- This event has passed.
About The Event
8:00-9:15am
See here for more information.
As a speechwriter for Michelle and Barack Obama, Sarah Hurwitz’s gifts as a communicator have inspired millions. Now she employs those talents to reveal the timeless wisdom and beauty of Judaism.
Sarah Hurwitz spent a decade writing widely-acclaimed addresses as one of the most senior speechwriters in American politics. As Chief Speechwriter to Hillary Clinton in 2008; senior speechwriter for Barack Obama and Head Speechwriter for Michelle Obama, her words have been heard across five continents and helped define American power at home and abroad.
The last thing she expected was to use her skills to advocate for why Judaism matters. She was the quintessential lapsed Jew – until, at age thirty-six, after a tough breakup, she happened upon an advertisement for an introductory class on Judaism. She attended on a whim, but was blown away by what she found: beautiful rituals, helpful guidance on living an ethical life, conceptions of God beyond the judgy bearded man in the sky—none of which she had learned in Hebrew School or during the two synagogue services she grudgingly attended each year.
In this talk, Sarah will explore both strands of her life and career — as an insider to Obama presidency, shaping the global agenda with her words, and a Jewish woman rediscovering the profound value of her spiritual tradition as a guide through our hurly-burly world.