Judaism in a Digital Age

What is the next chapter in Judaism’s story, the next step in its journey? The dramatic changes of recent decades invite us to explore what role Judaism is to play in this new era. As the digital future becomes the present, Danny Schiff makes the case that the period known as “modernity” has come to an end. Noting the declining strength of Conservative and Reform Judaism, the largest US Jewish movements of modernity, he argues for new iterations of Judaism to arise in response to the myriad of weighty questions that now confront us about what it means to be human. Here is an account of the digital age through a Jewish lens, in which Schiff examines Jewish teachings and traditions, exploring what moral insight they might have to offer in this period of great flux. He marshals the thought of well-known futurists such as Ray Kurzweil and Yuval Noah Harari to forecast the exponentially larger shifts in the human condition that lie ahead, and proposes that a countercultural Judaism couldhave renewed relevance in addressing some of the pressing issues that confront humanity in the twenty-first century.

“In the tradition of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory, Danny Schiff brings original insights to today’s problems, demonstrating the eternal value of Jewish ideas. Schiff shows how a world desperate for meaning can find an elegant way back to a more righteous path.”

 —Bari Weiss, editor of Common Sense and host of the podcast Honestly

“Danny Schiff brilliantly analyzes our current era and takes us on a fascinating journey to the next Jewish horizon. With clear-sighted courage, he proclaims: ‘Modernity is over. So is its Judaism.’ Immense technological and scientific advances will require radically new mindsets, Schiff argues, but there is little evidence that the liberal Jewish movements are mobilizing to meet these challenges. Schiff offers a roadmap for this mobilization. A must read for anyone involved in Jewish life.”

—Ammiel Hirsch, Senior Rabbi, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue

“Danny Schiff asks us to dothe impossible and the necessary - travel far into the future to re-conceptualize the Judaism of the present and the consequences of hyper-emancipation on major denominations and their impact on contemporary Jewish life. With this provocation, he invites us ultimately both to experience and to create a Judaism that is saturated with meaning, substance, and nuance.”

—Erica Brown, Vice Provost for Values and Leadership, Yeshiva University 

Danny Schiff is the Foundation Scholar at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. He is the author of Abortion in Judaism (2002) and is a former member of the City of Pittsburgh Ethics Board and the Society of Jewish Ethics Board.