep into the world’s psyche, shaping not just how others think about Jews, but how Jews think about themselves. She soon realized that the Jewish identity she’d thought was freely chosen was actually the result of thousands of years of antisemitism and two centuries of Jews erasing parts of themselves and their tradition in the hope of being accepted and safe.

In As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us (HarperOne, 2025), Hurwitz documents her quest to take back her Jewish identity, how she stripped away the layers of antisemitic lies that made her recoil from her own birthright and unearthed the treasures of Jewish tradition. With antisemitism raging worldwide, Hurwitz’s defiant account of reclaiming the Jewish story and learning to live as a Jew, without apology, has never been timelier or more necessary.

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