The Uniqueness Of Sukkot
The Sukkah represents the singular character of Jewish history, the experience of exile and homecoming, the long journey across the wilderness of time.
The Spirituality Of Song
As music connects note to note, so faith connects episode to episode, life to life, age to age in a timeless melody that breaks into time.
The Virtues Of Judaism
Judaism turns life into a work of art. It consecrates the love between husbands and wives, and parents and children. It sanctifies our most physical acts, through the laws of kashrut and family purity.
To Renew Our Days
The only way to stay young, hungry, and driven is through periodic renewal, reminding ourselves of where we came from, where we are going, and why.
We Are What We Remember
The answer to the question, Who am I? is not simply a matter of where I was born, where I spent my childhood or my adult life or of which country I am a citizen.
The Limits Of Love
Love is central to Judaism: not just love between husband and wife, parent and child, but also love for G-d, for neighbor and stranger.
The Greatness Of Humility
It taught me that humility is not thinking you are small. It is thinking that other people have greatness within them.
The Deep Power Of Joy
In Judaism, faith is not a rival to science, an attempt to explain the universe. It’s a sense of wonder, born in a feeling of gratitude.
The Spirituality Of Listening
It is through the word – speaking and listening – that we can have an intimate relationship with G-d as our parent, our partner, our sovereign, the One who loves us and whom we love.
VA’ETCHANAN: The Power of Why
If you want to change the world, start with why.
The Power Of Why
Only in Israel was G-d seen not just as a power but as the architect of society, the orchestrator of its music of justice and mercy, liberty and dignity.
To 120: Growing Old, Staying Young
Age brings the reflection and detachment that allows us to stand back and not be swept along by the mood of the moment or passing fashion or the madness of the crowd.
The Complexity Of Human Rights
We should be free to live as we choose, worship as we choose, and identify as we choose.
Moshe’s Disappointment
We are each, to some extent, who we chose to become. Neither genes nor upbringing can guarantee that we become the person our parents want us to be.
Healing The Trauma Of Loss
Moses at the rock was not so much a prophet as a man who had just lost his sister.
Hierarchy And Politics: The Never-Ending Story
Where there is hierarchy, there will be competition as to who is the alpha male.
Two Kinds Of Fear
G-d wanted the Israelites to create a model society where human beings were not treated as slaves, where rulers were not worshipped as demigods, where human dignity was respected…
COVENANT & CONVERSATION: Parshat Shelach Lecha: Two Kinds of Fear
The spies feared success, not failure. It was the mistake of deeply religious men. But it was a mistake.
From Despair To Hope
To be a Jew is to seek to make a difference, to change lives for the better, to heal some of the scars of our fractured world. But people don’t like change.
The Blessing Of Love
We do not need to prove ourselves in order to receive a blessing from G-d. All we need to know is that His face is turned toward us.
The Sound Of Silence
The service of the Priests in the Temple was accompanied by silence. The Levites sang in the courtyard, but the Priests – unlike their counterparts in other ancient religions – neither sang nor spoke while offering the sacrifices.
Family Feeling
Where families are strong, a sense of altruism exists that can be extended outward, from family to friends to neighbors to community and from there to the nation as a whole.
Holy Times
The account in Deuteronomy is about society. Moses at the end of his life told the next generation where they had come from, where they were going to, and the kind of society they were to construct.
The Courage To Admit Mistakes
Moses’ intercession with G-d did not, in and of itself, induce a penitential mood among the people. Yes, he performed a series of dramatic acts to demonstrate to the people their guilt. But we have no evidence that they internalized it.
The Plague of Evil Speech
What was the connection between the internal Jewish struggle and the Christian burning of Jewish books?
1 Million Shoes Saved, 1 Million Lives Destroyed
Reflections from Rabbi Sacks’ following his first visit to Auschwitz in 1995
To Ask Is To Grow
In Judaism, to be without questions is a sign not of faith, but of lack of depth.
Understanding Sacrifice
To love is to thank. To love is to want to bring an offering to the Beloved. To love is to give. Sacrifice is the choreography of love.
The Pursuit Of Meaning
For each of us G-d has a task: work to perform, a kindness to show, a gift to give, love to share, loneliness to ease, pain to heal, or broken lives to help mend.
The Social Animal
Regular attendance at a house of worship is the most accurate predictor of altruism, more so than any other factor, including gender, education, income, race, region, marital status, ideology, and age.
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