I Believe
Overview
I Believe is a personal and intimate demonstration of how Rabbi Sacks came to see the world through listening attentively to the Torah and its message for the present and all times. This is the latest book in the Covenant & Conversation series of themed books, written by Rabbi Sacks on the weekly Torah portion.
Index
A
- Aaron 149, 201, 257
- Abarbanel, Rabbi Isaac 257, 300
- Abraham
- asked servant to find wife for Isaac 35
- bought burial plot for Sarah 28
- exile in Egypt 39
- and God 21–5, 171
- and Sodom 139
- as teacher 316–17
- what made him different 15–19
- Adam 151
- aesthetics 113,115
- Ahab, King 183
- Aha bar Yaakov, R. 298
- Akiva, R. 98,169, 176–7
- Albo, Yosef 80, 105
- altruism, reciprocal 271
- Amalekites 93, 94
- America
- and American dream 69
- covenantal society 275
- Declaration of Independence 304
- Amos
- 5:15, 171
- 5:21–24, 137
- antisemitism 218, 300
- anusim 118
- Apollo 44
- Aquinas 73–4
- Arab Spring 126
- Arab Winter 126
- Arama, Rabbi Isaac 300, 301
- argument for the sake of heaven 217
- argument not for the sake of heaven 217, 219–20
- Aristotle 276
- ark 9–10
- Ashrei 98
- Assimilation versus Separation (Wildavsky) 58
- Auerbach, Erich 29
- Augustine 73
- Auschwitz 30
- Avihu 149–50, 151
- Aviram 217, 218, 219
- awe 11, 114, 118, 139, 250, 305
- Aztecs 139–40
B
- Baal Shem Tov 97
- bad things, why they happen to good people 311, 313
- Balaam 229–30, 231, 233
- Balak 230
- Balfour Declaration 51
- Bartenura 9–10
- Baruch Hashem 97–8, 100
- Baumeister, Roy 188
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 159–61, 162, 163
- beauty 115
- Beethoven, Ludwig van 262
- The Beginning of Wisdom (Kass) 58
- betrayal 112
- Bezalel Academy of Art 115
- big government 182–3
- Birkat HaMazon 109
- birkat hamitzva 200
- birth rate 68
- birthright 45, 288
- blessings 199–203, 273, 274
- Bloch, Joseph S. 118–19
- The Book of the Dead 80, 81
- Bruner, Jerome 86
- Burke, Edmund 276–7
- Burkert, Walter 140
C
- Caleb 212, 214, 215
- “call-out” culture 219
- Cambridge University Divinity School 220
- Cannetti, Elias 124–5
- Carey, Dr George xv
- Carse, James P. 261
- Chajes, Maharatz 44
- change, and freedom 77
- chaos 132, 133
- charity 109
- children
- and removal of Patria potestas 67
- and storytelling 88
- child sacrifice 21
- choice 301
- The Choice (Eger) 30–1
- Christianity 300
- Chua, Amy 212, 215
- cities of refuge 247–8
- Clines, D.J. 165
- clothes 112–13, 114
- Clouds of Glory 176
- cognitive dissonance 18
- Collapse (Diamond) 151
- collective responsibility 304
- common good 203
- community 124, 125–6, 127
- compulsory education 196, 319
- A Confession and Other Religious Writings (Tolstoy) 226
- Considerations on the Government of Poland (Rousseau) 87
- continuity 304
- conversion 118–19, 300
- conversos 118–19
- coronavirus pandemic 235, 239, 240, 294
- Cortes, Hernán 94
- Covenantal Man 3
- covenants
- American 275–6
- and God 271, 273–4
- and hesed 270
- and Moses 297–8
- ratified by the souls of Jews not yet born 300–1
