We Have Reason to Believe

This book examines the basic beliefs of Judaism in light of modern thought. Its shape is traditional but not fundamentalist. This book, the main cause of the 'Jacobs Affair' in which the author's appointment to an Orthodox Rabbinic position was vetoed, suggests that the doctrine Torah Min Ha-Shamayyin (The Torah is from Heaven) needs to be reinterpreted so as not to be in conflict with modern knowledge. The controversy erupted again in the 1990s when Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks declared that those who hold views similar to the author's have severed links with the faith of their ancestors. This expanded fifth edition, with a Preface by William Frankel and a Retrospect of the 'Jacobs Affair' by the author, will enable readers to follow the argument and make up their own minds. In a recent poll conducted by the (London) Jewish Chronicle, Louis Jacobs was chosen as the 'Greatest British Jew.'