The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Three Responses to Crisis: A Midnight Selichot Address from Rabbi Sacks (Sept. 2012)
Sep 18, 2025
Explore profound responses to crisis through the lens of personal and national challenges. Rabbi Sacks discusses how suffering, endurance, and growth define our reactions to hardship. He highlights Jacob's resilience and interweaves poignant stories like that of Joseph and Yehudah's transformation. The insights encourage deepening prayer and commitment during tough times. Closing blessings add a hopeful touch, emphasizing the importance of health, peace, and spiritual reflection.
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Religion That Names Pain
- Judaism acknowledges suffering as real and does not downplay pain with false comforts.
- It offers distinct rituals and blessings for good and for bad, keeping them conceptually separate.
Survival As A Sacred Trait
- There is a Jewish response to crisis that is survival: endure without surrender.
- Jacob represents this quality as a survivor whose descendants became a nation of endurance.
Judah's Transformation In Joseph Story
- The Joseph story shows brothers facing hardship, confessing guilt, and beginning moral change.
- Judah transforms from willing seller of Joseph to self-sacrificing brother, exemplifying true repentance.