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Jewishness is a complicated mixture of a religion and “Peoplehood,” a sort of national or familial bond, and the question of what it means for Jews to be a “People” has had profound personal and political implications throughout Jewish history. Rabbi Dr. Jan Katzew (Associate Professor of Education and Jewish Thought, HUC-JIR) will lead us through the ongoing evolution of Reform Jewish responses to this question, beginning with Napoleon’s famous query to the French Jewish community in 1806 — “Can you join us fully and unequivocally as Frenchmen, or does your commitment to your fellow Jews define you principally as a member of the Jewish nation, thereby creating insurmountable boundaries and dual loyalties?" — through the present day.