The Rabbi Sacks Legacy The Art of Listening (Rabbi Sacks on Bereishit, Covenant & Conversation)
5 snips
Oct 13, 2025 Explore the intriguing questions surrounding the first sin and the tree of knowledge. Discover Maimonides' insights on truth versus social conventions. Delve into Ruth Benedict's concepts of shame and guilt in the Genesis narrative. Learn how the Garden story illustrates a culture of appearance. Uncover why Judaism prioritizes the art of listening over visual shame, emphasizing connection to God and others. Rabbi Sacks urges the cultivation of listening skills to deepen relationships and enhance spiritual awareness.
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Shame Versus Guilt Knowledge
- Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks contrasts knowing truth/falsehood with knowing what is socially accepted and visible.
- He argues Adam and Eve gained a shame-based ethic focused on appearances, not conscience.
Ruth Benedict And Cultural Types
- Rabbi Sacks tells how the US commissioned Ruth Benedict to explain Japanese culture after Pearl Harbor.
- He uses her shame vs guilt cultures distinction to illuminate the Eden story.
Shame Is Visual; Guilt Is Auditory
- Shame is other-directed and visual while guilt is inner-directed and auditory.
- This distinction reframes moral psychology: shame seeks invisibility, guilt follows conscience everywhere.
