To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of ResponsibilityOne of the most respected religious thinkers of our time makes an impassioned plea for the return of religion to its true purpose—as a partnership with God in the work of ethical and moral living. What are our duties to others, to society, and to humanity? How do we live a meaningful life in an age of global uncertainty and instability? In To Heal a Fractured World, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks offers answers to these questions by looking at the ethics of responsibility. In his signature plainspoken, accessible style, Rabbi Sacks shares with us traditional interpretations of the Bible, Jewish law, and theology, as well as the works of philosophers and ethicists from other cultures, to examine what constitutes morality and moral behavior. “We are here to make a difference,” he writes, “a day at a time, an act at a time, for as long as it takes to make the world a place of justice and compassion.” He argues that in today’s religious and political climate, it is more important than ever to return to the essential understanding that “it is by our deeds that we express our faith and make it real in the lives of others and the world.” To Heal a Fractured World—inspirational and instructive, timely and timeless—will resonate with people of all faiths. |
Contents
Faith as Protest | 17 |
Charity as Justice | 30 |
Love as Deed | 44 |
Sanctifying the Name | 57 |
Mending the World | 71 |
Like a Single Soul | 84 |
The Kindness of Strangers | 97 |
Responsibility for Society | 113 |
The Monotheistic Imagination | 175 |
The Faith of God | 189 |
Redeeming Evil | 202 |
Transforming Suffering | 215 |
The Chaos Theory of Virtue | 226 |
The Kind of Person We Are | 238 |
Who Am I? | 252 |
On Dreams and Responsibilities | 264 |
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Aaron Beck Abraham answer asked Babylonian Talmud believe biblical blessing Cain called chapter child command covenant created culture death deeds Deut difference dignity divine earth ethics evil exile existence face faith fate father Frankl freedom Genesis give God's heaven Hebrew Bible hessed Holocaust holy honour hope human humankind idea Israel Israelites Jacob Jewish law Jewry Jews Joseph Soloveitchik Judaism justice kind land live London Lord Maimonides Martin Seligman means Mishnah Mishneh Torah moral Moses mysticism Nahmanides nation never Noah peace person political poverty prayer principle prophets question Rabbi Rabbi Akiva Rebbe religion religious responsibility Reuben righteous sages says sense share Sinai social society someone soul speaks story strangers suffering tell things tikkun olam tion told tradition tragedy turn tzedakah understand universe Viktor Frankl virtue W. B. Yeats word wrong York