Dear Revealer readers,

As of today, more than 280,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. 280,000.

280,000.
280,000.
280,000.

When will we speak of the trauma? When will we acknowledge the loss? When will we help the thousands of grieving families? When will we make reparations for a White House that told people not to worry or to wear masks? When will release our anger and scream at elected officials who did nothing or silenced scientists? When will we reckon with the disproportionate toll this has taken on people of color? When will we adequately support the medical professionals who tried to prevent these deaths from happening month after agonizing month? When we will mourn this national nightmare?

280,000 Americans dead.
280,000 people with friends and families and stories and dreams.
280,000 lives lost.
The number will increase soon after we publish this letter.

As we reflect on these deaths, I imagine many of us feel a mix of sorrow, exhaustion, and maybe even some hope. Hope that 2021 will be a better year with far fewer deaths. Hope that we will have a vaccine that will be distributed fairly. Hope that our new President and Vice President will make good on their commitments for racial equality. Hope that we will confront this painful period honestly and with a national commitment for justice. Hope that there will be accountability for the staggering government negligence. 280,000 dead. 280,000 people gone. 280,000 lives that are no longer with us.

Revealer Editor, Brett Krutzsch

With these reflections in mind, this issue of the Revealer considers themes of confronting social inequalities, restoring justice, and practicing religion during the pandemic. The December issue opens with Renée Roden’s “Catholic Politics Beyond the Catholic Vote,” where she explores The Catholic Worker, an organization dedicated to advocating for impoverished Americans and to protesting government violence. Next, in the photo essay, “Reluctant Televangelists: Bible Belt Worship During the Pandemic” Pete Kiehart illuminates how churches in North Carolina have transformed because of COVID-19 to meet their congregants’ religious needs. In “Searching for Reconciliation in Berlin,” Rebecca Alpert reviews the book The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, and Palestinians and considers what it can teach us about possibilities for restorative justice. And in “Rethinking Religious Violence” Kali Handelman interviews Darryl Li about his new book The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity and why we need to re-consider longstanding cultural assumptions about religious, especially Islamic, violence.

Our December issue also features some more upbeat pieces. In “‘The Christmas Crafts are Just Out of Control’: Pomegranate Guild as Jewish Space” Jodi Eichler-Levine offers an excerpt from her book Painted Pomegranates and Needlepoint Rabbis, where she describes how Jewish women throughout the country, especially in areas with small numbers of Jews, have used crafting as a way to create community against the backdrop of the cultural obsession with Christmas. And in our “Winter Reading Recommendations,” our editorial staff suggests books written by recent Revealer writers that we think you will enjoy.

The December issue also features the newest episode of the Revealer podcast: “Crafting Jewish Identity.” Jodi Eichler-Levine joins us to discuss why focusing on crafting can illuminate much about American Judaism, how it can transform stereotypes of Jewish women, and how it sheds insight on contemporary Jewish participation in social justice movements. You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

As we close out this year and hope for a better 2021, let us not forget or ignore the horrors of 2020, which include not only the vast number of COVID-19 deaths, but also unrelenting state violence against Black Americans, mass unemployment, and a disturbing number of hate crimes throughout the country. We cannot move forward or reconcile as a nation until we deal with the disturbing facts of this year. We must share our anger and our sadness. We must support those who lost loved ones. We must hold government officials accountable. 280,000 Americans are dead from COVID-19. A disproportionate number of the dead are people of color. 280,000 lives are gone. 280,000.

280,000.

280,000.

The number will increase soon after we publish this letter.

Yours,
Brett Krutzsch, Ph.D.