Dr Jonathan Sacks fears that the social dimension of religion is being eclipsed by New Age spirituality. His new book may help to redress the balance

NEWSPAPER EDITORS are rarely sentimental creatures. When they devote acres of space to a story it is seldom a matter of personal whim.

The reporting and commentary that accompanied the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of his successor has been criticised by some as excessive, even hypocritical, the extravagant tribute that peddlers of vice feel they must pay to the guardians of virtue. A simpler explanation is more likely. Newspaper editors, as much as any observer of modern Britain, realise there is a growing curiosity about religion, an interest in its teachings and a willingness to learn from its truths. The success of the late Pope’s personal reflections Memory and Identity is testament to the public hunger for spiritual nourishment.

This week sees the publication of another work designed to satisfy that appetite by another religious leader who began his career as an academic philosopher. To Heal a Fractured World is the latest book by the Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks. Dr Sacks is a familiar voice to Times readers, through his Credo column, and to listeners of the Today programme through Thought for the Day. He has established a reputation for making ethics accessible which has earned him a stature out of all proportion to the size of his congregation. His book is a work whose moral teachings have universal appeal, but it is rooted very specifically in the Jewish experience, Jewish teaching and Jewish texts.

Why, I wondered, did Dr Sacks want to write a book for the general reader, designed to address questions of widespread moral concern, which draws so heavily on the lessons of his own faith, when that faith is not a proselytising religion in the same way as Christianity and Islam?

“Well, when you want to inspire people you have to go much deeper into your own roots. It is particularity which is the key to universality. For example, we see family life as universal, but the atmosphere of the Sabbath is intensely particular, and that is what makes it so powerful.”

It is true that the Jewish tradition of the Sabbath, when the family gather for supper, when the world of working, getting and spending is forgotten, when space is cleared for those people and values dearest to our hearts, is defined by distinctive traditions shaped by one people’s unique experiences. But it is also true that the values which observance of the Sabbath exists to preserve are values for which there is a widespread yearning.

Behind the jargon of work/life balance, between the lines of today’s chick-lit fiction, in the hearts of many is a recognition that we need to spend time celebrating our closest relationships and dedicate hours to sharing rather than acquiring. The rituals which faith preserves are a means of protecting that which is most precious from life’s other pressures.

One of the reasons that prompted Dr Sacks to write his book was his recognition of the growing appetite for spiritual nourishment in contemporary Britain. Within the Jewish community there has recently been a significant growth in religious study and observance. While much attention has understandably focused in recent years on the numbers of Jewish Britons drifting away from their roots by marrying outside the tradition, or lapsing in observance, it has been far less remarked that, especially among younger people, there is an upsurge in interest in religion. Thousands in the Jewish community are dedicating hours to religious study. “We have a generation growing up now more pious than their parents,” the Chief Rabbi notes.

But Dr Sacks is anxious to ensure that the growing interest in religion that exists, both inside and outside Judaism, should not become an escape from the world but the route to a renewed engagement with others. His book is not a text for silent contemplation but a manifesto for action.

“This is a book that I hope will encourage and empower people to change their lives; it is an attempt to give voice to the power of altruism.”

Dr Sacks believes, as one of his chapter headings puts it, that faith is protest, religion is a form of social action, and embracing faith means exerting oneself to help others in a concrete fashion. A religion that is all about pursuing personal enlightenment and which does not result in positive activity to help others is an arid faith in Dr Sacks’s view.

“There are two seas in Israel: the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The latter is full of life; fish, birds, vegetation. The former contains no life at all. Yet they are both fed by the same river, the Jordan. The difference is that the Sea of Galilee receives water at one end and gives out water at the other. The Dead Sea receives but does not give. The Jordan ends there. To receive without reciprocating is a kind of death. To live is to give.”

In his book, Dr Sacks discusses the ethics of altruism, the principle of giving, and makes clear that what we think of as charity is really a requirement of justice. Human dignity demands that we give what we can to help those in need. And dignity is central to the Jewish tradition of charitable giving, where those in need are best helped by being given the means to help themselves, and thus free themselves from future dependence.

Charity, as Dr Sacks explains, is also more than a social duty, it is a religious act. As he argues: “We worship God not only in prayer, but also by how we act in the world.”

The belief that personal faith and social action are intimately intertwined would be familiar to many of the great religious figures of the past 200 years. But Dr Sacks fears that the social dimension of religion is being eclipsed by the rising interest in New Age spirituality, what he calls “the privatisation of faith”.

“We’re saturated with spirituality. It’s part of the conventional wisdom, it has become politically correct. But spirituality is what happens when faith goes bowling alone. The search for meaning is unlikely to be fulfilling unless it’s taken beyond the self to moral commitments.”

Dr Sacks is careful not to single out any particular form of spirituality, mysticism or New-Age doctrine for criticism, but within the Jewish community itself there has been disquiet at the way in which the Kabbalah has become a fashionable route to spiritual “enlightenment” for some.

Dr Sacks will not be drawn into specific criticisms, but he is adamant that there is a “danger” in religion becoming “a kind of leisure activity”.

To read To Heal a Fractured World is not a leisurely activity. To be sure, the style is accessible and conversational. But this is a book intended to stir, not to soothe.

It is the work of an academic rooted in philosophical learning and Jewish scripture, which makes certain demands. But they are more practical than intellectual. The book leaves the reader convinced that, whatever their religious tradition, whatever their station in life, their existence can be imbued with importance through a call to action. In that sense it is an empowering work, which leaves you with a heightened sense of your own ability to live a fuller, more satisfying life. Through service, the book argues, we can achieve significance. In that sense, the message of this work is the story of its author’s life.

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