Rabbi Sacks speaks to students of the Philos Project

The Fewest of All Peoples (Va’etchanan 5781)

Buried inconspicuously in this week’s parsha is a short sentence with explosive potential, causing us to think again about both the nature of Jewish history and the Jewish task in the present Moses had been reminding the new generation, the children of those who left Egypt, of the extraordinary story of which they are the heirs: Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has... Read more

The keys to understanding American anti-Semitism — and fighting back (published by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

The last two festivals to be added to the Jewish calendar prior to modern times — Purim and Hanukkah — are both about anti-Semitism There is one obvious difference between them: Haman, of the Purim story, wanted to kill Jews Antiochus, of the Hanukkah story, wanted to kill Judaism It was the difference between Nazi Germany and Soviet Communism But there is another difference that has... Read more