About the Author


Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt”l was an international religious leader, philosopher, and respected moral voice. The author of over 35 books, he received multiple awards in recognition of his work including the 2016 Templeton Prize. He was the recipient of 18 honorary doctorates, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer, taking his seat in the House of Lords in October 2009. Rabbi Sacks zt”l served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. Rabbi Sacks zt”l was born on the 8th March 1948 and passed away on the 7th November 2020 (Shabbat Kodesh 20th MarCheshvan 5781).
These weekly teachings from Rabbi Sacks zt”l are part of the ‘Covenant & Conversation’ series on the weekly Torah reading. Read more essays from the series on www.rabbisacks.org.
Also available: The FAMILY EDITION of Covenant & Conversation, designed to enhance your parsha conversation with everyone from teenagers to great-great-grandparents. To read and print this family-friendly learning resource, for an inter-generational discussion around your Shabbat table on Rabbi Sacks’ ideas for the week, please click here.


Parsha: Laban the Aramean

Parsha: Isaac and Esau

Parsha: To Have a Why

He who has a why in life can bear almost any how.

Parsha: Negative Capability

Parsha: A Palace in Flames

Abraham was the first person in recorded history to protest the injustice of the world in the name of God, rather than accept it in the name of God.

Parsha: The Light in the Ark

Discovering Torah, inside and out.

Parsha: The Genesis of Love

Parsha: Let My Teaching Fall Like Rain

There is only one Torah, yet it has multiple effects.

Parsha: End Without an Ending

Parsha: The Torah as God's Song

Rabbi Sacks' 10 Short Ideas about Rosh Hashanah

Essential insights that go to the heart of Judaism.

Parsha: Animal Welfare

Animals do not have rights, but we have duties towards them.

Parsha: The Ecological Imperative

We are not the owners of nature but its custodians.

Parsha: Collective Joy

It is easy to speak to God in tears. It is hard to serve God in joy.

Parsha: The Politics of Memory

The real test of a nation is not if it can survive a crisis but if it can survive the lack of a crisis.

Parsha: Why Is the Jewish People So Small?

Nations are not judged by their size but by their contribution to the human heritage.

Parsha: The Teacher as Hero

Deuteronomy: The World of Covenant

The unique covenant on display in the Book of Deuteronomy.

Parsha: The Hardest Word to Hear

Man is led down the path he chooses to tread.

Parsha: Priorities

Parsha: The Crown All Can Wear

Parsha: Not Reckoned Among the Nations

Parsha: Power Versus Influence

Parsha: Losing Miriam

Parsha: Fear of Freedom

Parsha: Argument for the Sake of Heaven

 

Things Life Has Taught Me About Judaism

Wise words to live by.

Parsha: Camp and Congregation

 

Seasons of Love: A Shavuot Message

At the heart of faith is loyalty, love and kindness.

Parsha: The Birth of Hope

It is not too much to say that Jews kept hope alive, and hope kept the Jewish people alive.

Parsha: On Leadership: Think Long

Parsha: Three Versions of Shabbat

Corresponding to three ways one encounters God.

Parsha: Evolution or Revolution?

Parsha: From Priest to People

 

The Connection between Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism

Anti-Zionism is the latest mutations of the world’s longest hate.

Parsha: Thinking Fast and Slow

 

Rabbi Sacks on the Holocaust

Two thought provoking videos on faith after the Holocaust.

Parsha: The Power of Speech

Language, in Judaism, is the basis of creation, revelation, and the moral life.

Parsha: The Sacrifices of Childbirth

Parsha: Between Hope and Humanity

Parsha: Why Civilisations Die

It was the foresight of people like Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who created solutions today for the problems of tomorrow and quietly built the Jewish future.

Parsha: Destructive and Self-Destructive

Parsha: On Jewish Character

Parsha: The Beauty of Holiness or the Holiness of Beauty

Art is the shadow cast by God.

Parsha: A Stiff-Necked People

Parsha: Brothers: A Drama In Five Acts

At last, brothers learn to live together in unity.

Parsha: A Portable Home

The Divine Presence lives not in a building but in its builders; not in a physical place but in the human heart.

Parsha: Loving the Stranger

God made us into the world's archetypal strangers so that we would fight for the rights of strangers.

 

Things Judaism has Taught Me about Life

Pearls of hard-earned wisdom.

Parsha: Mount Sinai and the Birth of Freedom

At Sinai, the politics of freedom was born.

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