Jonathan Sacks
Jonathan Sacks
Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks, Ktis a British rabbi, philosopher and scholar of Judaism...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionClergyman
Date of Birth8 March 1948
blessing differences curse
It is through exchange that difference becomes a blessing, not a curse.
life-changing government done
Much can and must be done by governments, but they cannot of themselves change lives.
share made
Happiness is not made by what we own. It is what we share.
prayer firsts fractals
The first of the request prayers in the daily Amidah is a fractal. It replicates in miniature the structure of the Amidah as a whole.
strong queens children
We know – it has been measured in many experiments – that children with strong impulse control grow to be better adjusted, more dependable, achieve higher grades in school and college and have more success in their careers than others. Success depends on the ability to delay gratification, which is precisely what a consumerist culture undermines. At every stage, the emphasis is on the instant gratification of instinct. In the words of the pop group Queen, “I want it all and I want it now.” A whole culture is being infantilised.
church england host
We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been a major force in shaping England into such a tolerant society.
government needs citizens
Governments cannot make marriages or turn feckless individuals into responsible citizens. That needs another kind of change agent.
europe blind-spots intellectual
God is back and Europe as a whole still doesn't get it. It is our biggest single collective cultural and intellectual blind spot.
self revolution moral
In virtually every Western society in the 1960s there was a moral revolution, an abandonment of its entire traditional ethic of self-restraint.
race age income
Religiosity turns out to be the best indicator of civic involvement: it's more accurate than education, age, income, gender or race.
causes purpose ought
Science will explain how but not why. It talks about what is, not what ought to be. Science is descriptive, not prescriptive; it can tell us about causes but it cannot tell us about purposes. Indeed, science disavows purposes.
demise century 18th-century
Since the 18th century, many Western intellectuals have predicted religion's imminent demise.
queens prayer blessing
Jews have deep respect for the Queen and the royal family. We say a prayer for them every Sabbath in synagogue. We recite a special blessing on seeing the Queen.
technology giving doe
Technology gives us power, but it does not and cannot tell us how to use that power. Thanks to technology, we can instantly communicate across the world, but it still doesn't help us know what to say.