Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Summary
Is there such a thing as an objective basis of morality? For some time, many secular thinkers said no. Morality, they argued, is what we choose it to be, as long as we don’t harm others. There was no way from facts to universal values. This became the accepted wisdom in philosophy for a century. Nietzsche even argued for abandoning morality altogether. He saw it as a product of Judaism, and not an objective truth.
More recently, however, morality has found a scientific basis, from two surprising directions: neo-Darwinism and the branch of mathematics known as Games Theory. As we will see, this discovery is closely related to the story of Noach and the covenant made between God and humanity after the Flood.
John von Neumann looked at how people make choices. His Games Theory shared the thought experiment of the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Imagine two people arrested for a crime. The police separate them and offer each a deal: if one testifies against the other, he will go free while the other serves ten years in prison. If both testify, each serves five years. If both stay silent, they each serve only one year.
Rationally, each will betray the other for a shorter sentence, but if they do, this leads to a worse outcome for both (five years each) than if they had trusted one another (one year each). The dilemma shows that individual self-interest can harm everyone. Later experiments showed that if the same prisoners faced this choice repeatedly, then over time they would learn to trust rather than betray each other.
While Games Theory was developing, biologists were puzzling over Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest”. Why do almost all societies admire altruism – people who sacrifice their advantage to help others - in our biological world of natural selection? The Prisoner’s Dilemma suggested an answer: groups that learn to cooperate will be stronger than groups of selfish individuals. In the 1970s, scientists tested this by running computer programs for the “Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma.” The winning program, called Tit-for-Tat, was simple: start by cooperating, then do what your opponent did last time. It proved that the principle of “measure for measure” - treating others as they treat you - is not only moral, it is also effective. This mirrors the covenant with Noach: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.”
This is justice as reciprocity: as you do, so shall you be done to. The Torah even sets out the words in mirror-image form. The first moral principle of the Torah is also the first to be scientifically demonstrated. In 1989, mathematician Martin Nowak devised a program that improved on Tit-for-Tat. Called Generous, it occasionally “forgot” an opponent’s betrayal, allowing the cycle of retaliation to stop. What Nowak had simulated was forgiveness. Here again, the Torah anticipated the principle. After the Flood, God vowed never again to destroy the earth, despite man’s continuing evil. Divine forgiveness became part of the covenant.
Thus, the two great principles of the Noachide covenant - justice and forgiveness - are also the two principles now shown to be essential for human survival. Without them, no group can survive in the long-run.
Centuries ago, Rav Saadia Gaon taught that the truths of Torah can be established by reason, but revelation was necessary because humanity takes time to reach truth and often stumbles on the way. It took more than a thousand years after Rav Saadia Gaon for humanity to demonstrate scientifically the moral truths at the heart of God’s covenant: that cooperation is as necessary as competition, that cooperation depends on trust, that trust requires justice, and that justice is incomplete without forgiveness.
Morality is not simply what we choose it to be. It is part of the basic fabric of the universe, revealed to us by the universe’s Creator, long ago.
Around the Shabbat Table
Questions to Ponder
1. Do you think people are naturally selfish or naturally cooperative? Why?
2. In the Prisoner’s Dilemma, would you stay silent or tell on your partner? What would influence your choice?
3. How does the story of Noach show both justice and forgiveness?
A Takeaway Thought
Justice and forgiveness, ideals at the heart of Noach's story, are part of how the world itself works. Without them, no group can survive. What science has only recently discovered, the Torah taught long ago: trust and forgiveness, are the foundations of life.
Exploring the Parsha
With Sara Lamm
The Parsha in a Nutshell
In a world steeped in violence and corruption, one man finds favour with Hashem. Noach is commanded to build a great teivah, a massive ark, to protect his family from a world-ending mabul (flood). Noach, his family, and pairs of every animal will take refuge in the teivah for the duration of the mabul.
Then the Flood begins. It rains for 40 days, and waters rage for 150 more. At last the teivah rests upon Har Ararat. Noach sends out a raven, whose swift return tells him it is not yet safe to leave. Later, he sends out a dove, and learns that the land has dried. Exactly one year after the flood began, Hashem tells Noach to leave the teivah and begin his new life.
