Judaism's Life-Changing Ideas: a Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible

Judaism's Life-Changing Ideas: a Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Maggid
ISBN: 9781592645527
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
What is Judaism? A religion? A faith? A way of life? A set of beliefs? A collection of commands? A culture? A civilization? It is all these, but it is emphatically something more. It is a way of thinking about life, a constellation of ideas. One might think that the ideas Judaism introduced into the world have become part of the common intellectual heritage of humankind, at least of the West. Yet this is not the case. Some of them have been lost over time; others the West never fully understood. Yet these ideas remain as important as ever before, and perhaps even more so. In this inspiring work, Rabbi Sacks introduces his readers to one Life-Changing Idea from each of the weekly parashot.

Judaism's Life-Changing Ideas: a Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible

Judaism's Life-Changing Ideas: a Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Maggid
ISBN: 9781592645527
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Get Book

Book Description
What is Judaism? A religion? A faith? A way of life? A set of beliefs? A collection of commands? A culture? A civilization? It is all these, but it is emphatically something more. It is a way of thinking about life, a constellation of ideas. One might think that the ideas Judaism introduced into the world have become part of the common intellectual heritage of humankind, at least of the West. Yet this is not the case. Some of them have been lost over time; others the West never fully understood. Yet these ideas remain as important as ever before, and perhaps even more so. In this inspiring work, Rabbi Sacks introduces his readers to one Life-Changing Idea from each of the weekly parashot.

A Letter in the Scroll

A Letter in the Scroll PDF Author: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780743267427
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
For too long, Jews have defined themselves in light of the bad things that have happened to them. And it is true that, many times in the course of history, they have been nearly decimated: when the First and Second Temples were destroyed, when the Jews were expelled from Spain, when Hitler proposed his Final Solution. Astoundingly, the Jewish people have survived catastrophe after catastrophe and remained a thriving and vibrant community. The question Rabbi Jonathan Sacks asks is, quite simply: How? How, in the face of such adversity, has Judaism remained and flourished, making a mark on human history out of all proportion to its numbers? Written originally as a wedding gift to his son and daughter-in-law, A Letter in the Scroll is Rabbi Sacks's personal answer to that question, a testimony to the enduring strength of his religion. Tracing the revolutionary series of philosophical and theological ideas that Judaism created -- from covenant to sabbath to formal education -- and showing us how they remain compellingly relevant in our time, Sacks portrays Jewish identity as an honor as well as a duty. The Ba'al Shem Tov, an eighteenth-century rabbi and founder of the Hasidic movement, famously noted that the Jewish people are like a living Torah scroll, and every individual Jew is a letter within it. If a single letter is damaged or missing or incorrectly drawn, a Torah scroll is considered invalid. So too, in Judaism, each individual is considered a crucial part of the people, without whom the entire religion would suffer. Rabbi Sacks uses this metaphor to make a passionate argument in favor of affiliation and practice in our secular times, and invites us to engage in our dynamic and inclusive tradition. Never has a book more eloquently expressed the joys of being a Jew. This is the story of one man's hope for the future -- a future in which the next generation, his children and ours, will happily embrace the beauty of the world's oldest religion.

Essays on Ethics

Essays on Ethics PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Maggid
ISBN: 9781592644490
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Why was Abraham ordered to sacrifice his son? Was Jacob right in stealing the blessings? Why were we commanded to destroy Amalek? What was Moses' sin in hitting the rock? And how did the Ten Commandments change the Jewish people, and humankind, for good? Essays on Ethics is the second companion volume to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's celebrated series Covenant & Conversation. Believing the Hebrew Bible to be the ultimate blueprint for Western morality, Rabbi Sacks embarks upon an ethical exploration of the weekly Torah portion, uncovering its message of truth and justice, dignity and compassion, forgiveness and love.

