The Power of Ideas

Overview

Commemorating the first anniversary of his death, this volume brings together a compelling selection of Jonathan Sacks’ BBC Radio Thought for the Day broadcasts, Credo columns from The Times, and a range of articles published in the world’s most respected newspapers, along with some of his House of Lords speeches and keynote lectures.

Index

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• 7/7 terrorist attack 68, 133-35
• 9/11 terrorist attacks 16, 68-69, 145-48, 264

A

• Abolition of Man, The (Lewis) 334
  • Abraham
    • arguing with God 46
    • calling 122
    • faith and journey 29, 215
    • God’s covenant with 301, 302, 305, 334
    • influence 99
    • law 270
    • love and forgiveness 66, 314
    • Sarah’s laughter 290
    • teaching children about God 125, 187, 336
• Abrahamic monotheisms 26, 66, 72, 171-73, 197, 199; see also Christianity/Christians; Islam/Muslims; Judaism/ Jews
• active citizenship 52, 59, 6o, 71, 97, 118-19, 143, 190, 193, 204; see also altruism; charity/ philanthropy; volunteering
• Adam and Eve 269, 333, 340-41
• Afghanistan 135, 146, 147, 32.6
• Africa 68, 69-70, 137, 163, 170, 197-99, 326
• After Virtue (MacIntyre) 146-47 ageing 49-50, 90
• Akiva, Rabbi 220, 234, 335
• Albania 245-46
• Alone Together (Turkle) 358
• alphabet 113-14
• altruism; see also active citizenship; charity/philanthropy; volunteering
  • life well lived 78, 79
  • moral code fostering 180-81, 204, 333-34
  • religion/faith fostering 12.9, 143, 155, 190, 192-93
  • sanctifying God’s name 38
  • society, creating strong 154, 2.04, 2.26-27, 298-99
  • as suffering transformed 69, 71, 90-91
• American Grace (Putnam and Campbell) 143, 155, 161
• amnesia, collective 55, 209
• anger 174, 176, 180, 299
• Anscombe, Elizabeth 250
• anti-Zionism 326, 352-56
• antisemitism; see also Holocaust; Judaism/Jews, persecution
  • in academia 138
  • in Britain 47-48, 51, 209-10, 249
  • cognitive failure 354-55
  • defining 351
  • denial 209, 353
  • in Europe 47, 51-52, 325, 326, 350-56
  • fear of difference 47, 325, 351, 355
  • mutations 209-10, 352-56
  • political extremism 47, 209
  • populist politics 47, 209-10
  • religious extremism 168-69, 170, 198-99, 201
  • in Russia 162
  • sign of cultural breakdown 209-10, 350
  • threat to all 350, 355, 356
• apologising 5, 33, 34, 119-20, 274
• Arab Spring 14, 36
• Areopagitica (Milton) 171
• Aristotle 181, 291, 317
• Armistice Day 83-85
• artificial intelligence 40, 345
• atheism 107, 128, 153-54, 260
• atonement 5, 6, 34, 274-75, 277-78, 312
• Attenborough, Sir David 49
• Auschwitz, Poland I0, 63, 80-81, 136, 138

