It is the hardest passage of all, one that seems to defy understanding. Abraham and Sarah have waited years for a child. G-d has promised them repeatedly that they would have many descendants, as …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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11/1/23
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The most influential man who ever lived does not appear on any list I have seen of the hundred most influential men who ever lived. He ruled no empire, commanded no army, engaged in no spectacular …
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By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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10/25/23
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Between the Flood and the call to Abraham, between the universal covenant with Noah and the particular covenant with one people, comes the strange, suggestive story of Babel:
The whole world …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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10/18/23
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In “The Lonely Man of Faith,” Rabbi Soloveitchik drew our attention to the fact that Bereishit contains two separate accounts of creation. The first is in Genesis 1, the second in …
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By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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10/11/23
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Among the festivals that give rhythm and structure to the Jewish year, Sukkot is unusual, unique.
A detail which had a significant influence on Jewish liturgy appears in the book of Deuteronomy:
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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9/27/23
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With parashat Ha’azinu, we climb to one of the peaks of Jewish spirituality. For a month Moses had taught the people. He had told them their history and destiny, and the laws that would make …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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9/20/23
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To those who fully open themselves to it, Yom Kippur is a life-transforming experience. It tells us that G-d, who created the universe in love and forgiveness, reaches out to us in love and …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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9/20/23
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This column originally appeared in 2002.
If we seek to understand what has made Judaism so remarkable a faith for so long, look at the biblical and prophetic readings for Rosh Hashana.
The …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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9/13/23
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The moment had come. Moses was about to die. He had seen his sister Miriam and brother Aaron pre-decease him. He had prayed to G-d — not to live forever, not even to live longer, but simply, …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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9/6/23
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O ne reason religion has survived in the modern world despite four centuries of secularization is that it answers the three questions every reflective human being will ask at some time in his or her …
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By Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt"l
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8/30/23
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