Noach offers sacrifices, and Hashem establishes a brit never again to destroy humanity, with the rainbow as its sign. Hashem also commands respect for life, and 7 Noachide laws.
Soon Noach plants a vineyard and becomes drunk; Shem and Yafet act with honour, while Cham behaves shamefully and is cursed. Generations pass, and the people grow restless, building the Tower of Bavel. Hashem creates confusion, dispersing them throughout the land with many different languages. The parsha concludes with the introduction of Avram, journeying toward the land of Canaan.
Parsha Activity
Face to Face
Two players sit face-to-face and look into each other’s eyes. The first to blink, laugh, or look away “loses.” The longer you hold steady, the more you “win.” Feel free to change the rules! Try smiling without laughing, or doing the entire game with one eye closed. perhaps one player can make silly faces while the other cannot. Add more players in a circle to make your unflinching society just a bit more complicated! As you add and enforce rules, how does it feel to become lawmakers and judges?
A Story for the Ages
The Friends’ Dilemma
In a nearby school, Eli and Shelley are two best friends who share a very important secret. But now they face a dilemma. Their teacher tells them, “If you both keep the secret safe, you'll each get a B grade. If one of you tells me the secret while the other stays quiet, the one who told will get an A+ and the quiet one will get a D. If you both tell, you’ll each get a C. But here’s the tricky part - you can't discuss your decision with each other. You must decide what to do from opposite sides of the playground.”
Eli sat alone, wondering what to do: “I'm sure I can trust Shelley to keep the secret. At least, I'm almost sure... maybe 99% sure? So if we both stay quiet, we’ll pass, and no-one fails. That’s the best option for both of us... But what if she spills the secret? Should I tell too, just in case. That way, I definitely won’t lose out?”
Shelley was also considering the problem. If they both chose to tell, they would hurt each other, but at least no-one would get a failing grade. And if they both trusted each other and stayed quiet, they would both win higher grades... but there was also the possibility that someone would reach for that A+...
From opposite ends of the school playground, the two best friends each reached the same decision. They decided that no matter the prize, they couldn’t bear the idea of betraying the other. Shelley and Eli each chose
to stay silent. They each received a B grade, but also the feeling that their friendship was stronger than ever. And that, said Shelley, was “priceless”.
The lesson is simple. Trust and cooperation often bring better results than selfishness. Just as Noach’s story teaches us about justice and forgiveness, this story shows that life works best when we choose to work together, not against each other.
Cards & Conversation
Our Cards & Conversation packs include one card for every parsha. On one side, you’ll find an interesting question from the Torah to think about and discuss. Flip it over, and you’ll discover an idea from Rabbi Sacks that shines a new light on the parsha.
“Noach was a righteous man, a person of integrity in his generation.”
(Bereishit 6:9)
”All that God commanded him, he did.” (Bereishit 7:1) This week, Noach follows God’s commands but doesn’t speak out to warn or protect others.
1. Does that make him a bystander?
2. Can someone be a bystander and still be called righteous?
Rabbi Sacks on Bereishit 7:5 (in the Koren Sacks Humash) offers an answer:
“We must take a stand. We must protest. We must register dissent even if the probability of changing minds is small… because the moral life is a life we share with others.”
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Bereishit 9:6).
This mitzva reminds us of the sacredness of life. Rabbi Sacks says it challenges us to see that all people are made in God’s image, and this shift is what makes society possible. After the Flood, Hashem gave humanity a new moral foundation: violence against another person is a violation not just of them, but of God Himself. “After the Flood, He taught Noach (and through him all humanity), that we should think, not of ourselves but of the human other as in the image of God. That is the only way to save ourselves from violence and self-destruction.”
“Creation of things is relatively easy, creation of relationships is hard.” – Rabbi Sacks
Practically Speaking
What will you build?
Human life is precious, and it is forbidden to kill one another. But this mitzva reaches beyond the act of murder. It means we must be careful not to diminish life in other ways: with cruelty, with hurtful speech, or with indifference to another’s suffering. Instead, we are called upon to find meaning in our own life, and to build relationships of trust and respect with others. Remember that every encounter with another human being is also an encounter with the image of God.
