Posts Tagged: jonathan sacks
The Missing Fifth on Passover
The following is an excerpt from Rabbi Sacks' Haggadah commentary. Many commentators, among them the Vilna Gaon, have drawn attention to the influence of the number...
Is the Human Propensity for Violence the Reason We Can Eat Meat?
Why sacrifices? To be sure, they have not been part of the life of Judaism since the destruction of the Second Temple, almost 2,000 years...
Explaining the Sacrifice
The laws on sacrifices, which dominate the early chapters of the book of Leviticus, are among the hardest in the Torah to relate to in the...
The Importance of Integrity in Public Life
There is a verse so familiar that we don't often stop to reflect on what it means. It is the line from the first paragraph...
Without Justice, There is No Compassion
At the height of the drama of the Golden Calf, a vivid and enigmatic scene takes place. Moses has secured forgiveness for the people. But...
The Ethic of Holiness
With Tetzaveh, something new enters Judaism: Torat cohanim, the world and mindset of the priest. Rapidly it became a central dimension of Judaism. It dominates the...
Why We Must Give to Others
There is an important principle in Judaism, a source of hope and also one of the structuring principles of the Torah. It is the principle...
How to Heal a Heart of Darkness
Jobbik, otherwise known as the Movement for a Better Hungary, is an ultra-nationalist Hungarian political party that has been described as fascist, neo-Nazi, racist, and...
Jewish 100, 2014: Jonathan Sacks – Religion
Jonathan Sacks Author After more than twenty years as Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, Jonathan Sacks, who was awarded the title of Baron in 2009, has...
The Ten Commandments: A Structure for a Just Society
In the House of Lords there is a special chamber used, among other things, as the place where new peers are robed before their introduction...
Confronting Evil
After 9/11, when the horror and trauma had subsided, Americans found themselves asking what had happened and why. Was it a disaster? A tragedy? A...
Telling the Jewish Story
Go to Washington and take a tour of the memorials and you will make a fascinating discovery. Begin at the Lincoln Memorial with its giant...
Freedom is Ours to Lose
The question is ancient. If God hardened Pharaoh's heart, then it was God who made Pharaoh refuse to let the Israelites go, not Pharaoh himself....
‘I Was Just Following Orders’ is Never an Excuse
The opening chapters of Exodus plunge us into the midst of epic events. Almost at a stroke, the Israelites are transformed from a protected minority...
