Jonathan Sacks
ARTICLES BY: Jonathan Sacks
Answering the Call: Parshat Vayera
The early history of humanity is set out in the Torah as a series of disappointments. God gave human beings freedom, which they then misused....
Parshat Lech Lecha: The Torah and Conformity
Leaders lead. That does not mean to say that they do not follow. But what they follow is different from what most people follow. They...
The Story of Noah and the Moral Life
The praise accorded to Noah is unparalleled in Tanach. He was, says the Torah, “a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God.”...
Parshat Bereishit: Taking Responsibility
If leadership is the solution, what is the problem? On this, the Torah could not be more specific. The problem is a failure of responsibility. The...
Parshat Ha’azinu: The Arc of the Moral Universe
In majestic language, Moses breaks into song, investing his final testament to the Israelites with all the power and passion at his command. He begins...
Parshat Nitzavim: How to Renew a Nation
The Talmud gives an ingenious reading to the line, “Moses commanded us a Torah, as a heritage of the congregation of Israel.” Noting that there...
Parshat Ki Tavo: Be Silent and Listen
During our first coronavirus lockdown, there was one question I was asked more than any other: What about prayer? Just when we needed it the...
Parshat Ki Teitse: Does Love Conquer All?
Our parsha this week contains more laws than any other. Some of them have generated much study and debate, especially two at the beginning --...
A Sage Is Greater Than a Prophet
In parshat Shoftim, Moses speaks about the great institutions of Judaism: courts, judges, officers, Kings, Priests, Levites, and Prophets. In the case of the Prophet,...
The Good Society Is One Whose Leaders and People Behave Morally
Moses, having set out the prologue and preamble to the covenant and its broad guiding principles, now turns to the details, which occupy the greater...
Chessed Is the Highest Achievement of the Moral Life
An interesting phrase appears at the end of last week’s parsha and at the beginning of this week’s, and they are the only places where...
Parshat Va’etchanan: The Infinite Game
The popular author and TED lecturer Simon Sinek recently published a book entitled The Infinite Game. Based on the distinction first articulated by James P....
Parshat Devarim: The Time to Follow
In the last month of his life, Moses gathered the people. He instructed them about the laws they were to keep and reminded them of...
No One Will Change Your Life Like a Teacher
There are moments when Divine Providence touches you on the shoulder and makes you see a certain truth with blazing clarity. Let me share with...
