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Future Tense: Jews, Judiasm, and Israel in the Twenty-First Century »

Book cover image of Future Tense: Jews, Judiasm, and Israel in the Twenty-First Century by Jonathan Sacks

Authors: Jonathan Sacks
ISBN-13: 9780805242690, ISBN-10: 0805242694
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Date Published: April 2010
Edition: (Non-applicable)

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Author Biography: Jonathan Sacks

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has been Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth since 1991 and has received honorary degrees from universities around the world. He is the award-winning author of more than twenty books, writes frequently for The Times (London) and other periodicals, and is heard regularly on the bbc. Lord Sacks was made a Life Peer and took his seat in the House of Lords in October 2009. He lives in London.

Book Synopsis

One of the most admired religious thinkers of our time issues a call for world Jewry to reject the self-fulfilling image of “a people alone in the world, surrounded by enemies” and to reclaim Judaism’s original sense of purpose: as a partner with God and with those of other faiths in the never-ending struggle for freedom and social justice for all.
 
We are in danger, says Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of forgetting what Judaism’s place is within the global project of humankind. During the last two thousand years, Jews have lived through persecutions that would have spelled the end of most nations, but they did not see anti-Semitism written into the fabric of the universe. They knew they existed for a purpose, and it was not for themselves alone. Rabbi Sacks believes that the Jewish people have lost their way, that they need to recommit themselves to the task of creating a just world in which the divine presence can dwell among us. 
 
Without compromising one iota of Jewish faith, Rabbi Sacks declares, Jews must stand alongside their friends—Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and secular humanist—in defense of freedom against the enemies of freedom, in affirmation of life against those who desecrate life. And they should do this not to win friends or the admiration of others but because it is what a people of God is supposed to do.
 
Rabbi Sacks’s powerful message of tikkun olam—using Judaism as a blueprint for repairing an imperfect world—will resonate with people of all faiths.

Publishers Weekly

British chief rabbi Lord Sacks (Will We Have Jewish Grandchildren?) laments what he sees as a virulent new strain of anti-Semitism plaguing Western Europe as well as serious divisions within the Jewish world that make it difficult to speak of Jews as one people with a shared fate and a collective identity. To combat anti-Semitism, Sacks encourages Jews to work closely with people of other faiths and to recognize that not only Jews face prejudice and hate. He urges his fellow Jews to be both particularist and universalist, to hold fast to their Jewish identity while passionately embracing the modern world and becoming a source of inspiration to others. Sacks believes that criticism of Israel is legitimate but denial of its right to exist is not; he supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, but explains how the Palestinians have thwarted every Israeli move to establish peace. Although controversial, articulate, and well intended, the book is wordy, digressive, and familiar. Blending abundant Hebrew phrases with references to Spinoza, Thomas Paine, and Greek tragedy, Sacks is preaching to an audience of already committed yet worldly Jews who nevertheless may feel inspired by a leader who shares their views. (Apr.)

Table of Contents

Subjects

Christianity Comparative Religion Christianity - Comparative Studies
Christianity Comparative Religion Judaism - Comparative Studies
Christianity Judaism & Judaica General & Miscellaneous Judaism
Christianity Judaism & Judaica History - Judaism
Christianity Judaism & Judaica Israel & the Jews
Christianity Judaism & Judaica Judaism - Comparative Studies
Christianity All Religion General & Miscellaneous Religion
History Middle Eastern History Israel / Palestine - History
History Political History Middle Eastern Politics
History Religious History Christianity
History Religious History General & Miscellaneous Religion
History Religious History Judaism & Judaica
History World History Jewish History
Judaism & Judaica General & Miscellaneous Judaism Faith (Judaism)
Judaism & Judaica History - Judaism Judaism - History
Judaism & Judaica History - Judaism Middle East - History of Judaism
Judaism & Judaica Israel & the Jews Israel and the Diaspora
Judaism & Judaica Judaism - Comparative Studies Judaism -> Relations -> Christianity
Judaism & Judaica Judaism - Comparative Studies Judaism -> Relations -> Islam
Nonfiction Social Sciences Jewish Studies
Political Books & Current Events Books Middle East Middle Eastern Politics - General & Miscellaneous
Political Books & Current Events Books All Politics Middle Eastern Politics
Religion Books Comparative Religion Christianity - Comparative Studies
Religion Books Comparative Religion Judaism - Comparative Studies
Religion Books Judaism & Judaica General & Miscellaneous Judaism
Religion Books Judaism & Judaica History - Judaism
Religion Books Judaism & Judaica Israel & the Jews
Religion Books Judaism & Judaica Judaism - Comparative Studies
Religion Books All Religion General & Miscellaneous Religion
Science & Nature Social Sciences Jewish Studies
Social Sciences Jewish Studies Jewish History
Social Sciences Jewish Studies Jewish Identity
Christianity Christianity Comparative Religion
Christianity Christianity All Religion
Nonfiction History Middle Eastern History
Nonfiction History Political History
Nonfiction History Religious History
Nonfiction History World History
Nonfiction Politics & Current Affairs Middle East
Nonfiction Politics & Current Affairs All Politics
Nonfiction Religion Comparative Religion
Nonfiction Religion All Religion
Religion Books Christianity Comparative Religion
Religion Books Christianity All Religion