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Poster Commentary
"Judaism is about sanctifying life."Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Poster design:Ilene Winn-Lederer

by Dr. Marc Kramer

We have all heard the canard that whereas Christianity is a religion of faith, Judaism is a religion of law. This always struck me as an odd claim. The church is replete with rules and truly, where would we Jews be without our faith—our emunah—our individual and collective will to always believe that better lies just ahead, within reach, if only we would stretch? 

Far more satisfying—in fact, deeply gratifying—is Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s notion that Judaism is in its essence about sanctifying life. The Hebrew word l’kadesh means the conscious, willful act of making something holy, setting aside and transforming the mundane into a vehicle for joyfully acknowledging the Creator of the universe. Judaism, thus, seeks to endow life with holiness. 

The sanctification of life begins with a commitment to choose it. In Deuteronomy (30:19) we learn: “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore, choose life, that you may live.” Life above all. Jewish tradition gives forth the concept of pikuach nefesh, setting aside all commitments and commandments for the sake of saving a life. Life is so sacred that it is valued above law.

The Deuteronomy verse likens life to blessing. In a world where LIFE = BLESSING, we see that life is not only about existing, but about filling our lives with holy purpose. Living one’s life to the fullest means filling one’s life with meaning and mitzvot. Easy to say; hard to do. Might be time to stretch.  

 

Dr. Marc Kramer is the executive director of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network, and serves as an educational consultant and group facilitator for the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services of New York. He holds masters’ degrees in social work, education, and Jewish studies, and completed his doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. Dr. Kramer is the author of several major studies on Jewish day school education and was the 2007 recipient of the Covenant Award. 

Author
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
1948–present
Lives in London
Author, Former Chief Rabbi of United Kingdom

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks is a world-renowned scholar, author, and philosopher. He served as chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. Rabbi Sacks is currently a professor of Jewish thought at New York University and Yeshiva University. He has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen of England and awarded life peerage and a seat in the House of Lords. Rabbi Sacks is the author of tens of books, including annotated prayer books for the major holidays, and is the recipient of many literary awards. He is a sought-after lecturer and scholar, and is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary rabbis. 

Artist
Ilene Winn-Lederer
Pittsburgh PA
Illustrator
Author

Ilene Winn-Lederer is an author and illustrator whose images blend the mundane, whimsical, and mystical. The online Magic Eye Gallery showcases many of her original works and custom gicleé prints. Her Jewish works include Between Heaven and Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary and, most recently, An Illumination of Blessings (a Kickstarter-funded project), in which Winn-Lederer offers images and commentaries depicting 36 ritual blessings. Winn-Lederer attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, and is a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators. Her clients include leading newspapers, periodicals, and publishing houses. 

Quote
"Judaism is about sanctifying life."Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

The generation of American Jews raised on a diet of Holocaust education is deciding, at the rate of one in two, not to hand on Jewish identity to their children...

If Jews and Judaism are to continue, the ambivalence many still feel about a faith and fate associated with suffering and persecution will have to be resolved. Jews will have to learn to walk tall; to recover the self-confidence, born of faith, that sustained Jews in the past; to remember that Judaism is about sanctifying life, not just commemorating death.