Lessons in Leadership

Lessons in Leadership PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Maggid
ISBN: 9781592644322
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this companion volume to his celebrated series Covenant & Conversation, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks mines the weekly Torah portions for insights into the nature of power, authority, and leadership. Based on the understanding that no man is born a leader, the book explores the principles, and perils, of becoming one. Profound, eloquent, and deeply inspiring, Lessons in Leadership reveals the biblical secrets of influence, as relevant now as they were three thousand years ago.

Covenant and Conversation

Covenant and Conversation PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Maggid
ISBN: 9781592640218
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this second volume of his long-anticipated five-volume collection of parashat hashavua commentaries, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks explores these intersections as they relate to universal concerns of freedom, love, responsibility, identity, and destiny. Chief Rabbi Sacks fuses Jewish tradition, Western philosophy, and literature to present a highly developed understanding of the human condition under Gods sovereignty. Erudite and eloquent, Covenant Conversation allows us to experience Chief Rabbi Sacks sophisticated approach to life lived in an ongoing dialogue with the Torah.

Covenant & Conversation

Covenant & Conversation PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: The Toby Press/KorenPub
ISBN: 1592640206
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible.

The Great Partnership

The Great Partnership PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
ISBN: 0805243011
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
A renowned author and rabbi discusses the relationship between science and religion and the importance of the coexistence of both in that religion is the search for meaning and science is the search for explanation. 20,000 first printing.

Celebrating Life

Celebrating Life PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780786245109
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Following the painful loss of his father, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks began to learn how to celebrate life in a new way. He discovered where happiness lives, through family, community, friendship, and responsibilities -- and through a renewed relationship with God. (No Canadian Rights)

Future Tense

Future Tense PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Schocken
ISBN: 0805242848
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
One of the most admired religious thinkers of our time issues a call for world Jewry to reject the self-fulfilling image of “a people alone in the world, surrounded by enemies” and to reclaim Judaism’s original sense of purpose: as a partner with God and with those of other faiths in the never-ending struggle for freedom and social justice for all. We are in danger, says Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of forgetting what Judaism’s place is within the global project of humankind. During the last two thousand years, Jews have lived through persecutions that would have spelled the end of most nations, but they did not see anti-Semitism written into the fabric of the universe. They knew they existed for a purpose, and it was not for themselves alone. Rabbi Sacks believes that the Jewish people have lost their way, that they need to recommit themselves to the task of creating a just world in which the divine presence can dwell among us. Without compromising one iota of Jewish faith, Rabbi Sacks declares, Jews must stand alongside their friends—Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and secular humanist—in defense of freedom against the enemies of freedom, in affirmation of life against those who desecrate life. And they should do this not to win friends or the admiration of others but because it is what a people of God is supposed to do. Rabbi Sacks’s powerful message of tikkun olam—using Judaism as a blueprint for repairing an imperfect world—will resonate with people of all faiths.

The Power of Ideas

The Power of Ideas PDF Author: Jonathan Sacks
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 1399800043
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
Britain's most authentically prophetic voice - Daily Telegraph 'The choice with which humankind is faced is between the idea of power and the power of ideas.' From his appointment as Chief Rabbi in 1991, through to his death in November 2020, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks made an incalculable contribution not just to the religious life of the Jewish community but to the national conversation - and increasingly to the global community - on issues of ethics and morality. Commemorating the first anniversary of his death, this volume brings together a compelling selection of Jonathan Sacks' BBC Radio Thought for the Day broadcasts, Credo columns from The Times, and a range of articles published in the world's most respected newspapers, along with his House of Lords speeches and keynote lectures. First heard and read in many different contexts, these pieces demonstrate with striking coherence the developing power of Sacks' ideas, on faith and philosophy alike. In each instance he brings to bear deep insights into the immediate situation at the time - and yet it as if we hear him speaking to us afresh, giving us new strength to face the challenges and complexities of today's world. These words of faith and wisdom shine as a beacon of enduring light in an increasingly conflicted cultural climate, and prove the timeless nature and continued relevance of Jonathan Sacks' thought and teachings. One of the great moral thinkers of our time - Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling Alone