The Summary This summary is adapted from this week’s main Covenant & Conversation essay by Rabbi Sacks. What made Avraham so special? He has one of the most well-known names in history. But people usually become famous for ruling empires, performing amazing acts, or leading vast crowds of followers. Instead, Avraham’s legacy lives on through the billions of people alive…
Is character strictly personal – either you are or aren’t calm, courageous, charismatic – or does culture have a part to play? Does when and where you live make a difference to the kind of person you become? That was the question posed by three great American-Jewish sociologists, David Reisman, Nathan Glazer and Reuel Denney in their 1950 classic, The…
Within the first words that God addresses to the bearer of a new covenant, there are already hints as to the nature of the heroism he would come to embody. The multi-layered command “Lech lecha” – “go forth” contains the seeds of Abraham’s ultimate vocation. Rashi, following an ancient exegetic tradition, translates the phrase as “Journey for yourself.”[1] According to…
“God said to Abram: ‘leave your land, your birthplace and your father’s house and go to the land I will show you.’” These words are among the most consequential in the history of humankind. In that very moment a new faith was born, one that has lasted for two thirds of the course of civilisation and remains young and vigorous…
The Summary This is an abridged version of the essay The Power of Example written by Rabbi Sacks in 2011. Until Lech Lecha, the Torah focused on all of humanity. Adam, Chava, Kayin, and Hevel are human archetypes. The first pair represent the tensions between husband and wife, the latter the rivalry between siblings. Then comes another pair of stories…