Sacks on Sisyphus and Soloveitchik: From myth to meaning

Date

2023

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

YU Faculty Profile

Abstract

Summary: "Before his rather sudden passing in 2020, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was one of the most eloquent and influential religious leaders of the generation. As Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth for over two decades, he offered a universal message cultivated from the Jewish and Western cannons he knew so well. One concept that figured prominently in his work was joy. "I think of Judaism as an ode to joy," he once wrote. "Like Beethoven, Jews have known suffering, isolation, hardship, and rejection, yet they never lacked the religious courage to rejoice." In this volume, organized by the Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership, academics and writers explore the significance of joy within the Jewish tradition. These essays and reflections discuss traditional Jewish primary sources, including Biblical, Rabbinic and Hebrew literature, Jewish history and philosophy, education, the arts, and positive psychology, and of course, through the prism of Lord Sacks' work." -- Provided by publisher.

Description

Scholarly book chapter

Keywords

Sisyphus, Rav Soloveitchik

Citation

Lerner, D. (2023). Sacks on Sisyphus and Soloveitchik: From myth to meaning. In E. Brown & S. Weiss (Eds.), An ode to joy: Judaism and happiness in the thought of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and beyond (pp. 191-196). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28229-4_26