B

• Balfour Declaration 205-6
• beliefs see faith, religious; freedom, religious; religion; rituals Bellah, Robert 147, 280
• ben Mahalalel, Akavia 214-15
• Benedict XVI, Pope 149, 308-9, 318, 328
• Berlin, Lady Aline 279, 280
• Berlin, Sir Isaiah
  • admiration for 279
  • clash of civilisations 284-85
  • convictions 66
  • freedom 281, 283, 293-94
  • funeral 280
  • history of ideas 282-83
  • liberalism 285-94
  • monotheism vs. monism 293
  • pluralism 283-94
  • power of ideas 281-82, 283
  • values, incompatibility of 284-85
• Bible translations 13-14, 253
• Biblical references
  • Torah (Hebrew Bible); see also Abraham; Joseph, Moses
    • Genesis 156-57, 305-6, 329
    • Genesis 92-94, 104, 156, 234, 332-33
    • Genesis 2 156,253, 257, 333, 340
    • Genesis 3 340, 341
    • Genesis 6 134
    • Genesis 9 268-69, 301, 302-3, 305-6
    • Genesis 11 292
    • Genesis 12 215
    • Genesis 17 301, 302
    • Genesis 18 125, 270, 290, 336
    • Genesis 21 124
    • Genesis 32 101-3
    • Genesis 45 329
    • Genesis 50 305-6, 329
    • Exodus 96, 157, 302, 330, 334
    • Exodus 3 213
    • Exodus 4 185, 217
    • Exodus 18 291
    • Exodus 19 217, 301
    • Exodus 19-24 301
    • Exodus 20 233, 239
    • Exodus 22 334
    • Exodus 23 51
    • Leviticus 151, 234, 268, 269, 312, 334
    • Numbers 232
    • Deuteronomy 6, 114, 125, 187, 207, 221, 241, 334, 336
    • Deuteronomy 19 267-68
    • Deuteronomy 26 301
    • Deuteronomy 28 220
    • Deuteronomy 30 70, 219
    • Deuteronomy 32 84-85
    • Deuteronomy 34 50
  • Nevi’im (Prophets)
    • Judges 216
    • Samuel 124
    • Kings 213
    • Isaiah 1 – 76, 237-38
    • Isaiah 2 – 287
    • Isaiah 5 – 105
    • Isaiah 6 – 17
    • Isaiah 11 – 292, 303, 330
    • Isaiah 54 – 12, 114, 125
    • Isaiah 58 – 311
    • Isaiah 59 – 125
    • Jeremiah – 17, 88, 135, 166, 289-90, 300, 315-16, 317, 324
    • Ezekiel – 268
    • Hosea – 12, 54, 62, I02, 217-18, 300, 335
    • Jonah – 17, 324
    • Micah – 232-33, 2.88
    • Zechariah – 220, 283
  • Ketuvim (Writings) Psalms 49, 50, 64, 117
    • Psalm 23 – II, 301, 314, 361
    • Psalm 104 – 81, 105
    • Psalm 118 – 282
    • Psalm 127 – 126
    • Psalm 128 – 233
    • Psalm 137 – 315
    • Psalm 150 – 32
    • Proverbs – 106, 289, 335
    • Job – 46, 64, 106
    • Song of Songs – 335
    • Ruth – 77-79, 124-25
    • Ecclesiastes – 88, 106, 237, 287 Esther 218
    • Ezra – 216, 317
    • Nehemiah – 216, 317
  • bin Laden, Osama 145, 146
  • biology, evolutionary 326, 333-34
  • birdsong 31-32
  • Black Swan, The (Taleb) 99-100
  • Blair, Tony 3, 136
  • blame, accepting see confessing sins; responsibility, accepting blame, denying see scapegoating
  • Blewitt, Mary Kayitesi 137
  • books 13, 113-15
  • Bosnia 68, 136, 163
  • boundaries, moral 227, 242, 269
  • brain reactions 154-55
  • Brief History of Time, A (Hawking) 124, 260
  • British Humanist Association 98
  • Brooks, David 54, 208
  • Brown, Gordon 59
  • Buber, Martin 270, 335
  • Burke, Edmund 84, 229, 259, 275-76
  • business 194-96, 237-38, 265; see also market economy

C

• Cambridge University 104, 249-50
• Cameron, David 74, 140
• capitalism 146, 149-52, 175, 194, 231, 265, 284, 347; see also market economy
• Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge 11-12, 124, 139
• change, negotiating 43-44, 76, 166-67, 208, 313-14
• Chanukah 153, 162, 164
• charity/philanthropy 59-60, 192.-93, 196, 234, 235, 241-42; see also active citizenship; altruism
• Charles, Prince of Wales 191, 310
• children; see also education; family; young people
  • birth 124-25, 332
  • commodification 255-56
  • information technology impacts 27, 41-42, 178
  • love for 126
  • mental and social illness 27, 111, 140-41, 178, 251, 338
• Christianity/Christians; see also Abrahamic monotheisms; Judeo-Christian heritage/ ethic
  • antisemitism 168-69, 304-5, 354-55
  • capitalism 149-50
  • as creative minority 318-19
  • Hebraic and Hellenistic voices 324-25, 326
  • Holy Land, claim to 197
  • interfaith relations see interfaith relations
  • Islam, debt to 171
  • Judaism, debt to 169, 328-29
  • Nostra Aetate 168-70, 308
  • otherworldliness 238-39
  • persecution 163, 170, 199, 201, 326
  • sectarianism 9, 75
• Civilization (Ferguson) 144
• clash of civilisations 284-85, 304
• climate change 92-94
• Closing of the American Mind, The (Bloom) 140
• co-existence 265-66, 285-93; see also tolerance/intolerance, religious
• co-operation 6o, 181, 265, 297-99
• Coddling of the American Mind, The (Haidt) 179
• commentaries 65, 317
• common good 25-26, 166, 175, 176, 177, 187, 195-96, 208, 348; see also altruism
• Communism 65, 1o8, 12.8, 146, 162, 163, 219, 229, 284
• community; see also society
  • building 10, 29, 111-12, 155, 158
  • decline III, II2, 141, 143, 160-61, 175, 299, 345
  • faith communities 189-91, 309
  • importance for human survival 226-27, 298-99
  • restorative justice 273-78
  • Sabbath’s importance to 160, 161
• compassion 12, 44, 71, 78, 173, 204, 265, 268, 300, 328, 335; see also kindness
• competition 6o, 232, 237, 297, 298, 299
• confessing sins 5, 119-20, 272; see also apologising; responsibility, accepting
• conscience 33, 278, 345, 346-48
• conservation 265
• consumerism 117, 142, 150, 176, 230, 235, 252-53, 254
• contracts 95-97, 259, 297
• coronavirus 55-56
• cosmopolitanism 108
• Council of Christians and Jews 15-16, 190-91, 306-7
• courage 68-69, 88, 246, 264
• covenantal goods 296-97
• covenantal virtues 328
• covenants 62, 95-97, 169, 216, 240, 257-58, 297-307, 316-17, 328-29, 334
• Creation 30, 92-94, 105, 233, 234, 255
• creative minorities 316, 317-19, 322-30
• creativity 156,264-65, 309
• Crick, Francis 98, 104
• criminal justice 267-78
• crises 5, 6, 101-3, 134, 150-51, 322