- renewed 268, 317
- Sinai 101
- COVID-19 235, 239, 240
- Cozbi 237
- creation 105, 130–2, 172
- two accounts in Genesis 3, 5–7
- crowds 124–5, 126, 127
- Crowds and Power (Cannetti) 124–5
- curses 185–6, 187, 273, 274
D
- Dalai Lama 88
- Datan 217, 218, 219
- David, King 150, 206–7, 208
- dead body 223
- death 80–1, 224, 225, 226–7
- debt 183, 184
- debt relief 181–2
- Democracy in America (Tocqueville) 69, 276
- Deuteronomy
- 1:22, 255
- 1:24, 256
- 1:32–33, 214
- 1:33, 256, 258
- 1:37–38, 256
- 4:5–8, 167
- 4:10, 306
- 4:12, 112, 161
- 5:25, 146
- 6:17–18, 262–3
- 7:9, 267
- 7:12, 267
- 11:19, 317
- 11:26–28, 273
- 17:8–20, 305
- 18:18, 279
- 19:5, 247
- 21:15–17, 285
- 23:4–5, 231
- 24:8–9, 156
- 24:9, 161
- 26:5–10, 38
- 27:9, 292
- 28:10, 276
- 29:13–14, 297
- 30:15, 19, 274
- 31:0–13, 304
- 31:10–13, 195
- 31:12, 317
- 31:19, 303
- 31:30, 318
- 32:1–2, 309
- 32:4, 310
- 32:5, 310
- 32:15–18, 310
- 33:1, 4, 318
- 33:4, 195
- 33:10, 281
- Diamond, Jared 151
- Dionysus 44
- disinhibition effect 162
- divorce 68
- dreams 55, 56
- dualism 312
- Duino Elegies (Rilke) 114
E
- Ecclesiastes 225
- education 196, 197, 317–19
- Eger, Edith 30–1
- Egypt 80–1
- Eliezer 98
- Elijah
- and deep spirituality of solitude 208
- and Jezebel 206
- and "still small voice" 112, 294
- Elokim 3
- eminent domain 184
- Enlightenment 46
- environment 151–2
- Ephraim 288
- epispasm 300
- Epstein, David 12
- Esau 33–4, 44–5, 201, 293
- Ethical Life (Redner) 169–70
- Europe, birth rate far below replacement rate 68
- Eve 151
- evil 18, 311–12
- evil speech 156–8, 161, 162–3
- Exodus
- 4:22, 289, 301
- 7:3, 79
- 12: 26–27, 86
- 13:8, 86
- 13:14, 86
- 13:17–18, 91
- 14:4, 92
- 14:11–12, 92
- 14:13–14, 93
- 18:10, 98
- 19:5, 270
- 19:6, 172
- 19:8, 103, 317
- 20:15, 104
- 24:3, 104
- 24:7, xvi, 101, 104, 317
- 25:1–2, 107
- 32:1, 124
- 32:14, 120
- 34:6–7, 186–7
- 34:7, 187
- 35:1, 124
- 39:32, 43, 130
- Exodus Rabba 119
- Ezekiel
- 2:3–5, 282
- 20:32, 46, 299
- 20:33, 300
- Ezra 195–6, 281, 318–19
F
- failures 215
- family
- birthplace of freedom 69
- importance of 66–7
- fear 94–5, 225, 227
- finite games 261, 262, 264
- fire 194
- firstborn 285, 286
- first fruits 38–9
- followers 259
- forbidden sexual practices 166
- forgiveness 66, 68, 119, 120–1
- freedom
- American 181
- and change 77
- and evil 18
- family, birthplace of 69
- and morality 276–7
- and order 133
- and science 76
- Freud, Sigmund 67
- the future 75–6, 77
G
- Gafni, Rabbi Avraham 201
- Gaon, Rav Saadia 224
- gardener, God as 5
- Garden of Eden 151
- garments 112–13, 114
- On the Genealogy of Morality (Nietzsche) 242
- Genesis
- 2:1–3, 130
- 2:18, 208
- 6:16, 9
- 9:6, 236
- 9:26, 98
- 11:7, 103
- 12:2, 23
- 12:3, 230
- 13:16, 23
- 14:18, 232
- 14:19–20, 99
- 15:5, 23
- 15:6, 23
- 17:5–6, 23
- 17:21, 23
- 18:19, 139, 171, 317
- 21:17–18, 99
- 22:14, 113
- 23:4, 28
- 24:1, 28
- 24:27, 98
- 25:11, 35
- 25:28, 33
- 27:2, 34
- 27:4, 201
- 27:22, 293
- 29:18–30, 287
- 29:20, 202
- 29:31–33, 287
