Jonathan Sacks
Why America Has No Chief RabbiWednesday, January 23, 2013 by Jonathan D. Sarna | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Just as America introduced free-market capitalism into the economy, so it created a free market in religion.
The Chief Rabbi of CanterburyMonday, December 24, 2012 by Simon Gordon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
With his public defense of religion, the outgoing Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, has fulfilled an important role within British society—just not the one he was appointed to perform.
One-Step EthicsWednesday, October 17, 2012 by Gil Student | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
For 13 years in the New York Times Magazine, Randy Cohen’s weekly column, “The Ethicist,” posed and answered ethical questions from readers. I turned to the book for a summation of his ethical sensibility—and found evidence of both his decency and the limits of his secular approach, which in turn highlight a danger society currently faces.
Do Jews Curse Christians?Tuesday, July 17, 2012 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The patristic authority Jerome complained bitterly about the Jews’ condemnation of notsrim (believers in Jesus, “the Nazarite”), in the benediction of the daily Amidah known as Birkat ha-Minim: "three times a day in all their synagogues they anathemize the Christian name."
A Very English InstitutionMonday, January 23, 2012 by Simon Gordon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Last week some 600 Jews converged on the hamlet of Kerhonkson in upstate New York for Limmud NY, a three-day "marketplace of Jewish ideas." Now in its eighth year, the volunteer-run Limmud NY is open to professional teachers and amateurs alike.
Editors' Picks
On Orthodoxy and Homosexuality Alan Jotkowitz, Torah Musings. While the halakhic prohibition on homosexual relations remains, several Orthodox rabbis have advocated the communal acceptance of individual homosexuals. But can the same be done with same-sex families?
Defending the Faith Allan Nadler, Forward. The Great Partnership, Jonathan Sacks' new book on the relationship between science and religion, is a moving expression of his own faith. But does it lack intellectual honesty?
A Safe Pair of Hands Jeremy Rosen, Algemeiner. Ephraim Mirvis is a good pastoral leader. But his appointment as Chief Rabbi in the U.K. testifies to the unwillingness of Britain's centrist Orthodoxy to challenge Haredi authority.
Spinning Spinoza Allan Nadler, Forward. From David Ben-Gurion to Jonathan Sacks, Jews are determined to see the traditionally Jewish elements of Spinoza’s thought—by misreading his genuine heresy.