SUPPORT OUR WORK >
Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube WhatsApp Soundcloud LinkedIn
Life & Impact
Books
Torah
> Commentary > Festivals > Jewish Thought
Moral Voice
> Articles > Broadcasts > Speeches > Podcasts > Conversations
Educational Resources
> Curriculum Resources > Teaching Resources > Quotes > Animations > Book Indexes > Family Editions
Videos
News & Updates
Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube WhatsApp Soundcloud LinkedIn
Support Our Work >
Life Books Torah Moral Voice Resources Videos News
 
Commentary Festivals Jewish Thought
Articles Broadcasts Speeches Podcasts Conversations
Curriculum Resources Teaching Resources Quotes Animations Book Indexes Family Editions
Home
> Books
> Letters to the Next Generation: Reflections for Yom Kippur
Books

Letters to the Next Generation
Reflections for Yom Kippur

Publication date: 1 September 2009
pamphlet covers 1

Published to coincide with Yom Kippur 2009/5770, this collection offers reflections on the key themes of the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, written by the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks to two fictional students, Sara and David.

The booklet is dedicated in memory of Susi and Fred Bradfield z”l who, in their lifetime, instilled in their children and grandchildren a deep love of Judaism and the importance of its values. Their commitment to Judaism, the Jewish people and to Israel has remained an inspiration to their family and to all who knew them. Their lives were “letters to the next generation”. May their memory always be for a blessing.

The introduction can be read below. A secondary booklet, Letters to the Next Generation 2: Reflections on Jewish Life, is also available.

Yom Kippur is the day of days, when we give an account of our lives.We reflect on what has happened to us and what we plan to do in the coming year. To help this process I’ve written some thoughts that may evoke reflections of your own, for each of us must make his or her own decisions and no one can make them for us.

I’ve cast them in the form of letters written by a father to his children who’ve just become parents in their own right. I’ve done so because it’s a way of discussing the big decisions that shape the rest of our life for us and those close to us. They are fictional letters, but the issues they raise are real.

Not all of us are married; not all are blessed with children; yet we can each make a unique contribution to the Jewish people by the life we lead and the kindness we show to others. Rashi wrote: “The main descendants of the righteous are their good deeds”. Every good deed is like a child.

The single most important lesson of Yom Kippur is that it’s never too late to change, start again, and live differently from the way we’ve done in the past. God forgives every mistake we’ve made so long as we are honest in regretting it and doing our best to put it right. Even if there’s nothing we regret, Yom Kippur makes us think about how to use the coming year in such a way as to bring blessings into the lives of others by way of thanking God for all He has given us.

May God bless all of us for the coming year. May He hear and heed our prayers. May He forgive us and help us forgive others. May He grant you, your family, and the Jewish people throughout the world, a year of health and peace and life.

Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks

Tishrei 5770

  • Download now

Formats

  • Booklet

SHARE

Link copied!  
pamphlet covers 1
  • Download now

Formats

  • Booklet

SHARE

Link copied!  
 
Books

Letters to the Next Generation
Reflections for Yom Kippur

Publication date: 1 September 2009

Published to coincide with Yom Kippur 2009/5770, this collection offers reflections on the key themes of the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, written by the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks to two fictional students, Sara and David.

The booklet is dedicated in memory of Susi and Fred Bradfield z”l who, in their lifetime, instilled in their children and grandchildren a deep love of Judaism and the importance of its values. Their commitment to Judaism, the Jewish people and to Israel has remained an inspiration to their family and to all who knew them. Their lives were “letters to the next generation”. May their memory always be for a blessing.

The introduction can be read below. A secondary booklet, Letters to the Next Generation 2: Reflections on Jewish Life, is also available.

Yom Kippur is the day of days, when we give an account of our lives.We reflect on what has happened to us and what we plan to do in the coming year. To help this process I’ve written some thoughts that may evoke reflections of your own, for each of us must make his or her own decisions and no one can make them for us.

I’ve cast them in the form of letters written by a father to his children who’ve just become parents in their own right. I’ve done so because it’s a way of discussing the big decisions that shape the rest of our life for us and those close to us. They are fictional letters, but the issues they raise are real.

Not all of us are married; not all are blessed with children; yet we can each make a unique contribution to the Jewish people by the life we lead and the kindness we show to others. Rashi wrote: “The main descendants of the righteous are their good deeds”. Every good deed is like a child.

The single most important lesson of Yom Kippur is that it’s never too late to change, start again, and live differently from the way we’ve done in the past. God forgives every mistake we’ve made so long as we are honest in regretting it and doing our best to put it right. Even if there’s nothing we regret, Yom Kippur makes us think about how to use the coming year in such a way as to bring blessings into the lives of others by way of thanking God for all He has given us.

May God bless all of us for the coming year. May He hear and heed our prayers. May He forgive us and help us forgive others. May He grant you, your family, and the Jewish people throughout the world, a year of health and peace and life.

Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks

Tishrei 5770

Related Books

pamphlet covers

Letters to the Next Generation 2

Reflections on Jewish Life
Tell me More >
pamphlet covers 3

A Judaism Engaged with the World

Tell me More >
10 days 10 ways cover 10 paths

Ten Days, Ten Ways

Paths to the Divine Presence
Tell me More >
ko 3452 1 e1639522273395

The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur Machzor

Tell me More >
Jonathan Sacks, The Rabbi Sacks Legacy
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
WhatsApp
Soundcloud
LinkedIn

Life & Impact

  • Biography
  • Timeline
  • Image Gallery
  • Tributes
  • Personal Reflections

Books & Audio

  • All Books
  • Book Indexes
  • Audiobooks
  • Music

Torah Teachings

  • Covenant & Conversation
  • Jewish Festivals
  • Jewish Thought

Morality & Ethics

  • Articles
  • Broadcasts
  • Speeches
  • Podcasts
  • Conversations

Educational Resources

  • Curriculum Resources
  • Teaching Resources

Quotes

  • All Quotes

Family Editions

  • Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition
  • Ceremony & Celebration: Family Edition

Videos

  • All Videos
  • Animations

News

  • Latest News

About Us

  • The Rabbi Sacks Legacy
  • Board of Trustees
  • Professional Team
  • Contact Us

Support The Rabbi Sacks Legacy

Help us continue sharing the teachings and ideas of Rabbi Sacks.

SUPPORT OUR WORK

Subscribe to our mailing list

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

An earlier version of this website was dedicated in the memory of Brian Roden, Shmuel ben Benjamin HaCohen z”l.
The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust is a Charity Registered in the UK, Charity Number 1152781. The Covenant and Conversation Corp is a Non-Profit (501(c)3) registered in the USA, EIN No. 46-5102221.

© 1981-2023 The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust. All rights reserved.

Website by Fogarty+Patchett and Logic London