- 31:24, 38
- 31:43, 41
- 32:29, 43
- 35:9–10, 43
- 37:4, 287
- 37:15–17, 50
- 40:15, 61
- 41:37–38, 56
- 45:4–8, 61
- 47:19–20, 57
- 48:5, 288
- 48:21–22, 288
- 50:11, 66
- 50:19–20, 61
- Gideon 318
- Girard, René 45, 67
- God
- and Abraham 21, 22–3, 139
- and covenant 271, 273–4
- as Gardener 5
- gave us freedom 18
- on humanity 166–7
- Ishmael, blessed by 99, 100
- and justice 309–10
- knowing and imitating 140–1
- and Laban 40
- and love 232–3
- name of 73–5
- and Pinchas 237
- on priests 151
- on prophetic morality 170–1
- and sacrifices 140, 146
- and the spies 257–8
- and trust 75
- why he chose Moses 15
- Golden Calf 113–14, 119, 120, 146
- and Aaron 257
- and power of the crowd 125
- and the Tabernacle 132
- grandparents 65, 68
- Greeks 276
- grief 227
- The Guide for the Perplexed (Rambam) 114, 140
- Guns, Germs and Steel (Diamond) 151
H
- Hagar 35, 36, 99
- Hak’hel 195, 303, 304–7, 317
- Hanks, Tom 159, 160, 162
- Hashem 5
- Hashem Elokim 3
- hearing 111, 293
- heart-weighing ceremony 81–2
- Heifer, Red 223–4, 225, 226–7
- Hertz, Noreena 181
- hesed (chessed) 269–71
- Hillel 220–1, 304
- Hirsch, Samson Raphael 224
- Hizkuni 10, 13
- Hoffmann, Rabbi David Zvi 257
- holiness 172, 173, 202
- Homo Prospectus (Seligman et al.) 76
- Hosea
- 1–3, 232–3
- 2:19, 171
- 6:6, 137
- hukkim (chukim) 224–5
- the Hunter 44
I
- Ibn Ezra 35, 50
- identity, Jewish 299–300
- idolatry 111
- idols 16
- The Infinite Game (Sinek) 261
- infinite games 261–2, 265
- inheritance 285, 286, 288, 289
- intertextuality 130–1
- Isaac
- Binding of 21–2, 23–4, 67
- blessing for Esau 33–6, 201
- gave Jacob Esau's blessing 293
- Isaiah
- 4:5–6, 176
- 11:6–9, 283
- 40:26, 11
- 54:13, 195
- 58:5–7, 44–5
- on sacrifices 138
- Ishmael 23, 24, 36
- blessed by God 99, 100
- Israel
- future-oriented nation 77
- influenced in its early years by socialism 182
J
- Jacob
- blessed his sons and grandchildren 65, 68
- blessing from Isaac 34
- change of name to Israel 43–4, 45, 47, 67
- and inheritance 288
- and Laban 37, 38, 39–40
- and Leah's sons 294
- and love 286–7, 289
- and Rachel 202
- took Esau's blessing 293
- Jacobson, Eddie 52
- Jakobovits, Lord 65
- Jeremiah 15, 140, 141
- 2:2, 177, 306
- 7:22–23, 145
- 7:26, 138
- 9:23, 171
- 12:1, 311
- 20:14–18, 206
- and deep spirituality of solitude 208
- on sacrifices 146–7
- The Jew in the Lotus (Kamenetz) 88
- Jewish identity 299–300
- Jezebel 183, 206
- Jobs, Steve 62–3
- Jonah 99, 187–8, 206, 208
- Joseph 49–50, 55–9, 162, 286
- and his brothers 66, 68, 287
- and inheritance 288
- reinterpreted the past 61–2, 63
- Josephus 46, 196–7
- Joshua 212, 214, 215
- on Balaam 231
- as follower 259
- Joshua, book of
- 3, 144
- 24:2, 16
- Josiah, King 140
- joy 176
- Joyce, James 262
- Jubilee 2000 181–2
- Judah Halevi 74, 291
- Julius Caesar 94
- Junod, Tom 161
- justice 140, 141, 171, 312
- and Abraham 18–19
- and God 309–10
- and love 286, 289
- and Moses 83
K
- Kafka, Franz 95
- Kamenetz, Rodger 88
- Kaplan, Aryeh 268
- Kass, Leon 58
- Kay, John 178, 211