Try it Out
Young students
Try using kind words, even when you’re upset. If you hurt someone’s feelings, say “I’m sorry,” or “how can I help you feel better?” When you see other people as precious to God, you’ll learn to treat others with care, and you’ll make the world a kinder place.
Advancing students
This notion challenges us to respect life in every form. It means learning to control anger and thinking before speaking or posting online. Ask yourself: “Am I lifting this person up or tearing them down?” Practise standing up for someone. Notice the good in people who are different from you. By choosing respect, you honour the image of God in them.
Learning in Layers
Guiding you through Torah step by step, with insights from the Koren Sacks Humash with translation and commentary by Rabbi Sacks. Each step takes us a little deeper and invites ‘Torah as Conversation,’ just as Rabbi Sacks taught.
“They [the people of Bavel] said to each other, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and let us bake them thoroughly.’ They used bricks for stone and tar for mortar.”
The Torah tells us the people of Bavel made bricks instead of using stone. Why focus on the material? Perhaps it shows their pride in a new invention. Perhaps it suggests that people can shape the world around them. Or maybe it suggests something about uniformity. The question remains: what do you think this choice really teaches us?
“Bricks are man-made, identical, and replaceable. Unlike natural stone, they symbolise uniformity and human control. The danger was not the tower itself but the mindset: people reducing themselves to interchangeable parts in a totalising society.”
Rabbi Sacks examines the symbol of the brick, and why the Torah chooses to specify the building materials. He then explains that the Torah is not just giving us a recipe for a new construction material. Rather, we are seeing first-hand the foundation that an unstable society was built on.
Add your own questions too and delve deeper into the meaning of the text by applying it to your own life...
Why might a society prefer everyone to be the same, like identical bricks, rather than unique like stones?
In what ways do we see the “brick mindset” in our world today, and what might it look like to choose “stones” instead?
Every detail in the Torah is important, and no word is wasted. What does this idea mean to you?
True Morality
Family Edition
Noach
Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Summary
Is there such a thing as an objective basis of morality? For some time, many secular thinkers said no. Morality, they argued, is what we choose it to be, as long as we don’t harm others. There was no way from facts to universal values. This became the accepted wisdom in philosophy for a century. Nietzsche even argued for abandoning morality altogether. He saw it as a product of Judaism, and not an objective truth.
More recently, however, morality has found a scientific basis, from two surprising directions: neo-Darwinism and the branch of mathematics known as Games Theory. As we will see, this discovery is closely related to the story of Noach and the covenant made between God and humanity after the Flood.
John von Neumann looked at how people make choices. His Games Theory shared the thought experiment of the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Imagine two people arrested for a crime. The police separate them and offer each a deal: if one testifies against the other, he will go free while the other serves ten years in prison. If both testify, each serves five years. If both stay silent, they each serve only one year.
Rationally, each will betray the other for a shorter sentence, but if they do, this leads to a worse outcome for both (five years each) than if they had trusted one another (one year each). The dilemma shows that individual self-interest can harm everyone. Later experiments showed that if the same prisoners faced this choice repeatedly, then over time they would learn to trust rather than betray each other.
While Games Theory was developing, biologists were puzzling over Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest”. Why do almost all societies admire altruism – people who sacrifice their advantage to help others - in our biological world of natural selection? The Prisoner’s Dilemma suggested an answer: groups that learn to cooperate will be stronger than groups of selfish individuals. In the 1970s, scientists tested this by running computer programs for the “Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma.” The winning program, called Tit-for-Tat, was simple: start by cooperating, then do what your opponent did last time. It proved that the principle of “measure for measure” - treating others as they treat you - is not only moral, it is also effective. This mirrors the covenant with Noach: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.”
This is justice as reciprocity: as you do, so shall you be done to. The Torah even sets out the words in mirror-image form. The first moral principle of the Torah is also the first to be scientifically demonstrated. In 1989, mathematician Martin Nowak devised a program that improved on Tit-for-Tat. Called Generous, it occasionally “forgot” an opponent’s betrayal, allowing the cycle of retaliation to stop. What Nowak had simulated was forgiveness. Here again, the Torah anticipated the principle. After the Flood, God vowed never again to destroy the earth, despite man’s continuing evil. Divine forgiveness became part of the covenant.
