A New Heaven and a New Earth: How the Bible Cultivates Hope for the Future
Part of the series, Back to the Future: Jewish Perspectives on What Comes Next
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It is difficult to have hope in today’s present-focused and crisis-driven society. Yet, hope is essential to envisioning a future. This session examines several passages in the Bible designed to cultivate hope and considers whether the Bible can be a resource for the cultivation of hope today.
About the Series
Preoccupation with what comes next, especially in periods of uncertainty, is hardly a new phenomenon. Looking ahead—to what might change, what might endure, and what might be possible—runs throughout Jewish text and tradition.
In this series, JTS scholars and alumni look backward and forward, exploring how Jews across centuries have imagined what comes next, prepared for the unknown, and established what they hoped would endure. From biblical visions and rabbinic ideas about the world to come to preservation, artificial intelligence, and the future of Jewish life, we’ll ask not only what the future might hold, but how we can help shape it.