- Keats, John 24
- keri 186
- keriat haTorah xv–xvi
- kindness 140, 141, 171
- King, Martin Luther 185, 312
- King, Mervyn 178, 211
- kings, and Samuel 183
- Kings I, 109–10, 268
- knowledge, democratization of 195
- kohanim 203
- Kohelet 225
- Kol Nidrei 117–19, 120, 121
- Kook, Rav 115, 207
- Korach 217–19
L
- Laban 37–8, 40–1
- land
- and adjoining property 263
- need for 165, 167–8
- language, use of 243–4
- La Rochefoucauld, François 225
- Lasch, Christopher 152
- lashon hara 156–8, 161, 162–3
- The Last Trial (Spiegel) 35
- Leach, Edmund 68
- Leah 286, 287, 293–4
- Leiner, Rabbi Yaakov 292, 294
- Levi (Jacob's son) 294
- Levites 281
- Leviticus
- 9:22, 201
- 10:10, 172
- 11:47, 172
- 18:24–28, 166
- 19:1–2, 172
- 19:17, 282
- 19:18, 169
- 19:34, 169
- 20:26, 172
- 23:40, 175
- 23:42–43, 175
- 23:43, 177
- 25:10, 181
- 25:23, 184
- 25:42–43, 184
- 26:14–37, 186
- 26:35, 166
- liberty 181, 183, 276, 286
- see also freedom
- Liberty Bell 181
- Lichtenstein, Rabbi Aharon 249–50
- life, sanctity of 236, 239, 240
- listening 161, 162, 292, 293, 294, 295
- The Living Torah (Kaplan) 268
- lockdown 235, 236, 239, 291–2
- Locke, John 244, 276
- loneliness 6, 207, 208–9
- The Lonely Man of Faith (Soloveitchik) 207
- love 139, 169–70, 232–3, 287–9
- and blessings 201, 203
- and healing 36
- Jacob's for Rachel 202
- must not override justice 285–6
- and the prophets 171
M
- MacIntyre, Alasdair 86
- Mackay, Charles 124
- Majestic Man 3
- Malachi
- 1:11–12, 232
- 3:6, 74
- Malbim 213
- Manasseh 288
- Marr, Andrew 85
- marranos 118
- marriage 68
- Marx, Karl 76
- master-narratives 88–9
- mathematical modelling 211–12
- Mayflower Compact 275
- Mekhilta 105
- Melchizedek 99, 232
- Mesha, King 21
- metzora 161
- Micah
- 4:4, 182
- 6:5, 8, 231
- 6:6–8, 140
- 6:8, 171
- Midianites 230, 231
- Midrash, meaning xvi–xvii
- mimetic desire 45, 67
- Miriam 155–6, 161
- Mishkan 109–10, 125
- see also Tabernacle
- Mishna Avot 98, 202, 251, 259
- Moabites 230–1, 231
- moral decisions 238, 239, 240
- moral imagination, priestly 172–3
- morality 170–1, 276–7
- More Judaica 118
- Moses
- and 611 commands 303
- on Balaam 233
- on blessings and curses 273, 274
- broke the tablets 150
- and community 125
- and the covenant 297–8
- and deep spirituality of solitude 208
- on education 317, 318
- and forgiveness 119, 120–1
- greatest of political leaders 87
- breakdown 206
- and justice 83, 309–10
- and Korach 217–18, 219
- on Levites 281
- and listening 294
- and Miriam 161
- on prophets 279
- and the spies 212, 255, 256, 257–9
- on storytelling 86
- why God chose him 15
- motzi shem ra 156–7, 161
N
- naase venishma 102–5
- Naboth 183
- Nadav 149–50, 151
- name change 43–4
- Natronai Gaon, Rav 117
- negative capability 24–5
- Nehemiah 195–6, 232, 268, 318–19
- neighbour, and love 139, 169–70, 202–3
- Nietzsche, Friedrich
- On the Genealogy of Morality 242–3
- had respect for the Bible 28–9
- on Jews as logicians 17
- Nineveh 99, 100
- Noah
- and Baruch Hashem 98
- and tzohar 9, 10