Thus, the two great principles of the Noachide covenant - justice and forgiveness - are also the two principles now shown to be essential for human survival. Without them, no group can survive in the long-run.
Centuries ago, Rav Saadia Gaon taught that the truths of Torah can be established by reason, but revelation was necessary because humanity takes time to reach truth and often stumbles on the way. It took more than a thousand years after Rav Saadia Gaon for humanity to demonstrate scientifically the moral truths at the heart of God’s covenant: that cooperation is as necessary as competition, that cooperation depends on trust, that trust requires justice, and that justice is incomplete without forgiveness.
Morality is not simply what we choose it to be. It is part of the basic fabric of the universe, revealed to us by the universe’s Creator, long ago.
Around the Shabbat Table
Questions to Ponder
1. Do you think people are naturally selfish or naturally cooperative? Why?
2. In the Prisoner’s Dilemma, would you stay silent or tell on your partner? What would influence your choice?
3. How does the story of Noach show both justice and forgiveness?
A Takeaway Thought
Justice and forgiveness, ideals at the heart of Noach's story, are part of how the world itself works. Without them, no group can survive. What science has only recently discovered, the Torah taught long ago: trust and forgiveness, are the foundations of life.
Exploring the Parsha
With Sara Lamm
The Parsha in a Nutshell
In a world steeped in violence and corruption, one man finds favour with Hashem. Noach is commanded to build a great teivah, a massive ark, to protect his family from a world-ending mabul (flood). Noach, his family, and pairs of every animal will take refuge in the teivah for the duration of the mabul.
Then the Flood begins. It rains for 40 days, and waters rage for 150 more. At last the teivah rests upon Har Ararat. Noach sends out a raven, whose swift return tells him it is not yet safe to leave. Later, he sends out a dove, and learns that the land has dried. Exactly one year after the flood began, Hashem tells Noach to leave the teivah and begin his new life.
Noach offers sacrifices, and Hashem establishes a brit never again to destroy humanity, with the rainbow as its sign. Hashem also commands respect for life, and 7 Noachide laws.
Soon Noach plants a vineyard and becomes drunk; Shem and Yafet act with honour, while Cham behaves shamefully and is cursed. Generations pass, and the people grow restless, building the Tower of Bavel. Hashem creates confusion, dispersing them throughout the land with many different languages. The parsha concludes with the introduction of Avram, journeying toward the land of Canaan.
Parsha Activity
Face to Face
Two players sit face-to-face and look into each other’s eyes. The first to blink, laugh, or look away “loses.” The longer you hold steady, the more you “win.” Feel free to change the rules! Try smiling without laughing, or doing the entire game with one eye closed. perhaps one player can make silly faces while the other cannot. Add more players in a circle to make your unflinching society just a bit more complicated! As you add and enforce rules, how does it feel to become lawmakers and judges?
A Story for the Ages
The Friends’ Dilemma
In a nearby school, Eli and Shelley are two best friends who share a very important secret. But now they face a dilemma. Their teacher tells them, “If you both keep the secret safe, you'll each get a B grade. If one of you tells me the secret while the other stays quiet, the one who told will get an A+ and the quiet one will get a D. If you both tell, you’ll each get a C. But here’s the tricky part - you can't discuss your decision with each other. You must decide what to do from opposite sides of the playground.”
Eli sat alone, wondering what to do: “I'm sure I can trust Shelley to keep the secret. At least, I'm almost sure... maybe 99% sure? So if we both stay quiet, we’ll pass, and no-one fails. That’s the best option for both of us... But what if she spills the secret? Should I tell too, just in case. That way, I definitely won’t lose out?”
Shelley was also considering the problem. If they both chose to tell, they would hurt each other, but at least no-one would get a failing grade. And if they both trusted each other and stayed quiet, they would both win higher grades... but there was also the possibility that someone would reach for that A+...
