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The Jewish Lives Prize

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

The 2025 Jewish Lives Prize Essay Contest
_______________________________

Who do you think is the most influential Jew of all time? And why?

High school students in the United States are invited to participate in the fourth annual Jewish Lives Prize essay contest sponsored by the Leon D. Black Foundation. This initiative is designed to help make Jewish history come alive while encouraging student creativity.

Submissions will be reviewed by the editors of Jewish Lives, a prizewinning series of biographies that explores the many facets of Jewish identity from antiquity to the present. Books in the Jewish Lives series are published by Yale University Press and made possible by the Leon D. Black Foundation.

“The Jewish Lives series is sure to be essential for…anyone interested in exploring the Jewish experience.”
-Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel

The 2025 Jewish Lives Prize will be awarded to first, second, and third place winners. All winners may have their work published on JewishLives.org and shared with our followers on social media.

Participation is open only to legal US residents enrolled in high school in the United States. Essay submissions may be no more than 1,500 words. See Contest Rules below for more information.

The prompt for the 2025 Jewish Lives Prize essay contest is: Who do you think is the most influential Jew of all time? And why?

Registration is now closed. Winners will be announced May 9, 2025.

For more information, please contact Jewish Lives Managing Director Rebecca Keys at contact@jewishlives.org.

 OFFICIAL RULES
The Jewish Lives Prize

 NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

1. How To Enter:

 (a)        There is one way to enter The Jewish Lives Prize contest (the “Contest”): Students must complete both of the following two steps: (1) email their submission to contact@jewishlives.org and (2) complete the Student Registration Form available at https://www.jewishlives.org/prize. 

(b)       Entries for the Contest (and “Entry” or “Entries”) are evaluated based on the judging criteria described below.

Each Entry must answer the following contest prompt:  Who do you think is the most influential Jew of all time? And why?

Entrants may respond to this question in an essay (maximum: 1,500 words).

(c)        Incomplete Entries will be rejected.  All Entries must be digital. Entries that exceed the maximum criteria will not be accepted. All Entries and Student Registration Forms must be received no later than 12:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 13, 2024.  Limit one (1) entry per person.  All Entries must be the fully original creations of the entrants.  By entering, all participants warrant and represent that their respective Entries are their own fully original creations, and their respective Entries (including but not limited to any materials integrated into their Entries) will not infringe or violate the rights of any third parties, including but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity/privacy.  Entries must also comply with the following:

  • Entries must not contain brand names or trademarks, other than (i) those of the Sponsor (defined below), which you have a limited license to use for the sole purpose of creating and uploading an Entry, and/or (ii) those that you own, which you agree to license to Sponsor on a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive basis, or have license to use and sub-license to the Sponsor royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive basis in connection with the Entry;

  • Entries must not contain footage, music, images, artwork, literary or other copyrighted material not created by you, other than material that you have necessary rights, consents and permissions to use and sub-license to the Sponsor royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive basis in connection with the Entry;

  • Entries must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene, hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous or libelous;

  • Entries must not disparage the Sponsor, or any party affiliated with the Contest;

  • Entries must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;

  • Entries must not contain material that is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in any jurisdiction where the Entry is created;

  • You must have permission from all individuals that appear in the Entry (if any) to use their name, likeness, voice and/or personal; and

  • If requested by the Sponsor, you must be able to provide all required rights granted, consents and permissions in a form acceptable to the Sponsor.

(d)       Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected entries, which will be disqualified.  Only fully completed entry forms are eligible.  Proof of submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.  All Entries become the sole property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.  In the event an insufficient number of entries are received, Sponsor reserves the right to modify or cancel the Contest as it determines in its sole discretion.  Entrants waive any claims against Sponsor, and its affiliates concerning any entrant’s right in the entries submitted in this Contest.  Entries not satisfying these Official Rules will be automatically disqualified. All entrants must have a valid email address. In case of dispute as to identity of entrant, Entry will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) responsible for assigning email addresses or the domain associated with the submitted email address. Any other attempted form of entry is prohibited; no automatic, programmed; robotic or similar means of entry are permitted. Sponsor is not responsible for technical, hardware, software, telephone or other communications malfunctions, errors or failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, Web site, Internet, or ISP availability, unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one's ability to enter the Contest, including any injury or damage to participant’s or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading any materials in this Contest. 

