The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Be Silent and Listen (Rabbi Sacks on Ki Tavo, Covenant & Conversation)
Sep 10, 2025
Explore the profound power of listening within the context of prayer and community. Discover how communal prayer can enhance spiritual connection, especially during challenging times like the pandemic. The discussion emphasizes enriching experiences found in silence, inviting listeners to engage more deeply with their traditions and faith. Tune in for insights on fostering genuine connections while navigating the complexities of modern life.
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Loss Of Communal Prayer During Lockdown
- During the first COVID lockdown Rabbi Jonathan Sacks described the painful loss of communal prayer and its psychological cost.
- He contrasted individual prayer's limited protection with communal prayer's wider, community-building role.
Silence Reveals Prayer's Depth
- Rabbi Sacks observed that isolation allowed slower, deeper engagement with prayer's poetry and meaning.
- He argued prayer is a counterpoint between speaking and listening, and lockdown enabled more listening.
Sound Connects To Inner Reality
- Listening gives access to interiority and depth, unlike sight which shows surfaces, as Rabbi Yaakov Leiner noted.
- Walter J. Ong reinforced that sound and speech make us present to one another as subjects rather than objects.