D

• Darwin, Charles 31, 43, 153, 154, 298
• debate 45-46
• debt, financial 141-42, 151, 345
• Decade of Jewish Renewal 220-25
• democracy 2.5-26, 35-36, 74-76, 143, 162-63, 174, 187, 345
• depression and unhappiness 63, 140-41, 178, 251, 299
• Descartes, René 113, 114, 308
• determinism 255, 272-73
• deterrence 267-68,271, 272, 273
• Devlin, Patrick, Baron 202
• dignity of difference 29, 262, 266, 303
• disagreement and debate 45-46
• diversity, religious 10, 109, 191, 266, 2.93, 303
• Donne, John 114-15, 125, 306
• doubt 66, 127
• dreaming 121
• Durkheim, Èmile 160-61, 180

E

• Eban, Abba 186
• education; see also learning
  • access 240-41
  • books 113-15
  • faith schools 110-12
  • moral code 227, 278
  • parental duty 114, 125, 187, 207, 221, 241, 336
  • renewal 221, 223
  • and strong society 187-88, 207-8, 217
• Egypt, modern 14, 25, 163, 198, 326
• Elizabeth II 189-91
• emotional intelligence 81
• emunah (faithfulness) 62, 280, 334
• equality 14, 36, 39, 96, 156, 240, 284, 333
• ethics 28, 142, 196, 229, 237-39, 251-52, 257-58, 271-73; see also moral code
• Ethics of the Fathers 214-15, 254
• Europe
  • antisemitism 47, 51-52, 163, 209, 325, 326, 350-56
  • market economy 142, 149-52
  • moral collapse 142, 149-52
  • religious wars/persecutions 9, 75
  • sectarianism 135
  • secularism 128, 172, 308, 318-19
• evil speech 28
• exile as punishment 269
• extremism 47-48, 172-73, 174, 176, 198, 313, 319, 346, 357, 360; see also terrorism

F

• failure 86-88; see also mistakes
• failure of imagination 128, 215, 217, 219, 321
• fairness 203, 328, 334
• faith communities 189-91, 309
• faith, religious; see also religion
  • building communities 10, 166, 190, 262
  • defining 129
  • differences of see interfaith relations; tolerance/intolerance, religious and fate 295-307
  • fear, removing II, 264, 301, 313-14, 361
  • fundamentals 65-67
  • and humility 128
  • impact on lives 29-30, 91
  • life meaningless without 127-28
  • and love 30, 117, 127
  • possibility, power of 100
  • probability 98-100
• faith schools 110-12
• faithfulness 62, 96, 169, 334-35
• family 141, 156-58, 203, 217-18, 240, 328, 336-39
• family time 42, 89, 122
• Fatal Conceit, The (Hayek) 226-31, 239, 242, 243, 244
• fear 47-48, 102, 166, 245-46, 313, 355, 357, 358; see also terrorism
• forgiveness
  • divine 87-88, 127, 246-47, 274-75, 306, 314
  • human 30, 34, 54, 90, 119-20, 158, 245-48, 305, 306, 309, 329-30, 334
• France 3, 47, 51-52, 195, 352
• Francis, Pope 169, 328-29
• Frankle, Viktor 63, 122, 181
• free speech 27-28, 45, 171-72, 179
• free will 99, 272, 303
• freedom 48, 66-67, 102, 143, 187-88, 199, 232-33, 281-94, 343-44
• Freedom and Its Betrayal (Berlin) 293-94
• freedom, religious 9-10, 163-64, 200-201
• Freud, Sigmund 142, 272, 278
• Fukuyama, Francis 146, 162-63, 229
• fundamentalism 65-67

G

• genetic engineering 255, 272-73
• globalisation 3-6, 195, 264, 304, 342-43
• Glover, Jonathan 282
• God
  • belief in see faith, religious; religion
  • changelessness in heaven 37-38
  • Creation see Creation
  • discovering 261-62
  • Divine presence 38, 129, 220-21, 312-, 337
  • ever-presence 44, 103, 316
  • faithfulness 169, 316-17, 328-29
  • found in calm 72, 312
  • fundamentals 66
  • human actions honoring/ desecrating 38, 73, 119, 164, 172-73, 199, 307
  • as Judge 274
  • as Lawgiver and subject to law 270
  • power 128
  • probability 98-100
  • property as loan from 94, 241
  • sovereignty 316
  • as writer 115
• God-humanity relationship
  • arguments 46
  • covenants 169, 300-301, 302-3, 305-6, 316-17, 328-29, 334-35
  • creation, partners in 234, 255, 264-65
  • father-child relationship 124, 125, 217-18, 261
  • forgiveness 3o, 87-88, 119-20, 274-75, 314
  • humanity as God’s image 4, 26, 29-30, 36, 39, 52, 104, 156, 158, 164, 262, 332-33
  • love 4, 11-12, 30, 117, 120, 125, 127, 261, 314, 334
  • personal 13, 312-13
  • prayer and communication 64, 80-82, 117, 213, 335
  • thankfulness 53, 116
• Gorbachev, Mikhail 162
• Gray, John 283-84, 285-86
• Great Partnership, The (Sacks) 337
• Greece, Ancient 25, 33, 36, 104, 128, 159, 203, 253, 254
• greed 5-6
• grief 81, 134, 136, 137
• Guide for the Perplexed, The (Maimonides) 171
• guilt 33-34, 119, 272

H

• Ha’am, Achad 161, 2.40, 254
• Ha’amsoni, Rabbi Shimon 105
• ‘habits of the heart’ 187, 280
• Hamas 198, 205-6
• happiness 18, 78, 118-20. 121-22, 260
• hate 48, 69, 136-38, 173, 199, 209-10; see also antisemitism; racism
• Hawking, Stephen 124, 260
• Hayek, Friedrich 39, 226-31, 239, 242, 243, 244, 339
• Hellenism 104, 216, 324-25, 326, 327
• Herder, Johann 284
• Hertz, Chief Rabbi Joseph 15, 190, 306
• Hezbollah 198, 205-6
• Hirschell, Chief Rabbi Solomon 312
• history 55, 99, 282-83, 343
• Holocaust 7-8, 15, 47, 80-81, 136-37, 138, 165, 168, 205, 248, 302
• Holocaust Memorial Day 7-8, 136
• Holocaust survivors 29, 63, 122, 137
• homosexuality 339
• honesty 5, 6, 33-34, 119-20, 195
• hope 8, 44, 91, 175-76, 317
• human dignity 28, 156, 195-96, 256, 262, 328
• human life, sanctity of 303, 304, 326, 328
• human rights 26, 156, 163-64, 200-201, 353
• humanity; see also God-humanity relationship
  • defining 257
  • Midrash of angels’ debate 290
  • smallness 20, 72, 260-61
  • social animal 156, 298-99, 358
  • Universe, stewardship of 19-20, 94, 265
• Hume, David 87, 236
• humility 75, 128, 228-29

I

• IBM 87
• Ibn Khaldun 171, 320
• ideas 281-83
• identity 21, 44, 107-9, 166, 179, 230-31, 282-83, 318, 343, 359-60
• immigration 165-67, 359-60
• imperialism 284, 323-24
• improbabilities 98-100
• individualism 55, 143, 155, 160-61, 203, 275-76
• inequalities 39-40, 332
• In Flanders Fields (McCrae) 85
• influence 17, 247
• information technology
  • benefits 14
  • dangers 27, 41-42, 138, 139, 158, 166, 176, 178, 198, 200, 304, 358-59
  • outsourcing of memory 343
  • printing press 13
  • screen Sabbath 42
• insecurity 166-67, 313, 342
• instability 138, 178, 180, 195, 342
• Interfaith Network 191, 192
• interfaith relations 9-10, 15-16, 37, 168-70, 190-91, 308-9
• International Academy of Humanism 256-57
• invention and innovation 233, 236
• Isaac, Jules 168, 169
• Isaiah Berlin (Gray) 283-84
• Islam/Muslims; see also Abrahamic monotheisms
  • debt to 171
  • ethnic cleansing 326
  • Holy Land, claim to 197
  • inner-directed personality 346
  • interfaith relations 16
  • Israel, refusal to recognise 198, 205-6
  • modern turbulence 319
  • monotheism 289
  • persecution 51, 201
  • religious extremism 170, 198, 199
• Israel, State of 197, 198-99, 205-6, 216-17, 218-19, 220-21, 222, 225, 321, 326, 351, 353
• iterated prisoner’s dilemma 265, 298, 333-34

