The Timely and the Timeless: "Jews, Judaism and Society in A Storm-Tossed Decade"

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Israel - sanctuary or asylum?: "shall your bothers go to war...?"; the infamy of Munich; from tears to joy; the Jewish destiny - the spiritual challenge of the Yom Kippur war; Zion -sanctuary or asylum?; Zionism today - vision, illusion and reality. Part 2 Anglo-Jewry - tradition in transition: spiritual leadership - the heritage of priest, prophet and king; milestones and millstones; the provincial contribution to Anglo-Jewry; Anglo-Jewish melting pot - the fusion of natives and immigrants. Part 3 World Jewry - the quest for survival: the reunification of Jerusalem and the reunification of the Jewish people; our people's challenge to rabbis; orthodoxy's strengths and weaknesses; the enlarged European community - its Jewish significance; the crisis of survival; visiting the Soviet Union - two articles. Part 4 Religion and society - beyond our confines: inter-faith relations - advances and limits; an instrument of amity; human rights and human duties; moral challenges before the mass media; religion in public life; letter to the queen. Part 5 Passover and new year broadcasts: acting today, asking tomorrow (passover 1967); promise and fulfilment (passover 1968); creation and judgement (new year 1968); reaching the moon - two perspectives (new year 1969); racial equality - what can Jews contribute? (passover 1970); the relevance of religion (passover 1971); the meaning of prayer and confession (new year 1971); science - master or servant? (passover 1972); constant exodus (passover 1974); from the four corners (passover 1976). Part 6 Jewish education and Jewish identity -what makes and what is a Jew?: a phoenix from the ashes; Jewish education - is the alarm justified?; life-line to survival; Jewish identity - three essays - who is a Jew?, stemming intermarriage -why and how?, to convert or not to convert?; the "who is a Jew" crisis. Part 7 Studies in Jewish law, thought and history: marriage and divorce in the sources of Jewish law; the Ashkenazi and Sephardi pronunciation in prayer; the religious significance of Israel independence day; Samson Raphael Hirsch - a reappraisal of his teachings and influence in the light of our times; conformity and diversity in the Jewish historical tradition; the evolution of the British rabbinate since 1845 - its past impact and future challenges. Part 8 Halachah in modern times - applying timeless principles to timely conditions: Halachah in modern Jewish life; Halachic abstracts - the six-day war, the Jewish holy places, the occupied territories, Mitzvah observance for space travellers, letterheads, mourning laws for babies, strikes, car fuel payment, children's services; changing prayer rites; Israeli cantors; the Agunah problem; reform marriages; reform mixed marriages; medical Halachah; artifical insemination; the blind in Jewish law; rabbis and deans. Part 9 Medical ethics: the Jewish contribution to medical ethics; population explosion - the Jewish attitude to birth-control; Jewish views on abortion;

About the Author :
Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits (8 February 1921 – 31 October 1999) was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. Prior to this, he had served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and as rabbi of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York City. In addition to his official duties he was regarded as an authority in medical ethics from a Jewish standpoint. He was knighted in 1981 and became the first Chief Rabbi to enter the House of Lords in 1988 as Baron  Jakobovits was a firm adherent of the "German-Jewish" Torah im Derech Eretz philosophy, having a broad knowledge of religious subjects as well as secular culture and philosophy. This made him a unique spokesperson for Orthodox Judaism, as he was able to transmit ideas to a wide audience which would otherwise not have achieved dissemination. Rabbi Jakobovits was the most prominent figure in 20th century Jewish medical ethics, a subdiscipline in applied ethics which he virtually created, and a pioneer in religious bioethics. His speciality was the interaction between medical ethics and halakha. Thanks to his academic training in Ireland, Rabbi Jakobovits approached his comprehensive volume, Jewish Medical Ethics, in light of Roman Catholic medical ethics, with which he often compares Jewish ethics. Whether developing or disputing his analysis, subsequent Jewish bioethicists have utilised his work on abortion, euthanasia, the history of Jewish medical ethics, palliative care, treatment of the sick, and professional duties. Likewise, he is credited with popularizing the fact that Judaism supports the nearly absolute sanctity of life. His political stance was conservative, and he was particularly close to Margaret Thatcher. When a Church of England report titled Faith in the City was published in December 1985 criticising Mrs. Thatcher's policies, Jakobovits responded by attacking its underlying philosophy.[2] Jakobovits argued that work rather than welfare should be the over-riding