A Rabbi for All People

Jewish ethics emanates from two poles, the particular and the universal, a dichotomy best summed up by the maxim of Hillel the Sage: “If I do not stand up for myself, who will do so? But if I stand only for myself, what am I?” to which he famously added “And if not now, when?” Nobody embodies those twin mandates—and the urgency with which we must act on them as reflected in their postscript—better than lawyer, statesman, and clergyman Rabbi David Saperstein.

Rabbi Saperstein serves as director emeritus of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) after 40 years as its director and counsel. He left that position to serve as the first non-Christian U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, our nation’s chief diplomat on religious freedom issues, advocating for religious freedom and the security of religious minorities across the globe.

A constitutional scholar who taught for over 35 years at Georgetown University, including at its Law Center, Rabbi Saperstein is a powerful champion for individual religious expression and freedom from government intrusion. Newsweek called him the most influential rabbi in America, and he has been described as Washington, D.C.’s quintessential advocate for religious rights.

When he left the RAC for government service, Rabbi Saperstein asked his colleagues to pass the torch of hope “from hand to hand, from heart to heart, until the radiance of peace and righteousness for all God’s children shines to the ends of the earth.”

Advocating for the great cause of social justice, he noted that “being a Jew means speaking up for and empowering the powerless; pursuing justice for all; doing whatever we can to bring peace to the world and promote Jewish prophetic ideals of justice, peace, freedom, equality and compassion, in America, in Israel, in the lives of human beings everywhere.”

During the summer of 2024, I was privileged to see Rabbi Saperstein as a plenary speaker at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Brasilia, Brazil, addressing with prophetic passion an audience drawn from around the world, including members of many faiths. In a demonstration of the fierce urgency of “if not now,” he called for action on pressing issues of the day, such as climate change, hunger, and world poverty. These are not just words—Rabbi Saperstein continues his lifetime of service as chairperson of the U.S. Department of Transportation Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking, working to combat a scourge that “violates the inherent dignity of every human being.”

For his work not only on behalf of America’s Jewish community but also for his advocacy for protecting the religious freedom of all, both in America and across the globe, and in honor of his championing of many other social justice causes, we are proud to recognize Rabbi David Saperstein as the Human Rights Hero.

Please note: The views expressed herein have not been approved by the House of Delegates, the Board of Governors, the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice or the Human Rights Editorial Board of the American Bar Association and, accordingly, should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association. They are the views of the individual authors themselves in their personal capacities.