J

• Jacob 101-3
• Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi Immanuel 213-14
• James I 13-14
• James, Oliver 252
• Jefferson, Thomas 51, 344
• Jesner, Yoni 69
• John Paul II, Pope 169, 328
• John XXIII, Pope 168, 169, 328, 329
• Joseph 194, 232, 305-6, 329-30
• Judaism/Jews; see also Abrahamic monotheisms; Israel, State of; Judeo-Christian heritage/ ethic
  • Britain, indebtedness to 165-66, 185-86, 203-4, 249-50
  • as creative minority 317, 322-24
  • daily renewal of covenant 12, 54, 62, 300, 335
  • Decade of Jewish Renewal 220-25
  • Elizabeth II’s kindness to 190
  • endurance 99, 216, 254, 283, 327, 336, 346, 360
  • exile 75, 219, 289, 315-17, 336
  • faithfulness 169, 328-29, 334-35
  • Holy Land, claim to 197, 205, 217
  • identity 44, 220, 282-83, 36o
  • interfaith relations see interfaith relations
  • outcomes of arrivals in Promised Land 216, 218-19
  • persecution 162, 168-69, 198-99, 246, 249-50, 304-5, 325, 326, 356; see also antisemitism; Holocaust
  • sectarianism 75, 218
• Judeo-Christian heritage/ethic 36, 87-88, 142, 144, 149-50, 155, 158, 233, 325, 326, 330
• Just Six Numbers (Rees) 93
• justice 12, 25, 39, 46, 173, 203, 267-78, 291, 300, 328

K

• Kahneman, Daniel 154
• Kahnm, Mohammad Sidique 134
• Kant, Immanuel 287
• Keywords (Williams) 271
• kindness 18, 37, 38, 77-79,129, 165-67
• King James Bible 13-14
• knowledge 20, 62, 105-6, 113-15, 264
• Kosovo 245-46

L

• labour, respect for 123, 195-96, 233-34
• Landes, David 232-33
• law 93-94, 195, 270, 275, 278
• law of comparative advantage 196
• Leach, Penelope 336-37
• leadership 17-18, 23-24, 213, 222-23, 264, 311-14
• learning 50, 86-88, 90, 221; see also education
• Leviathan (Hobbes) 275
• liberalism 66, 67, 284, 285-87, 289, 292-93, 319
• liberty see freedom
• libraries 113, 114
• life, meaning of 89-90, 107, 122
• life, sanctity of 67, 69, 70, 255, 303, 328
• life, worthwhile 121-23
• limits 160
• Lincoln, Abraham 5-6, 25
• listening 46, 63-64, 76, 90, 186
• literacy 113
• Living Dangerously (Graef) 276
• Locke, John 9, 343-44
• Logotherapy 63
• loneliness 62, 158
• love
  • and faith 117, 127, 129
  • for family 11-12, 53-54, 61-62, 116, 125-26, 334, 337-38, 340-41
  • in God-humanity relationship 4, 11-12, 30, 117, 120, 222, 261, 314, 334
  • and human purpose 67
  • for life 49-50, 116
  • for others see altruism; kindness; volunteering
  • renewing 221, 222
• loyalty 84, 280