From opposite ends of the school playground, the two best friends each reached the same decision. They decided that no matter the prize, they couldn’t bear the idea of betraying the other. Shelley and Eli each chose
to stay silent. They each received a B grade, but also the feeling that their friendship was stronger than ever. And that, said Shelley, was “priceless”.
The lesson is simple. Trust and cooperation often bring better results than selfishness. Just as Noach’s story teaches us about justice and forgiveness, this story shows that life works best when we choose to work together, not against each other.
Cards & Conversation
Our Cards & Conversation packs include one card for every parsha. On one side, you’ll find an interesting question from the Torah to think about and discuss. Flip it over, and you’ll discover an idea from Rabbi Sacks that shines a new light on the parsha.
“Noach was a righteous man, a person of integrity in his generation.”
(Bereishit 6:9)
”All that God commanded him, he did.” (Bereishit 7:1) This week, Noach follows God’s commands but doesn’t speak out to warn or protect others.
1. Does that make him a bystander?
2. Can someone be a bystander and still be called righteous?
Rabbi Sacks on Bereishit 7:5 (in the Koren Sacks Humash) offers an answer:
“We must take a stand. We must protest. We must register dissent even if the probability of changing minds is small… because the moral life is a life we share with others.”
Find out more at
Parsha in Practice
Mitzva of the Week
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God He made man” (Bereishit 9:6).
This mitzva reminds us of the sacredness of life. Rabbi Sacks says it challenges us to see that all people are made in God’s image, and this shift is what makes society possible. After the Flood, Hashem gave humanity a new moral foundation: violence against another person is a violation not just of them, but of God Himself. “After the Flood, He taught Noach (and through him all humanity), that we should think, not of ourselves but of the human other as in the image of God. That is the only way to save ourselves from violence and self-destruction.”
“Creation of things is relatively easy, creation of relationships is hard.”
– Rabbi Sacks
Practically Speaking
What will you build?
Human life is precious, and it is forbidden to kill one another. But this mitzva reaches beyond the act of murder. It means we must be careful not to diminish life in other ways: with cruelty, with hurtful speech, or with indifference to another’s suffering. Instead, we are called upon to find meaning in our own life, and to build relationships of trust and respect with others. Remember that every encounter with another human being is also an encounter with the image of God.
Try it Out
Young students
Try using kind words, even when you’re upset. If you hurt someone’s feelings, say “I’m sorry,” or “how can I help you feel better?” When you see other people as precious to God, you’ll learn to treat others with care, and you’ll make the world a kinder place.
Advancing students
This notion challenges us to respect life in every form. It means learning to control anger and thinking before speaking or posting online. Ask yourself: “Am I lifting this person up or tearing them down?” Practise standing up for someone. Notice the good in people who are different from you. By choosing respect, you honour the image of God in them.
Learning in Layers
Guiding you through Torah step by step, with insights from the Koren Sacks Humash with translation and commentary by Rabbi Sacks. Each step takes us a little deeper and invites ‘Torah as Conversation,’ just as Rabbi Sacks taught.
Find out more about the Koren Sacks Humash
“Let us make bricks…”
(Bereishit 11:3)
“וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל-רֵעֵהוּ, הָבָה נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, וְנִשְׂרְפָה, לִשְׂרֵפָה... ”
“They [the people of Bavel] said to each other, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and let us bake them thoroughly.’ They used bricks for stone and tar for mortar.”
The Torah tells us the people of Bavel made bricks instead of using stone. Why focus on the material? Perhaps it shows their pride in a new invention. Perhaps it suggests that people can shape the world around them. Or maybe it suggests something about uniformity. The question remains: what do you think this choice really teaches us?
“Bricks are man-made, identical, and replaceable. Unlike natural stone, they symbolise uniformity and human control. The danger was not the tower itself but the mindset: people reducing themselves to interchangeable parts in a totalising society.”
Rabbi Sacks examines the symbol of the brick, and why the Torah chooses to specify the building materials. He then explains that the Torah is not just giving us a recipe for a new construction material. Rather, we are seeing first-hand the foundation that an unstable society was built on.
Add your own questions too and delve deeper into the meaning of the text by applying it to your own life...
A Living Book
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