A collection of essays and addresses by Dr. Steven Bayme, Jewish historian and long-term director of the American Jewish Committee's Department of Jewish Communal Affairs, provides a lively commentary on Jewish life over the past two decades. Bayme examines the challenges facing American Jewry, the contemporary significance of Israel and Jewish peoplehood, and the claims of Jewish tradition in the modern world. He tackles such controversial public policy areas as Jewish family values, the intermarriage crisis, pluralism among Jews of differing beliefs, and the meaning of the Israel-Diaspora relationship. Whether writing historical analysis, policy evaluation, or book reviews, he takes as his criterion that which will enhance contemporary Jewish life and ensure Jewish continuity.