M

• McCrae, John 85
• MacIntyre, Aladsair 146-47, 249
• Maimonides, Moses 119, 171, 196, 234, 289, 317
• Maimonides, Rabbi Abraham 171
• Man in the Shadows (Halevy) 134
• Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl) 122
• market economy; see also capitalism
  • competition 6o, 297
  • dangers 149-52, 243-44, 255-56
  • Judeo-Christian heritage 149-50
  • limitations 326
  • and moral code 175, 180, 194-95, 226-27, 237-38, 244, 344
  • and society 194-96
  • and traditions 230
  • trust 347
  • wealth 60, 296
• marriage
  • Biblical basis 333, 340-41
  • decline 175, 203, 218, 326, 338-39, 345
  • importance 11-12, 61-62, 240, 337
• mediation 273, 275, 2.77, 291
• memory
  • collective 21-22, 44, 84, 136-37
  • outsourcing 343
  • vs. history 343
• mercy 268
• Middle East 13, 36, 163, 197-99, 201, 326, 330, 354, 355; see also Israel, State of
• Mill, John Stuart 25, 171, 228
• minorities 25, 135, 309, 315-30
• Minority Report (Spielberg) 272
• Mirvis, Chief Rabbi Ephraim 29, 310-14
• mistakes 5, 6, 33-34, 65-66, 87, 119-20
• Mitzvah Day 37
• monism 293
• monogamy 333
• monotheism 270, 293, 303, 316, 333
• Montefiore, Sir Moses 59, 241
• moral agency 272
• moral code
  • aspirations 257-58
  • and economy 150, 151-52, 194-96, 226-27, 244
  • `fatal conceit’ 227-28
  • and freedom 343-44
  • loss 135, 140, 141-42, 146-48, 150, 172., 177-78, 180, 202-3, 318, 320, 348
  • love, basis in 334
  • outsourcing 180, 342-49
  • preserved in religion 228-29, 231
  • recovering 348-49
  • and society 142-43, 144, 177-81, 202-4, 343-44
  • teaching 142-43, zo8, 2.2.7
• moral failure 151
• moral limits of power 25-26
• moral relativism 203
• Moran, Caitlin 113, 114
• Morris, Desmond 49
• Moses
  • arguing with God 46
  • education 114, 125, 187, 207, 336
  • energy in old age 50
  • hate, letting go of 48
  • leadership 23, 122, 232, 291
  • life and death choice 70
  • memory, collective 84-85
  • self-doubts 17, 88, 213
  • speeches 185
• multiculturalism 175-76, 179, 247
• Murdoch, Iris 117
• Muslims see Islam/Muslims
• myths 93, 260

N

• nationalism 55, 108, 176, 198, 200, 355
• natural disasters 71-73
• natural selection 31-32, 153-54, 298
• nature 19-20, 31-32, 71-73, 81, 92-94, 235, 265
• Nazis 7, 15, 65, 138; see also Holocaust
• Netziv (Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin) 291-92
• neuroscience 118-19, 154
• Newman, John Henry Cardinal 308
• Noah 134, 233, 301, 302-3, 305-6, 334
• North Africa 197-99
• Nostra Aetate 168-70, 308
• Not in God’s Name (Sacks) 172, 173
• Novak, Michael 149-50, 231, 238-39

O

• Obama, Barack 95, 96-97
  • Old Masters and Young Geniuses (Galenson) 49-50
• On Heaven and Earth (Francis and Skorka) 328
• On Liberty (Mill) 171
• Orwell, George 45, 176, 179
• Othering 108-9, 138, 172-73, 179, 227

P

• Palestinians 69, 198, 199, 205-6
• parenthood 124-26, 332, 336
• Parris, Matthew 196
• passion, following one’s 121-22
• Passover (Pesach) 21-22, 259, 283 patriotism 176
• Paul VI, Pope 168-70
• peace 56, 135, 166, 198, 245, 247, 248, 287-93, 315-16, 327
• Pearl, Judea 69
• philanthropy see charity/ philanthropy
• philosemitism 221
• philosophy 250, 282, 317
• physical fitness 118-19
• Plamenatz, John 66
• Plato 174, 270
• pluralism 283-94
• political correctness 175, 179, 346
• politics
  • of anger 174, 176
  • competition 6o, 297
  • covenantal 97
  • defining 296
  • extremism 47-48, 176, 346, 360
  • of fear 47-48, 138, 179-80, 355
  • of hate 209-10, 355
  • of hope 97, 175-76
  • liberalism 285-86
  • of power 25, 247
  • pressure groups 135
  • and religion 74-76, 128, 200
  • tyranny 25, 74, 174
• Politics of Hope, The (Sacks) 280
• polygamy 332, 333
• polytheism 270
• poverty 39-40, 69-70, 140, 149, 194, 235, 304, 338, 345
• power
  • dangers 25-26, 270, 323-24
  • hierarchies 332
  • of ideas 281-82, 283
  • politics of 25-26, 247
  • of prayer 80
  • and religion 128
  • secularisation/de-secularisation 197-98
  • the State 60, 96, 180, 296
  • vs. influence 17-18, 247, 323, 325
• Power of Ideas, The (Berlin) 281-82
• praise for others 53-54, 89, 224
• prayer 80-82, 117
• Prelude, The (Wordsworth) 125
• pressure groups 135
• prevention, punishment as 271, 272
• printing press 13
• probability theory 100
• property 232-33, 241
• prophets 17, 100, 119, 236, 287-88, 317
• Protestant Ethic and the Spirt of Capitalism (Weber) 231
• punishment of criminals 267-69, 271, 272-73
• purpose 89-90, 107, 122
• Putnam, Robert 143, 144, 155, 160, 161, 175, 192-93

