The Office of Rabbi Sacks

Welcome to Rabbi Sacks' commentary on the weekly Torah portion. This series of Covenant & Conversation essays examine the ethics we can derive from the Torah, week-by-week, parsha by parsha.Covenant & Conversation on Ethics is kindly supported by the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation in memory of Maurice and Vivienne Wohl z”l.For more articles, videos & other material from Rabbi Sacks, please visit www.rabbisacks.org or follow @RabbiSacks.This piece was recorded by Rabbi Sacks in 2015.

The extraordinary resilience of the Jewish people—in the face of adversity through every generation since Moses—gives power and resonance to their collective vision, and provides the key to Jewish identity and sense of purpose.Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Emeritus Chief Rabbi of Britain and the Commonwealth and current professor at New York University, Yeshiva University and King’s College London and Simon Schama, author of The Story of the Jews, dig deep into Jewish history to explore and explain the genius of Jewish survival, resilience, security, prosperity and leadership. The conversation was moderated by US television journalist, David Gregory.This event took place in New York as part of 92nd St Y’s ‘7 Days of Genius’ festival on Monday 16th February 2015.

In his new book, "Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence," Rabbi Jonathan Sacks examines the recent phenomenon of violent extremism by exploring the origins of violence and its relationship to religion. Rabbi Sacks challenges the assertion that religion is an intrinsic source of violence and describes how theology can be central to combating religious violence and extremism. Through analysis of biblical texts tied to the three Abrahamic faiths, Rabbi Sacks illustrates how religiously-inspired violence stems from a critical misreading of these texts.On November 12, Governance Studies at Brookings hosted a discussion addressing Rabbi Sacks’ book and other important issues related to the roots of religious violence. This event is part of the long-running Governing Ideas book series, which is hosted by William A. Galston.

As part of his engagement with New York University as the Ira and Ingeborg Global Distinguished Professor of Jewish Thought, Rabbi Sacks was interviewed by distinguished New York Times columnist David Brooks.The conversation - co-sponsored by NYU Alumni and NYU Bronfman Centre for Jewish Student Life - formed part of NYU’s Speaker on the Square programme.Recorded on 29th January 2015, the discussion touched on a range of topics including the role of the Jewish voice in the public square, morals and ethics in the 21st century, and the challenge facing the world from religious fundamentalism.

On 21st March 2017, prominent New York Times columnist David Brooks and Rabbi Sacks held a public conversation at 92nd St Y in New York entitled ‘Finding a Moral Compass in Challenging Times’. The conversation was not just intellectually stimulating but an amusing one as well. This event was co-presented with The Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at New York University and endowed by Francine and Abdullah Simon z”l.

On November 15th, young Jews from New York’s Sephardic community had the chance to explore existential questions about Judaism’s future alongside two majorly influential rabbis. The event, “Faith in Our Future,” was organized by the Sephardic Community Alliance (SCA) and hosted by the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and featured an almost 90 minute moderated conversation between Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Rabbi Joseph Dweck, all targeted directly towards young Jews under 30.

On Wednesday 13th April, Rabbi Sacks took part in a public conversation with David Miliband, CEO and President of the International Rescue Committee and former British Foreign Secretary. Their discussion was entitled “Healing a Fractured World: Instability, Refugees and our Responsibility” and was moderated by Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, The Wall Street Journal. It was hosted by New York University’s Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life and was part of the Selma Ruben Distinguished lecture series.

On Thursday 13th July, Rabbi Sacks delivered a keynote lecture on the concept of what he called 'Cultural Climate Change' and what religion has to offer in an increasingly secularised West. The lecture was hosted by The Chautauqua Institution, an arts and cultural lifelong learning community on the shores of Lake Chautauqua in Western New York.

Here is the audio recording of Rabbi Sacks' Covenant & Conversation commentary essay on the Torah portion of Bereishit 5780. You can download a PDF of this commentary, as well as an accompanying Family Edition, from http://rabbisacks.org/bereishit-5780/. Covenant & Conversation is kindly sponsored by the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation.

The world, it seems, might be better off without religion. Witness the horrific violence of the Islamic State, or look across the ages and see crusades, inquisitions, and a European world awash in violence, all done in the name of religion.But what if, as Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks argues, religion is not the problem? What if the very potent idea of "religion" is often hijacked and abused by those who wield it with violence?Religion belongs here. This event by Cardus was recorded on 15th March 2016 at The Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Canada. Rabbi Sacks was in conversation with Convivium Editor and National Post Columnist Father Raymond de Souza.

On 8th October 2015, NPR's Robert Siegel talked with Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks about his new book, Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence.

Here is the audio recording of Rabbi Sacks' Covenant & Conversation commentary essay on the Torah portion of Noach 5780. You can download a PDF of this commentary, as well as an accompanying Family Edition, from rabbisacks.org/noach-5780/. Covenant & Conversation is kindly sponsored by the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation.

To mark the launch of 'Ceremony and Celebration: An Introduction to the Holidays' (published by Maggid Books), Rabbi Sacks delivered a pre-Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur shiur entitled 'Confusing Satan'. Before listening, please download the accompanying source sheet here: http://rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/RH-5778-source-sheet.pdf.

To launch the new Koren-Sacks Shavuot machzor, Rabbi Sacks delivered a keynote shiur in London on 7 June 2016 to a packed room in Finchley United Synagogue. Co-hosted by Koren Publishers and the London School of Jewish Studies, Rabbi Sacks talked about the similarities between Ruth and Tamar, and what we can learn from their experiences about our identity as a Jewish people.

The Covenant and Conversation 5776 series on Spirituality is kindly supported by the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation in memory of Maurice and Vivienne Wohl z”l. To join Rabbi Sacks’ mailing list, please subscribe via www.rabbisacks.org. You can also follow him on Twitter @RabbiSacks.

Listen to Rabbi Sacks' keynote Ellul shiur - "The Two Voices: A New Perspective on the Meaning of Teshuvah". Download the accompanying mekorot sheet here: http://www.rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Source-sheets-for-The-Two-Voices.pdf. Watch a video of the shiur here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8036H-Jfdg.

"I am delighted to share with you the newest cycle of Covenant & Conversation essays on the weekly parsha (Torah reading). I am particularly excited to introduce a Family Edition accompaniment to this year's series which has two main aims. First, to present the ideas in Covenant & Conversation in a simplified way, making my ideas more accessible to children and teenagers. Second, to act as an educational resource for parents, teachers and anyone else to engage their children and students in meaningful and stimulating conversations about the parsha."Main edition: http://rabbisacks.org/the-crown-all-can-wear-pinchas-5779/Family edition: rabbisacks.org/cc-family-edition-pinchas-5779/

On 22 November 2015, Rabbi Sacks was interviewed by Fareed Zakaria on CNN's flagship international relations programme GPS. They spoke about the rise of Islamic extremism and his new book 'Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence', which Fareed Zakaria noted was "terrific" and "an important book that I urge you to read and buy."

Listen to a Sukkot shiur by Rabbi Sacks to discover what it is about the book of Kohelet that makes it such a relevant text for today's society.

What is Judaism? It is a way of thinking, a constellation of ideas: a way of understanding the world and our place within it. Judaism contains life-changing ideas.Each week as part of his Covenant & Conversation series for 5778, Rabbi Sacks will explore a single life-changing idea in the Hebrew Bible. You can download a written version of his commentary from www.RabbiSacks.org.Covenant and Conversation 5778 is kindly supported by the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation in memory of Maurice and Vivienne Wohl z”l.