- why God chose him 15
- Numbers
- 6:23–27, 199
- 11:4–6, 205
- 11:11–15, 206
- 11:29, 317
- 13:27, 214
- 20:12, 256
- 25:11–12, 237
- 25:17–18, 230
- 31:16, 231
O
- oaths 241, 244
- Oedipus complex 67
- Ong, Walter J. 292, 293
- online abuse 162
- order 132, 133
- Othello 156–7
- ownership 184
- Oxford International Women’s Festival 220
P
- pandemic, coronavirus 235, 239, 240, 294
- Passover 88
- the past
- honouring but not living in it 77
- reinterpreting 62, 63–4
- Patria potestas 67
- peace 283
- performative utterance 243
- pesher xvi
- Peterson, Jordan 220
- Pharaoh
- heart hardened 79–80, 92
- repeated refusal to let the Israelites go 83–4
- Pinchas 236–9
- Pinto, Dorothy 50–2
- plagues 82, 83–4
- political decisions 238, 239, 240
- Political Tribes (Chua) 212, 215
- poverty 183, 184
- power 58, 184, 218, 219
- corrupts 183, 242
- The Power of Bad (Tierney and Baumeister) 188
- prayer, communal 291–2
- prediction 187–8
- priestly moral imagination 172–3
- priests, role of 150–1, 200
- property rights 182, 183
- prophecy 187–8
- prophetic morality 170–1
- prophets xvi, 279–82, 284
- protests 126
- Protocols of the Elders of Zion 218
- Psalms
- 6:6, 206
- 8, 111–12
- 13:1–2, 207
- 15, 265
- 19, 294
- 22:2, 207
- 22:4, 97
- 50:8–15, 138
- 90, 281
- 92, 311
- 128, 182
- 130:1, 207
R
- Rabinovitch, Rabbi Nachum Eliezer 248–50
- Rabinowitz, Rabbi Louis 250
- Rachel, Jacob's love for 202, 286, 287
- Radak 44
- Radical Uncertainty: Decision-Making for an Unknowable Future (Kay and King) 178, 211
- Rambam
- on Abraham 16–17
- on Hak’hel 305–6
- on hardening of Pharaoh’s heart 80
- on hesed 269
- on hukkim 224–5
- knowing and imitating 141
- on knowing God 140
- on love your neighbour as yourself 202–3
- on prayer 291
- on prophets 279–80
- on sacrifices 146
- and science 11, 12–13
- Sefer HaMitzvot 275
- on study 248
- Thirteen Principles 105–6
- on tzaraat 155, 156
- and tzedaka 109
- on the visual 114–15
- Ramban
- on Aaron’s blessing 201
- on Joseph 50
- on the land of Israel 165–6
- on the law 263–5
- and Moses 257
- on prayer 291
- Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World (Epstein) 12
- Rashbam 94–5
- Rashi
- on Esau 33
- on hardening of Pharaoh’s heart 79–80
- on Joseph 50, 288
- on Laban 40
- on the law 263, 264
- on priestly blessings 201
- on reward and punishment 187
- on Sarah 29
- and the spies 258
- Rebecca 33
- reciprocal altruism 271
- redemption 105
- Red Heifer 223–4, 225, 226–7
- Redner, Harry 169–70
- Red Sea 91, 92–3, 95, 144
- Rees-Mogg, William 152–3
- refuge, cities of 247–8
- Reid, Melanie 123–4
- The Reigning Error (Rees-Mogg) 152–3
- Reith Lectures 68
- relationships 6–7
- Rembrandt 115
- responsibility 304
- Reuben 288, 293–4
- revelation 105
- the righteous 311–12
- righteousness 140, 141, 171
- Rilke, Rainer Maria 114
- risk 178
- Rogers, Fred 159, 160–1, 162
- Rosenzweig, Franz 105
- Rotenberg, Professor Mordechai 63
- Rothschild, Baron Edmond de 50–1
- Rothschild, James de 50, 51
- Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 87