R

• Rabinovitch, Rabbi Nachum 214
• racism 51-52, 108; see also antisemitism
• rain 19, 20
• Ratzinger, Cardinal Joseph 318, 325
• Rawls, John 286
• reciprocity 268-71, 274, 299, 334
• reconciliation 245-48, 305, 307, 329-30
• Rees-Mogg, William 242
• rehabilitation 268, 271, 272-73
• Reigning Error, The (Rees-Mogg) 242
• relationships 156, 160, 161, 274, 277, 358-59; see also community; covenants; family; marriage
• religion; see also faith, religious; freedom, religious; interfaith relations; tolerance/ intolerance, religious
  • altruism 129, 143, 155, 190, 192-93
  • co-operation 265, 299
  • commodification 231
  • community 154-55, 157, 158
  • decline 142, 153, 299
  • endurance 154, 262-63
  • etymology 265, 299
  • explaining why of Universe 128-29, 337
  • and identity 107-9
  • influence 247
  • loss 252, 320
  • moral code 142-43, 144, 158, 228-29, 231
  • natural world, celebrating 19
  • and politics 74-76, 128, 200
  • and public life 3
  • repentance 65-66
  • and science 104-6, 320
  • and society 320
  • values 176
  • violence in name of 38, 73, 163, 170, 172-73, 198, 199, 319; see also terrorism
  • vs. beliefs 21
• Remembrance Sunday 83-85
• renewal 122-23, 221-25
• repentance 5, 65-66, 119-20; see also atonement
• Republic (Plato) 270, 292
• resolutions 89-91
• respect for others 28, 45-46, 62, 95, 170, 173, 187, 221, 334; see also tolerance/intolerance, religious
• responsibility
  • accepting 5, 6, 33-34, 65-66, 87, 119-20, 273
  • collective 96, 166, 176, 177, 204, 208, 360
  • denying 134-35, 141
  • shifting 5, 355; see also scapegoating
• restorative justice 273-77
• retaliation 133, 270
• retribution 268, 272, 273, 274
• revelation 105-6
• revenge 268, 270, 275
• Ricardo, David 196, 342
• right not be offended 179
• Ringelblum, Emanuel 7-8
• riots 139-42
• risks, willingness to take 87, 88, 102, 347
• rituals 21-22, 90, 111-12, 240
• Roman Empire 75, 159, 203, 254, 284
• Rosh Hashanah 223, 311
• Royal Wedding 11-12
• Russell, Bertrand 279-80
• Rwanda 137, 163

S

• Sabbath (Shabbat) 42, 122-23, 151, 159-61, 220, 233, 239-40, 253-54, 336-37
• Sacks, Chief Rabbi Jonathan, Baron
  • Chief Rabbi, induction as 213
  • Chief Rabbi mantle, passing on 29, 310-14
  • family background 157, 165, 185, 186
  • marriage 53, 61, 358
• Sacks, Lady Elaine 53, 61, 2.15, 358
• Sacks, Louis David 29, 81, 157, 185, 186, 215
• Sacks, Louisa 157, 185, 215
• Samuel 233
• Scalfari, Eugenio 169, 328
• scapegoating 5, 47-48, 119, 135, 138, 166, 179, 198-99, 209, 312, 350, 354-55
• schools 110-12, 187-88, 208
• Schumpeter, Joseph 66
• science
  • ethics 251-52
  • explaining how of Universe 19-20, 30, 105, 128-29, 337
  • improbability of the Universe 98-100
  • limitations 326
  • reductivism 256-57
  • and religion 104-6, 260, 320
  • utilitarianism 271-73
• scientific method 104, 105
• sectarianism 135, 163, 179, 218
• secularism 1 10, 149, 172, 200, 308, 318, 319, 346
• self-criticism 6
• self-interest 55, 140, 147, 150, 154, 177, 193, 203, 208, 236, 270, 357-58
• separation of church and state 3, 75, 143
• Serbia 245-46
• service to others see altruism
• sexual reproduction 331
• shame 33-34
• Shavuot (Pentecost) 77-78
• Shechinah (Divine presence) 220-21
• Sherbourne House 276
• shofar horn 311
• Shuweikh, Asma 51, 52
• silence, moments of 73, 90
• single-parent families 140-41, 338
• Smith, Adam 150, 236, 344
• social capital 143, 155, 16o, 161, 265, 299
• social contracts 96, 201, 297
• social engineering 271
• social justice 39, 40
• social media 27-28, 41-42, 158, 178, 358
• socialism 2.30, 243
• society; see also community; responsibility, collective
  • and altruism 154, 204, 226-27, 298-99
  • defining 84
  • and education 187-88, 207-8, 217
  • good 39-40, 249-63
  • and market economy 194-96, 229
  • and moral code 177-81, 202-4, 343-44
  • and religion 143, 155, 309, 320
• solidarity 69-70, 72, 226-27, 303
• Soloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph 301-2
• Soviet Union 35, 146, 162, 219, 229-30, 319
• Spengler, Oswald 318
• State, the 60, 96, 180, 259-60, 296, 344-45
• Story of Civilization, The (Durant) 320
• Study of History, A (Toynbee) 321-2.2
• Success Built to Last (Porras, Emery and Thompson) 86
• success, path to 86-87
• suffering 55, 64, 69, 71, 81, 90-91, 137
• suicides 27, 178
• Succot (Tabernacles) 19-20, 313
• Swansea synagogue 16

