In light of modern changes in attitude regarding homosexuality, and recent controversy surrounding Government legislation, Orthodox Rabbi Chaim Rapoport, Chief Medical Advisor in the Cabinet of the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, explores the Jewish stance on homosexuality. values with a balanced, understanding perspective that has, arguably, been lacking among many in the Orthodox Jewish establishment. great deal of debate, not to mention prejudice and discrimination. It will undoubtedly be a vehicle for future discussion and will serve as a brick in the wall of an increasingly harmonious World Jewish Community. exhaustive endnotes for all those who wish to explore the issue further.

In light of modern changes in attitude regarding homosexuality, and recent controversy surrounding Government legislation, Orthodox Rabbi Chaim Rapoport, Chief Medical Advisor in the Cabinet of the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, explores the Jewish stance on homosexuality. Rabbi Rapoport combines an unswerving commitment to Jewish Law, teachings and values with a balanced, understanding perspective that has, arguably, been lacking among many in the Orthodox Jewish establishment. This work represents a milestone in understanding an issue at the heart of a great deal of debate, not to mention prejudice and discrimination. It will undoubtedly be a vehicle for future discussion and will serve as a brick in the wall of an increasingly harmonious World Jewish Community. The book combines clearly written prose for instant and easy access with exhaustive endnotes for all those who wish to explore the issue further. Judaism and Homosexuality is the first word on Orthodox att

We are living through a period of cultural climate change. We have outsourced morality to the markets on the one hand, and the state on the other. The markets have brought wealth to many, and the state has done much to contain the worst excesses of inequality, but neither is capable of bearing the moral weight of showing us how to live. This has had a profound impact on society and the way in which we interact with each other. Traditional values no longer hold, yet recent political swings show that modern ideals of tolerance have left many feeling rudderless and adrift. In this environment we see things fall apart in unexpected ways - toxic public discourse makes true societal progress almost unattainable, a more divisive society is fuelled by identity politics and extremism, and the rise of a victimhood mentality calls for 'safe spaces' but stifles debate. The influence of social media seems all-pervading and the breakdown of the family is only one result of the loss of social capital. Many fear what the future may hold. Delivering a devastatingly insightful critique of our modern condition, and assessing its roots and causes from the ancient Greeks through the Reformation and Enlightenment to the present day, Sacks argues that there is no liberty without morality, and no freedom without responsibility. If we care about the future of western civilisation, all of us must play our part in rebuilding our common moral foundation. Then we will discover afresh the life-transforming and counterintuitive truths that a nation is strong when it cares for the weak, and rich when it cares for the poor. Here is an inspiring vision of a world in which we can all find our place, and face the future without fear.

The Jewish Bible is an encounter between past and present, moment and eternity. In "Covenant and Conversation", a long-anticipated, five-volume collection of biblical commentaries, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks explores these intersections as they relate to universal concerns of freedom, love, responsibility, identity and destiny. Rabbi Sacks fuses Jewish tradition, Western philosophy and literature to present a highly developed understanding of the human condition under God's sovereignty. Erudite and eloquent, "Covenant and Conversation" allows us to experience Rabbi Sacks' sophisticated approach to life lived in an ongoing dialogue with the Bible.

One of the biggest challenges for relations between religions is the view of the religious Other. The question touches the roots of our theological views. The Religious Other: Hostility, Hospitality, and the Hope of Human Flourishing explores the views of multiple religious traditions on how to regard otherness. How does one move from hostility to hospitality? How can hospitality be understood not simply as social hospitality but as theological hospitality, making room for the religious Other on theological grounds? What is our vision for the flourishing of the Other, while respecting his otherness? This volume is an exercise in constructive interreligious theology. By including perspectives of Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic traditions, it approaches these challenges from multiple perspectives, highlighting commonalities in approach and ways in which one tradition might inspire another.

Now in paperback, "an examination of the most profound issues of faith and science that is both intellectually rigorous and generous in spirit." ("Shelf Awareness")
An impassioned, erudite, thoroughly researched, and beautifully reasoned book--from one of the most admired religious thinkers of our time--that argues not only that science and religion are compatible, but that they complement each other--and that the world needs both.
"Atheism deserves better than the new atheists," states Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, "whose methodology consists of criticizing religion without understanding it, quoting texts without contexts, taking exceptions as the rule, confusing folk belief with reflective theology, abusing, mocking, ridiculing, caricaturing, and demonizing religious faith and holding it responsible for the great crimes against humanity. Religion has done harm; I acknowledge that. But the cure for bad religion is good religion, not no religion, just as the cure for bad science is good science, not the abandonment of science."
Rabbi Sacks's counterargument is that religion and science are the two essential perspectives that allow us to see the universe in its three-dimensional depth. Science teaches us where we come from. Religion explains to us why we are here. Science is the search for explanation. Religion is the search for meaning. We need scientific explanation to understand nature. We need meaning to understand human behavior. There have been times when religion tried to dominate science. And there have been times, including our own, when it is believed that we can learn all we need to know about meaning and relationships through biochemistry, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology. In this fascinating look at the interdependence of religion and science, Rabbi Sacks explains why both views are tragically wrong.
***National Jewish Book Awards 2012, Finalist***
Dorot Foundation Award forModern Jewish Thought and Experience

In this second volume of his long-anticipated five-volume collection of "parashat hashavua" commentaries, Sacks explores these intersections as they relate to universal concerns of freedom, love, responsibility, identity, and destiny.

In an unprecedented interreligious conference in November 2014, Pope Francis and four hundred religious leaders and scholars from around the world met in Rome to explore what their diverse faiths teach about marriage and "the complementarity of man and woman." This book contains the most representative presentations at that closely followed event, Humanum: An International Interreligious Colloquium, which included Catholic, Evangelical, Anglican, Pentecostal, Eastern Orthodox, Anabaptist, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu delegates. Contributors bring the wisdom of their various faiths and cultures to bear on this timely issue, examining, celebrating, and illustrating the natural union of man and woman in marriage as a universal cornerstone of healthy families, communities and societies. With broad global representation, Not Just Good, but Beautiful uses fresh language and images to highlight the beauty and benefits of marriage. Contributors do not represent political parties, but speak from their religious, intellectual, and cultural knowledge and experiences.

The book of Numbers in Hebrew, Bemidbar, In the Wilderness is a key text for our time. It is among the most searching, self-critical books in all of literature about what Nelson Mandela called the long walk to freedom. Its message is that there is no shortcut to liberty. Numbers is not an easy book to read, nor is it an optimistic one. It is a sober warning set in the midst of a text the Hebrew Bible that remains the West s master narrative of hope.

The Mosaic books, especially Exodus and Numbers, are about the journey from slavery to freedom and from oppression to law-governed liberty. On the map, the distance from Egypt to the Promised Land is not far. But the message of Numbers is that it always takes longer than you think. For the journey is not just physical, a walk across the desert. It is psychological, moral, and spiritual. It takes as long as the time needed for human beings to change....

You cannot arrive at freedom merely by escaping from slavery. It is won only when a nation takes upon itself the responsibilities of self-restraint, courage, and patience. Without that, a journey of a few hundred miles can take forty years. Even then, it has only just begun.

The summer of 2020 has shown us how much we all depend on one another. Whatever else they do, pandemics show us we are not alone. Covid-19 is proof that, yes, there is such a thing as society; the disease has spread precisely because we aren't autonomous individuals disconnected from each other, but rather all belong to one great body of humanity. The pain inflicted by the pandemic is far from equally distributed. Yet it reveals ever more clearly how much we all depend on one another, and how urgently necessary it is for us to bear one another's burdens. It's a good time, then, to talk about solidarity. The more so because it's a theme that's also raised by this year's other major development, the international protests for racial justice following George Floyd's death. The protests, too, raised the question of solidarity in guilt, even guilt across generations. By taking up our common guilt with all humanity, we come into solidarity with the one who bears it and redeems it all. In Christ, sins are forgiven, guilt abolished, and a new way of living together becomes possible. This solidarity in forgiveness gives rise to a life of love. This issue of Plough explores what solidarity means, and what it looks like to live it out today, whether in Uganda, Bolivia, or South Korea, in an urban church, a Bruderhof, or a convent.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth in the United Kingdom offers a refreshing and insightful commentary to the Koren Haggada, together with illuminating essays on the themes and motifs of the Festival of Freedom. Sensitively translated, the traditional texts are carefully balanced alongside the Chief Rabbi's contemporary ideas, in a modern and user-friendly design. With new interpretations and in-depth analyses of the Passover liturgy and ritual, Rabbi Sacks' style is engaging, intelligent at times daring in its innovation and always inspiring. With essay titles as diverse as Pesah, Freud and Jewish Identity and Pesah and the Rebirth of Israel, as well as explorations of the role of women in the exodus, and the philosophy of leadership and nation-building, the Chief Rabbi's Haggada is a thought-provoking and essential companion at the Seder table.

