…happens at most once in a hundred years? I think we should learn the following things, three things. Number one, the ‘we’ of global solidarity, which is my translation for brit bnei noach, the Noachide covenant that God made with all of us. I don’t know any moment in my lifetime when the whole world faced the same problem at…
…that one of the greatest blessings of my life.” Rabbi Sacks also offered this longer reflection on the impact of Rabbi Rabinovitch: https://youtu.be/zuwiq8Ocr2g Here we highlight three of Rabbi Sacks’ Covenant & Conversation essays that were inspired by Rabbi Nachum Rabinovitch: The Courage to Live with Uncertainty (Noach) The Heroism of Tamar (Vayeshev) My Teacher: In Memoriam (Matot – Masei)…
…the mighty hero we see at the end, “his sight undimmed, his natural energy unabated.” A leader is one who, though they may stumble and fall, arises more honest, humble and courageous than they were before. [1] See Tanchuma (Buber), Noach, 4, s.v. eleh, on the basis of Amos 2:6, “They sold the righteous for silver.” [2] Mishneh Torah, Hilchot…
…Babylonian exile) the Jews. Bereishit Noach Lech Lecha Vayera Chayei Sarah Toldot Vayetse Vayishlach Vayeshev Mikketz Vayigash Vayechi Shemot (Exodus) The book of Exodus – Shemot – is the West’s meta-narrative of hope. It tells an astonishing story of how a group of slaves were liberated from the mightiest empire of the ancient world. Theologically, its message is even more…
…Noach, ish tzaddik, having lived through a Shoah, through the mabbul, wanted to get drunk and forget everything. We know this from Yosef Hatzaddik himself who, having lived through the trauma of being separated from the world of his parents, also wished to forget. He called his firstborn Menasheh – ‘ki nashani Elokim et kol amali ve’et kol beit avi’…
…Christianity or Islam, both of whom borrowed so much from us, failed to borrow the very issue that you raise: what do we concern ourselves with? The universal or the particular? The short answer is Judaism is the only religion, the only civilisation of the world, that has had precise commitments to both. The Brit B’nai Noach that we read…
…Torah Bereishit 9:8-17 Bereishit 17:1-7 Core Questions Why does God make a covenant with humanity through Noach? Why does the Torah tell us about it? Why does God make a specific particular covenant with Avraham? What do these two covenants have to do with Torah and chochmah (general wisdom)? The Two Names of God God has two names. In fact,…
The Torah sets a high standard for the moral life. It is not enough to be righteous if that means turning our backs on a society that is guilty of wrongdoing. We must take a stand. We must protest. We must register dissent even if the probability of changing minds is small. That is because the moral life is a…
…chariots, prove to be his undoing, as their wheels sink into the mud. The key to the plagues – as in God’s covenant with Noach – is the principle of reciprocity: ‘As you do, so shall you be done to.’ Those who harm others will themselves be harmed. Nations that begin by depriving others of their liberty in the end…
…to Cain – Learning to live with guilt 26 October 2022 – Noach Rabbi Shai Finkelstein: Hope and disappointment 2 November 2022 – Lech Lecha Dr Tanya White: Avraham and the burning palace – The problem of evil 9 November 2022 – Vayera Gila Sacks: On protests and parenthood 16 November 2022 – Chayei Sara Rabbi Dr Daniel Rose: The…