By Lacey Storer
Contributing Writer
When Sarah Hurwitz signed up for an introduction to Judaism class at the age of 36 — after growing up with the Jewish experience of “dull services at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and a dull seder” — she had few, if any, expectations. The then-chief speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama took the class merely to fill time after a breakup and wasn’t looking for any kind of spiritual awakening.
But that’s exactly what happened. The quintessential lapsed Jew found herself connecting to Judaism in a way that she never had before.
“I was blown away by what I found — so much wisdom about how to be a good person, lead a worthy life, and find spiritual connection, none of which I’d seen during those services or that seder,” she said in an email interview.
Hurwitz’s experience lead to her book, “Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life — in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There).” She will talk about reconnecting with her Judaism and share insights from the book in an upcoming virtual event hosted by Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, moderated by Victor Wishna.
The event, which was scheduled to be an in-person presentation before the pandemic hit, will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Hurwitz said she could “go on and on” about how the experience has impacted her life, from the way her Jewish ethics influences the choices she makes and how she treats others, to having a deeper connection to her Jewish community, which has resulted in many close relationships.
“Rediscovering Judaism has truly changed how I walk through the world on a day to day basis,” she said.
It also influenced her work in the White House.
“I realized pretty early in my exploration that what I consider to be the most core Jewish value — that we’re all created in the Divine image — was actually at the heart of every speech I was writing,” she said.
Since that first introduction to Judaism class, Hurwitz has continued her Jewish education by taking additional classes, learning one-on-one with rabbis and scholars, studying Jewish texts in chavruta (partnership) with various people, attending lectures and reading books about Judaism.
She was inspired to write her book because she couldn’t find one like it when she started learning more about Judaism. The books on the shelves either covered the basics of Judaism without getting into the more spiritual aspects or covered those topics in great length but were very dense and academic.
“I had trouble finding the book that I needed, one that covered the basics while also delving deeply into the ‘why’ of Judaism,” she said. “I decided that I wanted to try to write that book, one in which I would share what I had discovered on my journey — all the moving, inspiring, life-changing, urgently relevant wisdom that Judaism has to offer on how to cope with our challenges, care for each other, and lead more meaningful lives.”
Hurwitz’s book, which was published last year and was a finalist in the 2019 National Jewish Book Awards, has received positive reactions from Jews at all spiritual levels.
“Many disengaged Jews have told me that they had no idea how much Judaism had to offer them and that the book helped them fall in love with Judaism,” she said. “And many deeply engaged and highly observant Jews have told me that the book reminded them of why they love Judaism, and they enjoyed the fresh insights on Jewish texts.
“That’s one of the many things I love about Judaism — you never run out of things to learn.”
Hurwitz’s presentation will be streamed live via Zoom. To register, visit www.jewishkansascity.org/SarahHurwitz.