The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur Mahzor, is a new Hebrew/English prayer book with translation and commentary by Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. It is a companion to the Koren Sacks Rosh Hashana Mahzor, and one volume among a growing body of work produced by the celebrated Koren Publishers-Chief Rabbi Sacks partnership. The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur Mahzor marries the sophisticated graphic approach for which Koren Publishers Jerusalem is renowned with the insight and eloquence of Chief Rabbi Sacks. The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur Mahzor brings out the inner meaning of the Yom Kippur prayers by aligning the Hebrew and English texts, highlighting key words, distinguishing poetry from prose, and using beautiful fonts designed by master typographer Eliyahu Koren. Chief Rabbi Sacks' translation brings readers closer to the authentic meaning of the Hebrew text, while his introduction and commentary provide new ways of understanding and experiencing the Yom Kippur service.

Following his death in November 2020, voices from around the world celebrated Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ incalculable contribution to the religious life of the Jewish community, as well as the global conversation on issues of ethics and morality.

This volume brings together the most compelling selection of Jonathan Sacks’ BBC Radio broadcasts, 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 is as if we hear him speaking to us afresh, giving us new strength to face the challenges and complexities of today’s world.

His 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 his thought and teachings.

The choice with which humankind is faced is between the idea of power and power of ideas.

'One of the world's great voices for moral, spiritual, and historical awareness and for global peace' - The John Templeton Foundation 'One of the great moral thinkers of our time' - Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling Alone With a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales Following his death in November 2020, voices from around the world celebrated Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' incalculable contribution to the religious life of the Jewish community, as well as the global conversation on issues of ethics and morality. This volume brings together the most compelling selection of Jonathan Sacks' BBC Radio broadcasts, 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 is as if we hear him speaking to us afresh, giving us new strength to face the challenges and complexities of today's world. His 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 his thought and teachings. The choice with which humankind is faced is between the idea of power and power of ideas.

"Multiculturalism has run its course, and it is time to move on." So begins Jonathan Sacks' new book on the future of British society and the dangers facing liberal democracy.

Arguing that global communications have fragmented national cultures and that multiculturalism, intended to reduce social frictions, is today reinforcing them, Sacks argues for a new approach to national identity. We cannot stay with current policies that are producing a society of conflicting ghettoes and non-intersecting lives, turning religious bodies into pressure groups rather than society-building forces. Britain, he argues, will have to construct a national narrative as a basis for identity, reinvigorate the concept of the common good, and identify shared interests among currently conflicting groups. It must restore a culture of civility, protect "neutral spaces" from politicization, and find ways of moving beyond an adversarial culture in which the loudest voice wins. He argues for a responsibility- rather than rights-based model of citizenship that connects the ideas of giving and belonging.Offering a new paradigm to replace previous models of assimilation on the one hand, multiculturalism on the other, he argues that we should see society as "the home we build together," bringing the distinctive gifts of different groups to the common good. Sacks warns of the hazards free and open societies face in the twenty-first century, and offers an unusual religious defence of liberal democracy and the nation state.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks presents a proposal for reframing the terms of this important debate. The first major statement by a Jewish leader on the ethics of globalization, it introduces a new paradigm into the search for co-existence. Sacks argues that we must do more than search for common human values. We must also learn to make space for difference, even and especially at the heart of the monotheistic imagination. The global future will call for something stronger than earlier doctrines of toleration or pluralism. It needs a new understanding that the unity of the Creator is expressed in the diversity of creation.;Sacks argues that this new thinking also sheds fresh light on the global challenges of an age of unprecedented change: economic inequality, environmental destruction, the connection between information technology and human dignity, and the structures of civil society.

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.

We are living through a period of cultural climate change. We have outsourced morality to the markets on the one hand, and the state on the other. The markets have brought wealth to many, and the state has done much to contain the worst excesses of inequality, but neither is capable of bearing the moral weight of showing us how to live. This has had a profound impact on society and the way in which we interact with each other. Traditional values no longer hold, yet recent political swings show that modern ideals of tolerance have left many feeling rudderless and adrift. In this environment we see things fall apart in unexpected ways - toxic public discourse makes true societal progress almost unattainable, a more divisive society is fuelled by identity politics and extremism, and the rise of a victimhood mentality calls for 'safe spaces' but stifles debate. The influence of social media seems all-pervading and the breakdown of the family is only one result of the loss of social capital. Many fear what the future may hold. Delivering a devastatingly insightful critique of our modern condition, and assessing its roots and causes from the ancient Greeks through the Reformation and Enlightenment to the present day, Sacks argues that there is no liberty without morality, and no freedom without responsibility. If we care about the future of western civilisation, all of us must play our part in rebuilding our common moral foundation. Then we will discover afresh the life-transforming and counterintuitive truths that a nation is strong when it cares for the weak, and rich when it cares for the poor. Here is an inspiring vision of a world in which we can all find our place, and face the future without fear.