About this episode

Jack Lew discusses his career in public service and the intersection of his Jewish faith with his professional responsibilities.

Jack Lew was drawn to a mission of service well before becoming the 76th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. As a kid in Forest Hills, Queens, he stepped up as his high school’s inaugural Earth Day coordinator. Inspired by a local rabbi, he supported low-income housing in his hometown. Raised in a home committed to Jewish life and Zionism but also social justice and the community around him, Lew never wavered from an equal sense of responsibility to both worlds. In fact, it’s that very outlook that led him to a storied career in public service without ever sacrificing his Jewish faith and practice. On January 13th, Rabbi David Wolpe sat down with Secretary Lew for an in-depth SAPIR Conversation. Together, they reflected on moments both personal and historic: the time President Clinton left Lew a voicemail on Shabbat; the pivotal conversation he had with President Obama before accepting the position of White House Chief of Staff; the experience of serving as U.S. Ambassador to Israel weeks after October 7th. They also discussed the future of U.S. military assistance to Israel, the fate of American Jewry, and – this being a SAPIR issue on Money – his understanding of the ideal form of…

People in this episode

Host: Rabbi David Wolpe

Guest: Jack Lew

Topics covered

• public service
• Jewish identity
• U.S.-Israel relations
• charity
• social justice
• military assistance

Keywords

• Jack Lew
• Rabbi David Wolpe
• U.S. Treasury
• Jewish identity
• charity
• social justice
• military assistance
• Israel

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Treasury, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, SAPIR

Books & works: Ilana Horwitz’s essay on Poverty and Jewish Community, Jordan Chandler Hirsch’s essay on The Need for a Jewish Sovereign Wealth Fund

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