T

• Talmud 105, 114, 195, 233-34, 237, 317, 335
• Tann, Leonard 16
• teachers 187-88, 223; see also education
• technology 40, 41, 42, 250-51, 326; see also information technology
• teenagers see young people
• Temple, Archbishop William 15, 190, 306
• temporal reorientation 271
• terrorism 16, 37, 68-70, 134-35, 145-48, 170, 264
• thankfulness 53, 81, 84, 89, 116, 118
• Thatcher, Margaret 23-24
• theological studies 201
• Theory of Moral Sentiments, The (Smith) 344
• 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense (Brooks) 99
• time, linear 236
• Tocqueville, Alexis de 3, 74, 143, 144, 157, 187, 280
• tolerance/intolerance, religious 3-6, 9-10, 37, 66-67, 136-37, 163, 164, 170, 265-66, 288-89, 292, 326; see also interfaith relations
• totalitarianism 272, 292
• Tower of Babel 291-92
• Toynbee, Arnold 318, 321-22, 324
• traditions 228, 229, 230
• Treatise of Human Nature, A (Hume) 87
• trust 127, 151-52, 299
• truth 45, 46, 290-91
• Turing, Alan 339
• Twenge, Jean 178
• Two Faces of Liberalism, The (Gray) 285-86
• Tyndale, William 13
• tyranny 25, 174

U

• uncertainty 102, 264, 313
• unemployment 40, 195, 196
• unhappiness 63, 111, 140-41, 178, 251, 299
• United Nations 39, 163, 197-98, 200-201, 245-48
• United States
  • 9/11 terrorist attacks 16, 68-69, 145-48, 264
  • altruism 192-93
  • Civil War 5-6
  • covenant 95, 96
  • Declaration of Independence 156, 360
  • depression and unhappiness 178
  • free speech, assault on 179
  • identity 359
  • Obama’s inaugural address 95, 96-97
  • politics of anger 175
  • presidential elections 35
  • racism 51
  • religion 3, 143, 153
  • social inequalities 39-40
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN) 200-201
• Universe
  • Creation see Creation
  • humanity as stewards 19-20, 94, 265
  • impersonal vs. personal views 260-61
  • improbability 98-100
  • integrity 303, 304
  • religion explaining why 30, 128-29
  • science explaining how 19-20, 30, 105, 128-29, 337
  • structure 92-93, 105
• utilitarianism 271-73

V

• values 44, 90, 111, 160, 172, 202-4, 284-85, 290-91, 309
• Vatican II 168-70, 308, 328
• victimhood 138, 179, 354, 355
• violence 38, 73, 139, 142, 163, 170, 172, 199, 270, 299; see also terrorism
• virtue see moral code
• vocation 121-22
• volunteering 59, 60, 77-79, 142-43, 193

W

• Warsaw Ghetto, Poland 7-8
• Watson, Thomas 87
• wealth 60, 180, 194, 234, 235, 296, 300
• Wealth and Poverty of Nations, The (Landes) 232-33
• Weber, Max 93, 149, 229, 231, 235, 347
• Welby, Archbishop Justin 37, 202
• welfare state 56, 193
• Why Us? (Fanu) 99
• William, Prince, Duke of Cambridge 11-12, 124, 139
• Williams, Archbishop Rowan 136, 190, 295
• Williams, Sir Bernard 45-46, 186
• Wilson, E. O. 257-58
• Windsor Castle 258
• wisdom 19, 20, 91, 104-5, 106
• Wittgenstein, Ludwig 250
• words 27, 28, 80
• Wordsworth, William 18, 32, 125
• World War I 55, 83, 85
• World War II 56; see also Holocaust worship 296
• worth, personal 59, 243

Y

• Yitzhak, Rabbi Levi 253-54
• Yom HaShoah 136
• Yom Kippur 5, 274, 312
• young people; see also children
  • advice for worthwhile life 121
  • IT impacts 27, 41, 178
  • moral collapse impacts 111, 139, 140-41, 142, 251, 276-77, 338
  • unemployment 195, 196