cover image Where Justice Dwells: A Hands-on Guide to Doing Social Justice in Your Jewish Community

Where Justice Dwells: A Hands-on Guide to Doing Social Justice in Your Jewish Community

Jill Jacobs. Jewish Lights, $24.99 (200p) ISBN 978-1-58023-453-5

Born in 1975, author Jacobs (There Shall Be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice Through Jewish Law and Tradition) has been a social justice activist from her high school days in Framingham, Mass., where she persuaded the Board of Education to introduce sex education into the curriculum. Earlier this year, she became the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights%E2%80%93North America, concerned with Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Jacobs has published much on social justice, and her new volume is a primer on how to do social justice work, containing practical advice on organizing groups and congregations to fulfill what she considers to be a Jewish obligation, citing texts to support her view. She gives, however, scant attention to the historical and ongoing endeavors of Jewish social workers in this field. The book is a worthwhile mixture of exhortation with blow-by-blow recipes for doing social justice work. It reflects the author's strong belief in social action based on Jewish sources. (Aug.)