 It is rare to find a singular voice -- Jewish or otherwise -- that can speak to so many different aspects of art, culture and politics, particularly as it relates to American Jews. Thane Rosenbaum has such a voice. He is an essayist and human rights law professor. He also is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed novelist, the author of Second Hand Smoke, Elijah Visible, and his most recent book, The Golems of Gotham, all morally-challenging, trenchant, books that contain broad literary and comedic elements that appeal to young, contemporary audiences. His essays, articles and reviews on theater, books and film -- particularly relating to post-Holocaust themes -- appear regularly in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, among other national publications. But his talents as a speaker are not solely limited to art and literature. When it comes to matters of law and society, Thane Rosenbaum is equally conversant. He is a law professor at Fordham Law School , where he teaches courses in human rights, legal humanities and law and literature. His forthcoming book, Immoral Justice, is a broad moral critique on the American legal system. He was a former Wall Street lawyer who gave up a lucrative practice in order to devote himself to the creation of art, and the teaching of ethics, moral duties and spiritual values to American law students, and selective audiences across the country. Perhaps some of his motivation as an artist and humanist is related to the fact that he is the only child of two Holocaust survivors who died when he was young. But the fact remains that no aspect of American Jewish life has escaped the grasp of his passion and intellect. He is a young, dynamic and mesmerizing speaker capable of generating enthusiasm among many different kinds of audiences -- particularly those who have resisted their cultural identification as American Jews. At the lecture podium, Rosenbaum brings the subject of the Jewish experience in America to life with humor, poignancy and passion. A gifted and insightful storyteller, he addresses the fragmentation of the Jewish family, his generation's weak identification with their faith, and the widening chasm of experience between Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
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