Jonathan Sacks
ARTICLES BY: Jonathan Sacks
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...
Parshat Pinchas: Moral vs. Political Decisions
The coronavirus pandemic raised a series of deep moral and political issues. How far should governments go in seeking to prevent its spread? To what...
The Hidden Meaning of the Bilam Story: The Power of Love
Many questions have rightly been asked about the story of Balak and Bilam and the would-be curses that turned into blessings. Was Bilam a true...
Kohelet, Tolstoy, and the Red Heifer
The command of the parah adumah, the Red Heifer, with which our parsha begins, is known as the hardest of the mitzvot to understand. The...
A Lesson From Korach: Stop Demonizing Those You Disagree With
Korach was swallowed up by the ground, but his spirit is still alive and well, and in the unlikeliest of places -- British and American...
The 12 Spies and the Coronavirus: What Stories Do We Tell?
In March 2020, whilst launching a new book, I took part in a BBC radio program along with Mervyn King, who had been governor of...
Top US Counterterrorism Official Reveals Hezbollah Caches of Ammonium Nitrate Have Been Discovered Across Europe
‘We Can Stamp Out Bigotry and Antisemitism,’ Joe Biden Declares in Rosh Hashanah Call With US Jews
How Low Can Universities Go?
White House Says Five More Countries Seriously Considering Israel Deals
Hezbollah: Caught in the Horns of a Deterrence Dilemma