- Rudd, Amber 220
- Rumelt, Richard 212
- Rumsfeld, Donald 211
- A Runaway World? 68
- Russell, Bertrand 68
- Ruth, Book of 269–70
S
- Sabato, Rabbi Haim 250
- sacrifices 21, 137–8, 139–40, 145–6, 147
- Sadducees xvi, 143
- Samaritans 143
- Samuel
- on corrupt power 183
- on kings 183
- on sacrifices 137
- Sanctuary 109–10, 125
- see also Tabernacle
- Sarah 26–7, 28, 29, 39
- science
- cannot account for the future 76, 77
- and Rambam 11–12
- Seder 88
- seeing 292
- Sefer HaHinnuch 200
- Sefer HaMitzvot (Rambam) 275
- self-interest 242
- Seligman, Martin 76
- seven, number 131
- sexual practices, forbidden 166
- Sforno, Ovadia 44, 80
- Shabbat, 88a 101
- Shakespeare, William 24–5, 156–7
- Shammai 220–1
- Shemitta 166
- Shimon ben Tzemah Duran, Rabbi 105
- shiva 227
- sibling rivalry 45, 66, 67
- Simeon 294
- Sinai, Mount 193–4
- Sinai covenant 101
- Sinek, Simon 261
- Sisebur 118–19
- slander 156–7, 161
- slavery 183, 184
- social distancing 235
- social media 126–7, 162, 219
- Sodom 139
- solitude, deep spirituality of 208
- Solomon, King 109–10
- Soloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph 3, 207
- Spanish Jews 300
- Spiegel, Shalom 35
- spies 212–15, 255–6, 257–9
- Spinal Column (Reid) 123
- spontaneity 150, 151
- stoicism 276
- storytelling 85–9
- stranger, and love 139, 169, 170
- suicides 162
- sukka (succah) 176, 177, 178, 179
- Sukkot (Succot) 175, 176–9
- Sumption, Jonathan 236
- sustainability 151–2
- “sweatshop” labour 183
T
- Tabernacle 114, 130, 131, 132
- Taleb, Nicholas 211–12
- Tam, Rabbenu 117–18
- teachers 248, 250–1, 316–18, 319
- Terach 16
- Thatcher, Margaret 56
- The Theme of the Pentateuch (Clines) 165
- Thirteen Attributes of Mercy 187
- Thucydides 312
- Tierney, John 188
- tiferet 113
- A Time to Build (Levin) 126–7
- Tocqueville, Alexis de 69, 276
- Todd, Professor Selina 220
- Tolstoy, Leo 226
- Tree of Knowledge 151
- Tree of Life 151
- The True and Only Heaven (Lasch) 152
- Truman, Harry 52
- trust 75, 244
- Two Rothschilds and the Land of Israel (Schama) 51
- tzara'at 155–6, 158, 161
- tzedakah 109
- tzidduk hadin 309–10
- tzohar 9–10
U
- uncertainty 24–5, 177, 178, 179, 211–12
- uniforms 112–13
- United States, and American dream 69
- universal compulsory education 196, 319
- universities, no-platforming 219–20
- UN Women Oxford UK Society 220
V
- Van Gogh, Vincent 262
- vestments 112–13, 114
- victimhood 31
- victimisation 30
- the visual 114–15
- vows 119–20, 121, 241, 244
W
- Walkin, Rabbi Aharon 200
- Washington, George 276
- water 194
- wealth 184
- Weizmann, Chaim 51, 52–3
- WikiLeaks 157
- Wildavsky, Aaron 58
- wilderness 194–5
- Wilson, James Q. 67, 69
- Winthrop, John 275
- wisdom voice 171
- woman, first 3–5
Y
- Yannai, R. 315–16
- Yehoshua b. Gamla 196, 319
- Yevamot 282
- Yitro (Jethro) 97–8, 99, 232
- Yohcanan, R. 280–1
- Yom Kippur 117, 120–1, 144–5
- Young, Lord David 56
- young, staying 307
Z
- Zechariah 99, 171
- Zimri 237
- Zohar 13, 33–4, 201
- Zuckerberg, Mark 126