Personal note to Kehillath Israel from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

I was so deeply touched and honoured to hear from your wonderful Rabbi, Rabbi Hamilton, about the decision to make Not in God’s Name a central part of your community’s educational programme over the coming months.

I can think of nothing more beautiful than the creation of a Sifriat Todah, a ‘Library of Gratitude’. I once defined Judaism as ‘gratitude with attitude’ and there is something truly special that happens when a community comes together in gratitude and for the purpose of furthering their collective education.

I wrote Not in God’s Name to try and map a path to a better world, one where we make space for the Other, for the one not like us. This is not just a secular and practical challenge, but a deeply religious and theological one.

Judaism has always been a religion of protest, not accepting the world-as-is, but working towards creating a world-that-ought-to-be. Today we need to raise our collective voice, across all faiths, against those in our world who kill in the name of the God of life, wage war in the name of the God of peace, hate in the name of the God of love and practise cruelty in the name of the God of compassion. I believe this to be the challenge of our age.

I hope you enjoy the book, that it challenges you and stimulates many hours of fruitful discussion. I wish you much success in your studies and in all the wonderful work you do as a community.

With blessings and best wishes,

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks