On Friday, March 6, 2026, Zahava and Moshael J. Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought Deputy Director Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern delivered remarks during a panel discussion at the Arts and Humanities Summit at the White House in Washington D.C. Hosted by the White House Task Force 250 and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the panel, “Recovering a Freedom Like No Other—the Roots of the American Republic,” looked at the foundational ideas that continue to shape America to this day.
Rabbi Dr. Halpern focused his comments on how Queen Esther has inspired a diverse array of impactful Americans, from John Witherspoon, president of the College of New Jersey (later renamed Princeton) who cited her story during a national day of fasting in 1776 during the Revolutionary War; to Sojourner Truth, who in an 1853 equal rights rally in New York retold the Jewish heroine’s tale during her passionate appeal; to Abraham Lincoln, who released the Emancipation Proclamation nine days after a group of pastors from Chicago suggested that the president had been given his position “for such a time as this,” quoting Esther 4:14.
Other panelists included Dr. Os Guinness, author of The Magna Carta of Humanity: Sinai's Revolutionary Faith and the Future of Freedom, and Dr. Eric Cohen, CEO of the Tikvah Fund. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Carlos Campo, CEO of the Museum of the Bible. The summit also featured panels on “Raising America’s Vision to Celebrate Excellence through the Arts,” “Awakening America’s Virtuous Character through Patriotic Storytelling” and “Making American History Relevant through Books, Exhibitions and Digital Projects,” and introductory remarks by NEH Senior Advisor Matthew Taylor and NEH Senior Programs Officer Julie Carmean.
Rabbi Dr. Halpern’s appearance on the panel comes on the heels of the publication of Jewish Roots of American Liberty: The Impact of Hebraic Ideas on the American Story, which received support from the NEH. A forthcoming sequel publication also received a grant from the NEH.
“Sharing a panel with such distinguished figures in the White House as part of a wonderful initiative to showcase academic and social initiatives that constitute part of the country’s semiquincentennial celebration was a tremendous honor,” Rabbi Dr. Halpern said. “It reflects both the excitement around Jewish Roots of American Liberty and the support the government continues to show for the study of our nation’s history, particularly its Hebraic grounding.”
Click here to learn more about Jewish Roots of America Liberty: The Impact of the Hebraic Ideas on the American Story.
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