The Necessity of Exile

A timely, progressive collection of essays on the Jewish relationship to Zionism and exile. What is exile? What is diaspora? What is Zionism? Jewish identity today has been shaped by prior generations’ answers to these questions, and the future of Jewish life will depend on how we respond to them in our own time. In The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance, celebrated rabbi and scholar Shaul Magid offers an essential contribution to this intergenerational process, inviting us to rethink our current moment through religious and political resources from the Jewish tradition. On many levels, Zionism was conceived as an attempt to “end the exile” of the Jewish people, both politically and theologically. In a series of incisive essays, Magid challenges us to consider the price of diminishing or even erasing the exilic character of Jewish life. A thought-provoking work of political imagination, The Necessity of Exile reclaims exile as a positive stance for constructive Jewish engagement with Israel|Palestine, antisemitism, diaspora, and a broken world in need of repair. Ayin Press is proud to partner with JBI Library to make many of our books available in accessible formats such as Large Print, Braille, and Audio for free to anyone who is blind, has low vision, has a physical disability that makes it hard to use standard print, or has a reading disability. Please reach out to JBI Library at JBIlibrary.org or 212-545-8025 to learn more.