Posts Tagged: Rabbi Sacks
New York Times Column Ignores Rabbi Sacks Role in Trinity School Overhaul
A British rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, has inspired the head of one of Manhattan’s oldest, fanciest, and best historically Christian private schools to overhaul its school...
Former British Chief Rabbi Calls for Kindertransport-Type Rescue of Syrian Refugees
Former British Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks called on the U.K. to absorb thousands of Syrian refugees in light of the growing crisis that took the world by storm this week,...
Love is What Links Us to God
One of the most amusing scenes in Anglo-Jewish history occurred on 14 October 1663. A mere seven years had passed since Oliver Cromwell had found...
Why We Are Responsible for Evil That Befalls Us – And Why That is Good
The 26th chapter of Vayikra sets out with stunning clarity the terms of Jewish life under the covenant. On the one hand, there is an idyllic...
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...
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 Leaders Fail: Courage to Oppose the Mob
Leaders can fail for two kinds of reasons. The first is external. The time may not be right. The conditions may be unfavourable. There may...
Judaism is a Religion of Merit, Not Monarchies
One of the most important Jewish contributions to our understanding of leadership is its early insistence of what, in the eighteenth century, Montesquieu called "the...
The Lesson of Reuben: Don’t Underestimate the Power of Praise
Reuben is the leader who might have been but never was. He was Jacob's firstborn. Jacob says of him on his deathbed, "Reuben, you are...
Being a Leader Means Being True to Yourself
I have argued in previous years of Covenant and Conversation that the episode in which the Jewish people acquired its name - when Jacob wrestled...
Beginning the Journey
A while back, a British newspaper, The Times, interviewed a prominent member of the Jewish community - let's call him Lord X - on his 92nd...
Answering God’s Call to Responsibility
The early history of humanity as told in the Torah is a series of disappointments. God gives human beings freedom, which they then misuse. Adam...
To Be a Jew is to Be Part of History
The Bible portion of Ki Tavo begins with the ceremony of bringing first fruits to the Temple. The Mishnah (Bikkurim 3) gives a detailed account...
Testing Prophecy
In his enumeration of the various leadership roles within the nation that would take shape after his death, Moses mentions not only the priest/judge and...
