A Letter in the Scroll: New York Event

"I am a Jew because, knowing the story of my people, I hear their call to write the next chapter. I did not come from nowhere; I have a past, and if any past commands anyone this past commands me. I am a Jew because only if I remain a Jew will the story of a hundred generations live on in me. I continue their journey because, having come this far, I may not let it and them fail. I cannot be the missing letter in the scroll."

On 4 September 2024, a panel discussion was held at the Moise Safra Center in New York to celebrate and explore Rabbi Sacks’ enduring wisdom on Jewish identity, continuity, and responsibility.

The panel of guests - Natan Sharansky, Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Dan Senor, and Rabbi David Ingber - discussed the key themes of the book, which are as relevant today as they were when the book was first published.

About the Book

A Letter in the Scroll was published in the United States during Rabbi Sacks' first decade as Chief Rabbi (published in the UK as Radical Then, Radical Now). Now available in Hebrew and on Kindle, it remains a significant work on religious and Jewish identity.

In 2015, Rabbi Sacks and his team launched a series of whiteboard animations to share his teachings online with younger audiences. The first video, based on the closing chapter of A Letter in the Scroll, was titled "Why I Am A Jew," and became an instant success.

In December 2023, a booklet containing the final chapter from A Letter in the Scroll was distributed to 50,000 IDF soldiers. Additionally, the Paul E. Singer Foundation sponsored the publication of the chapter "Who Am I? Who Are We?" for the 2023 Sacks Conversation at Carnegie Hall.