Dear Friends,
We are living in a historic moment. After two painful years, the last living hostages have finally returned home, and we are hoping that the war in Israel is drawing to a close. Amidst our sorrow for what has been lost, and our commitment to heal, recover, and rebuild, we urgently need Jewish voices to illuminate the richness of our tradition and to help us make sense of the present.
JPS is striving to meet this challenge.
As the oldest and largest multi-denominational Jewish press in the English-speaking world, JPS publishes books for academic libraries as well as for living room shelves: books meant to be opened and re-opened, cherished, shared, and passed from one generation to the next. This year, JPS has published Michael Shapiro’s Ketubah Renaissance: The Artful Modern Revival of the Jewish Marriage Contract, Andrea Strongwater’s Lost Synagogues of Europe: Paintings and Histories, and Rafael Medoff’s powerful The Road to October 7, along with many others. These additions to our literary legacy reflect the vibrant creativity and scholarship that define JPS. Each book speaks to readers in a unique way, and empowers them with insights on the Torah, Jewish history, and on questions about how to face new challenges in the modern world.
To meet the critical needs of our time, JPS has also launched important initiatives:
– A groundbreaking partnership with Magnes Press of Hebrew University in
Jerusalem, making JPS books easily available to Israeli readers;
– An Authors Bureau that will enable synagogues, schools, and other
organizations to invite JPS authors to deliver public lectures;
– The move of JPS’s historic book collection from Gratz College to the Center
for American Jewish History in New York City, securing its preservation for
generations to come;
– An inaugural in-person event for JPS authors to foster social and professional partnerships.
These initiatives have helped us build a welcoming platform that crosses denominational divides and brings Jewish ideas to life. As we look ahead toward 2026, we plan to focus our efforts on publishing books by eminent scholars, supporting the work of Israeli authors in particular, and developing new programs to inspire our readers with timeless Jewish wisdom.
To continue this work, we need your help. We invite you to support JPS with an end-of-year gift by sponsoring a book in honor of a loved one or by supporting our work through an unrestricted donation. Your gift will help JPS in its commitment to steward timeless Jewish wisdom and provide a proud Jewish legacy for future generations.
With gratitude for your readership and support,
Gittel Hilibrand, Esq., President, Board of Trustees, and Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich, JPS Director and Editor-in-Chief