Meaningful Mitzvos: To Change The World Start With Why by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
In a much-watched TED Talk, Simon Sinek asked the following question: how do great leaders inspire action? What made people like Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs stand out from their contemporaries who may have been no less gifted, no less qualified? His answer: Most people talk about what. Some people talk about how. Great leaders, though, start with why. This is what makes them transformative.“What is this?” asks the rabbi. “I am a learned rabbi and he is only a taxi driver who, not to put too fine a point on it, drove like a lunatic.”
“Exactly so,” replies the angel. “When you spoke, people slept. But when they got into his taxi, believe me, they prayed!”
Torah and Teshuva: The Great Equalizers by Rabbi Pinchas Landis
Dissent and rebellion within the Jewish people is not a new thing; in fact, it goes back to the very inception of our nation. Just 40 days after the mass revelation at Mount Sinai, when every Jew was raised to the level of Prophecy, several Jews participated in the Golden Calf.
The Crown Of Torah: A Legacy For All Who Earn It by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
The Torah tells us of a man named Tzelophchad who died leaving no male heirs. His five daughters went to Moshe with a question. It had been decided that sons would inherit their portion of the land of Israel from their fathers, but since this man had left no sons, his daughters asked if they might instead inherit from their father. Moshe asked God and the request was granted. Then Moshe asked a question of his own: “[Abraham], the patriarch of the legal profession: a defense lawyer for the damned, who is willing to risk everything, even the wrath of God, in defense of his clients.”
“What is this?” asks the rabbi. “I am a learned rabbi and he is only a taxi driver who, not to put too fine a point on it, drove like a lunatic.”
“Exactly so,” replies the angel. “When you spoke, people slept. But when they got into his taxi, believe me, they prayed!”
The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: Game Theory & The Dangers of Self-Interest by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Morality matters. Not just laws, regulations, supervisory authorities, committees of inquiry, courts, fines and punishments, but morality: the inner voice of self-restraint that tells us not to do something even when it is to our advantage, even though it may be legal, and even if there is a fair chance it won’t be found out. Because it’s wrong. Because it’s dishonorable. Because it is a breach of trust.
“[Abraham], the patriarch of the legal profession: a defense lawyer for the damned, who is willing to risk everything, even the wrath of God, in defense of his clients.”
“What is this?” asks the rabbi. “I am a learned rabbi and he is only a taxi driver who, not to put too fine a point on it, drove like a lunatic.”
“Exactly so,” replies the angel. “When you spoke, people slept. But when they got into his taxi, believe me, they prayed!”
The Mentsch of Malden Mills by Rabbi Paysach Krohn
Aaron Feuerstein owned Malden Mills, a textile plant comprising nine buildings, in Lawrence, MA, that employed more than three thousand people. On the evening of December 11, 1995, the worst fire of the 20th century in the state of Massachusetts destroyed most of the plant. Three buildings were burned to the ground, while the other six were severely damaged. Though he was fully covered for the loss by insurance, he did not even consider shuttering the plant.
Jewish Memory by Rabbanit Shani Taragin
In 2017, I attended World Mizrachi’s celebration of Jerusalem Day in Binyanei Hauma (ICC) along with thousands of others, in honor of fifty years of a reunified Jerusalem. I was sitting just seats away from Rabbi Sacks – the keynote speaker. I recall not only his passion and fervor but his powerful message that resonates as I read his words on this week’s Torah portion, for it was the last time I would hear Rabbi Sacks speaking just a few feet away from me. He spoke about Yerushalayim representing our legacy of the past and dreams for the future:
Truth Or Consequence: Judging People On Social Media by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg
In his book Other People’s Money and How Bankers Use It, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously wrote:
“Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”
Shining a spotlight on an issue can expose and reveal corruption, dishonesty, fraud or abuse that otherwise might go unnoticed, ignored, or even excused. Brandeis wrote these words well before the Internet was a thought in anyone’s mind and he likely could not have even dreamt of the sunlight it would shine and the accountability it would generate.
Justice, Justice, You Shall Pursue: Why There Are So Many Jewish Lawyers by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
One of the most famous Jewish lawyers of our time, Alan Dershowitz, wrote a book called Abraham: The World’s First (But Certainly Not the Last) Jewish Lawyer, in which he said:
“[Abraham], the patriarch of the legal profession: a defense lawyer for the damned, who is willing to risk everything, even the wrath of God, in defense of his clients.”
“What is this?” asks the rabbi. “I am a learned rabbi and he is only a taxi driver who, not to put too fine a point on it, drove like a lunatic.”
“Exactly so,” replies the angel. “When you spoke, people slept. But when they got into his taxi, believe me, they prayed!”
Prayer: Where Heaven Meets Earth In The Human Soul by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
There is a classic Jewish story of a learned rabbi and a taxi driver who depart this world at the same time and arrive together at the gates of Heaven. The angel at the gate signals to the taxi driver to enter, then turns to the rabbi and sadly shakes his head.
“What is this?” asks the rabbi. “I am a learned rabbi and he is only a taxi driver who, not to put too fine a point on it, drove like a lunatic.”
“Exactly so,” replies the angel. “When you spoke, people slept. But when they got into his taxi, believe me, they prayed!”
Wonder Woman’s Powerful Prayer by Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt
Gal Gadot enjoys many of the world’s blessings, to be sure — but everyone knows that the most beautiful and wealthiest aren’t always happy. The Israeli actress and model, best known for starring in “Wonder Woman,” most definitely is, however, and she told a Vanity Fair journalist why in a Vanity Fair cover story.
