The Chai-Light Zone: Rod Serling, Secular Jew

The Twilight Zone is remembered as a science fiction television series that reflected the uneasiness of Cold War America. Its creator, Rod Serling, was a secular Jew who fought in World War II and returned stateside to see moral problems at home, like racism and the potential for technology to rob us of our humanity. The Twilight Zone was Serling’s attempt to influence mainstream culture in an ethically positive direction. His moral compass, which shaped his writing on the series, is entangled with his brand of cultural Judaism. By examining a range of episodes, the authors of this volume bring this Jewish moral influence out from the twilight and into the full light of day.

David DeAngelo is a doctoral student in physics at the University of Connecticut. Steven Gimbel is the William Bittinger Professor of Philosophy at Gettysburg College and the author of Einstein: His Space and Times (2015). Stephen Stern is the chair of Jewish studies at Gettysburg College and author of The Unbinding of Isaac (2012).

Steven Gimbel is the William Bittinger Professor of Philosophy at Gettysburg College and the author of Einstein: His Space and Times (2015).






Stephen Stern is the chair of Jewish studies at Gettysburg College and author of The Unbinding of Isaac (2012).