If you were to draw up a list of the most urgent problems facing humanity, what issues would make it onto your list? Global inequality? Poverty? Hunger? Maybe it's climate change? Or the need to promote peace and justice in the world?
Imagine that world leaders were gathering at the United Nations to make unprecedented, tangible and measurable commitments to tackling all of these problems. Wouldn't such a meeting be so remarkable and so historic that it would be on the minds of every citizen of the planet?
Sadly, it seems not.
Global leaders will, in fact, meet in a weeks' time to adopt what are known as the 'Sustainable Development Goals'. They are the successor to the Millennium Development Goals agreed by the international community in 2000 and they represent the most realistic and unified approach in human history to tackling these axiomatic crises.
In 2013, a survey revealed that only 4% of people in the UK had heard of the Millennium Development Goals, I fear that a similar survey about this month's event would show equally disappointing levels of public awareness.
Next week, the Jewish community will observe the fast of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement - the most self-reflective and solemn day on the Jewish calendar.
Our Sages teach that atonement is only achieved through sincere acknowledgment of past failures and a realistic and resolute intention to avoid repeating them. It is a deeply hopeful message. We can, and often do, succeed second time round.
You may never have heard of the failed business named Traf-O-data, but you're certainly aware of how its founder, Bill Gates, then went on to create Microsoft. And where would Oprah Winfrey be today if she had been deterred at the age of 22, when she was told she was 'unfit' for television?
In the year 2000, the world pledged, among other things, to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and to achieve universal primary education. This was an ambitious and brave undertaking. Unfortunately, we are still far from delivering on these admirable aspirations. The Sustainable Development Goals present us with another opportunity to make good on God's call to us to 'work the earth and protect it'.
My prayers are with the Heads of State attending the UN Summit. This time round there is no alternative to success. The future of mankind rests upon their shoulders and ours.
As Nelson Mandela put it, "Millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslaved and in chains. They are trapped in a prison of poverty. It is time to set them free."
如果讓你草擬人類面臨的最迫切的問題，你的清單上會有哪些話題呢？全球不平等？貧困？饑餓？或者氣候變化？或者促進(jìn)全世界和平與正義的需要？
想象一下，世界領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人在聯(lián)合國召開會議，制定前所未有的，切實可行的，效果顯著的策略來處理所有這些問題。這樣的會議是否足夠引人注目，具有歷史意義，是否能夠引起全球每一位公民的關(guān)注？
悲哀的是，似乎不會。
實際上，一周之后，全球領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人將會召開會議，制定所謂的“可持續(xù)發(fā)展目標(biāo)”。這些目標(biāo)是國際社會于2000年制定的“千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)”的延續(xù)，代表了人類歷史上解決這些不言自明的問題最現(xiàn)實，最統(tǒng)一的方法。
2013年，一項調(diào)查披露，英國只有4%的人聽說過“千年發(fā)展目標(biāo)”，我擔(dān)心，關(guān)于本月的會議的類似的調(diào)查同樣也會表明公眾關(guān)注度令人失望。
下周，猶太社會將會慶祝“贖罪日”——猶太日歷上自我反思的最嚴(yán)肅的日子。
我們的智者曾教誨我們，只有真誠地意識到過去的錯誤，有著實際的，堅定的決心來避免重蹈覆轍，贖罪才能實現(xiàn)。這是大有希望的信息。我們能夠獲得第二次成功。
你或許從未聽說過一家失敗的名為Traf-O-data的企業(yè)，但是你肯定聽說過它的創(chuàng)始人比爾·蓋茨，他后來開辦了微軟公司。還有脫口秀主持人奧普拉，在她22歲的時候，別人告訴她不適合做電視節(jié)目，如果當(dāng)時她躊躇不前，那她現(xiàn)在會在何處？
2000年，全世界承諾消除極端貧困和饑餓，普及初等教育。這是非常有雄心壯志的事業(yè)。不幸的是，我們距離這個宏偉的目標(biāo)仍然非常遙遠(yuǎn)。“持續(xù)發(fā)展目標(biāo)”再次為我們提供了機(jī)會，響應(yīng)上帝的號召，“熱愛地球，保護(hù)地球”。
我為參加聯(lián)合國峰會的國家元首們祈禱。這次我們已經(jīng)沒有其他成功的機(jī)會了。他們的肩上擔(dān)負(fù)著人類的未來。
就像尼爾遜·曼德拉說過的，“世界上最貧困的國家仍有數(shù)百萬人被監(jiān)禁，奴役，被鎖鏈?zhǔn)`。他們被困在貧窮的監(jiān)獄了。是時候讓他們獲得自由了。”
