Lauryn Smith

“We must take our part in the curricular and cultural battles in our institutions of higher learning, and we must take Jewish learning to higher levels. We must celebrate our births, bnei mitzvah, and weddings, reminding one another, our children, and most of all ourselves of who we are. Jews must take agency—and joy—in their Judaism.”
― Elliot Cosgrove, For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today

“We have taken our Jewish identity for granted for so long. And now, for the first time in our lives, we have begun to ask, What kind of Jews do we want to be? Where do we turn for guidance in such a time as this?”
― Elliot Cosgrove, For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today

“people. Esther didn’t choose her moment; it chose her. And when the moment came, she put herself on the line, threw her lot in with her people, and rallied them to action. A heroine for her time. A heroine for our time.”
― Elliot Cosgrove, For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today

“As a people of Genesis and Exodus, we must stand up and stand tall in defense of our people and never lose sight of the joy and the privilege that comes with being a Jew today. Our Jewishness comes from both the push and the pull. Neither one nor the other but the two together must inform who we are and what we will be in such a time as this.”
― Elliot Cosgrove, For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today