Join us for a thought-provoking conversation inspired by In God’s Image, the newly translated work of Dr. Tomer Persico, exploring the biblical roots and contemporary challenges of the liberal idea.

There is nothing self-evident in truths proclaiming the inherent equality of all people or of humans having unalienable rights.

The liberal order as we know it is the fragile result of an extensive and intricate historical and cultural process, a process which began with the biblical idea that all humans were created in the image of God.

We will examine the roots of our selfhood, our rights, and our conception of freedom and outline the foundations of Liberal Democracy.

Finally, we will analyze the current crisis in the liberal order and seek to understand how it is in many ways a crisis of identity.

A kosher dairy brunch will be served.

Participants will receive a copy of the book, but if you’d like to read it in advance, it’s available here: In God’s Image on Amazon

Review: Sharing a Sacred Form

Bio:

Dr. Persico is a Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, Chief Editor of the 'Challenges of Democracy' book series for the Rubinstein Center at Reichman University, and a Senior Research Scholar at the UC Berkeley Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Persico was the Koret Visiting Assistant Professor at the UC Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies for three years and has taught for eight years in Tel Aviv University. His fields of expertise include the liberal order, Jewish modern identity, Contemporary Spirituality and Jewish fundamentalism. His books include The Jewish Meditative Tradition (Tel Aviv University Press 2016), In God's Image: How Western Civilization Was Shaped by a Revolutionary Idea (Yedioth 2021, NYU Press 2025) and Liberalism: its Roots, Values and Crises (Dvir 2024, NZZ Libro 2025