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The story of America cannot be fully understood without the story of biblical Israel.
From the Pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic in search of a Promised Land to presidents, abolitionists, civil rights leaders, and countless ordinary Americans, generations have looked to the Hebrew Bible to understand their nation’s purpose. They saw their own journey reflected in the story of God’s covenant people. They drew courage from Israel’s trials, hope from its promises, and inspiration from its faith.
Yet today, as antisemitic narratives and historical revisionism seek to diminish both the Jewish contribution to America and the enduring bond between the United States and the modern State of Israel, the Hebraic foundations of the American experiment are increasingly forgotten.
In Two Nations Under God: How (Biblical) Israel Inspires America, Stuart Halpern demonstrates that America's identity has been profoundly shaped by the people, principles, and promises of the Jewish national project. Spanning every era of American history and reaching across political and denominational lines, this compelling work reveals how the Hebrew Scriptures have influenced America's vision of liberty, justice, covenant, and civic purpose.
RABBI STUART HALPERN serves as the Senior Advisor to the Provost and Deputy Director of the Zahava and Moshael J. Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. His writing on the Hebrew Bible’s impact on the United States has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Tablet, Jewish Review of Books, and First Things. Among his edited books are The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggadah, Esther in America, and Proclaim Liberty throughout the Land: The Hebrew Bible in the United States.