2. Judging Criteria:

 (a)        All Entries received will be judged by the editors of Jewish Lives, a prizewinning series of biography published by Yale University Press and the Leon D. Black Foundation based on the Judging Criteria, with equal weight being given to each criterion.  The editors will judge Entries based on the following criteria: (1) knowledge of Jewish history; (2) creativity; (3) thoughtfulness; and (4) quality of writing (collectively, the “Judging Criteria) with equal weight being given to each criterion.  Winners will be announced on or about May 9, 2025. 

 (b)        The decision of the judges and Sponsor will be final and binding in all respects.  By participating, Entrants agree to be bound by the Official Rules. In the event of a tie, Sponsor shall determine the winner based on the Entrant with the highest score for creativity.

3.  Eligibility: Participation is open only to legal US residents age 13 or older who are enrolled in high school in the United States. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.  Employees, officers, directors, agents and representatives of the Leon D. Black Foundation (“Sponsor”) and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of contest materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouse) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors/agents/representatives are not eligible to enter. 

 4. Prizes:

            (a)        One (1) First Place Prize: $1,000 and The Complete Jewish Lives Collection.

            (b)       One (1) Second Place Prize: $500 and The Limited Edition Origins of Israel Collection.

            (c)        One (1) Third Place Prize: $250 and The Limited Edition Antiquity Collection.

5. Notification. Winner will be notified by email and may be required to sign and return, where legal, an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release within seven (7) days of prize notification. If any winner is a minor, Liability/Publicity Release must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian.  If winner cannot be contacted, if any prize is returned as undeliverable, or in the event of noncompliance with these Contest rules and requirements, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.  Limit one prize per person or household.

6. General. As a condition to receiving any prize, winners (or in the case of a minor, the minor’s parent or legal guardian) will be required to execute an assignment transferring and assigning all of their respective rights, title and interest, including but not limited to any copyrights or trademarks, in their Entry.  If any winner is a minor, then such prize will be awarded to winner’s parent or legal guardian.  By entering, entrants agree to transfer and assign all of their respective rights, title and interest, including but not limited to any copyrights or trademarks, in their Entries to Sponsor, without further compensation or permission.  By entering, entrants agree to the use of their names, likenesses, biographical information and Entries for purposes of advertising, trade, or promotion without further compensation, unless prohibited by law.  Additionally, by participating in this Contest, or by accepting a prize, all participants agree to release Sponsor and any other person or entity affiliated with the Contest (including their respective employees, officers, directors, agents and representatives) and their respective parents, subsidiaries, agencies, divisions, and affiliates from any and all liability, for loss, harm, damage, injury, cost or expense whatsoever including without limitation, property damage, personal injury and/or death which may occur in connection with, preparation for, travel to, or participation in Contest, or possession, acceptance and/or use or misuse of prize or participation in any Contest-related activity and claims based on publicity rights, copyright/trademark infringement, intellectual property rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.  Neither the Sponsor nor their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies, divisions nor related companies are responsible for any damages, taxes, or expenses that winners might incur as a result of this Contest or receipt of prize.  All taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners.  

7. Additional Terms. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend this Contest should (in its sole discretion) virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Contest. In such case, Sponsor will select the winner from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor.  Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or Web site.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

8. Use of Data.  Sponsor will be collecting personal data about participants online, in accordance with its privacy policy.  Please review the Sponsor’s privacy policy at https://www.jewishlives.org/privacynotice.  By participating in the Contest, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor's collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor's privacy policy.

9. Winners List: For a list of winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope between May 10, 2025 and July 31, 2025 to: The Jewish Lives Prize Winners List, c/o Elysium, 445 Park Avenue, Suite 1401, New York, NY 10022 

10. Sponsor:  Leon D. Black Foundation, 445 Park Avenue, Suite 1401, New York, NY 10022.