Sacks, Jonathan

From New World Encyclopedia
 
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'''Currently working on''' —[[User:Jennifer Tanabe|Jennifer Tanabe]] March 2021.
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{{epname|Sacks, Jonathan}}
{{epname}}
 
 
{{Infobox officeholder
 
{{Infobox officeholder
 
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
 
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
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| alt = Sacks smiling
 
| alt = Sacks smiling
 
| caption = Sacks in 2006
 
| caption = Sacks in 2006
| office             = [[Chief Rabbi]] of the [[United Synagogue|United Hebrew Congregations]] of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]
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| order             = [[Chief Rabbi]] of the [[United Synagogue|United Hebrew Congregations]] of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]
| term_start          = 1 September 1991
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| term_start          = September 1, 1991
| term_end            = 1 September 2013
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| term_end            = September 1, 2013
 
| predecessor        = [[Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits|Immanuel, Lord Jakobovits]]
 
| predecessor        = [[Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits|Immanuel, Lord Jakobovits]]
 
| successor          = [[Ephraim Mirvis]]
 
| successor          = [[Ephraim Mirvis]]
| office7             = {{ubl|[[Member of the House of Lords]]|[[Lords Temporal|Lord Temporal]]}}
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| order2             = [[Member of the House of Lords]] <br>[[Lord Temporal]]
| term_start7         = 1 September 2009
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| term_start2         = September 1, 2009
| term_end7           = 7 November 2020
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| term_end2           = November 7, 2020
 
| birth_name          = Jonathan Henry Sacks
 
| birth_name          = Jonathan Henry Sacks
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1948|3|8|df=yes}}<ref name=whoswho/>
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| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1948|3|8|mf=yes}}
 
| birth_place        = [[Lambeth]], London, England, United Kingdom
 
| birth_place        = [[Lambeth]], London, England, United Kingdom
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2020|11|7|1948|3|8|df=y}}
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| death_date          = {{death date and age|2020|11|7|1948|3|8|mf=y}}
 
| death_place=London, England, United Kingdom
 
| death_place=London, England, United Kingdom
 
| nationality        = British
 
| nationality        = British
 
| residence          =  
 
| residence          =  
 
| parents            =  
 
| parents            =  
| spouse              = {{marriage|Elaine Taylor |1970}}<ref name=whoswho/>
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| spouse              = Elaine Taylor (m. 1970)
 
| children            = Joshua, Dina and Gila
 
| children            = Joshua, Dina and Gila
| awards              = {{ubl|[[The Canterbury Medal|Canterbury Medal]] (2014)|[[Templeton Prize]] (2016)}}
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| awards              = [[The Canterbury Medal|Canterbury Medal]] (2014)<br>[[Templeton Prize]] (2016)
 
| occupation          = Rabbi
 
| occupation          = Rabbi
 
| profession          =  
 
| profession          =  
| education          = [[Christ's College, Finchley]]<ref name=whoswho/>
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| education          = [[Christ's College, Finchley]]
 
| alma_mater          = {{Plainlist|
 
| alma_mater          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge]] (MA Cantab)<ref name=whoswho/><!--alma mater refers to where attended, not the degree awarder—>
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* [[Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge]] (MA Cantab)
 
* [[New College, Oxford]]
 
* [[New College, Oxford]]
* [[King's College London]] (PhD)<ref name=phd/>}}
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* [[King's College London]] (PhD)}}
 
| party              = [[Crossbench]]
 
| party              = [[Crossbench]]
 
| blank1              = [[Semicha]]
 
| blank1              = [[Semicha]]
 
| data1              = {{ubl|[[London School of Jewish Studies|Jews' College]]|[[Etz Chaim Yeshiva (London)]]}}
 
| data1              = {{ubl|[[London School of Jewish Studies|Jews' College]]|[[Etz Chaim Yeshiva (London)]]}}
 
| signature          =  
 
| signature          =  
| website            = {{official}}
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| website            = [https://rabbisacks.org Official website]
 
}}
 
}}
'''Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks''' ({{lang-he|יעקב צבי זקס|translit=Ya'akov Tzvi Zaks}}; 8 March 1948{{spnd}}7 November 2020) was a British [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] [[rabbi]], philosopher, theologian, author, and public figure.
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'''Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks''' ({{lang-he|}}יעקב צבי זקס, romanized: Ya'akov Tzvi Zaks; March 8, 1948 - November 7, 2020) was a British [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] [[rabbi]], philosopher, theologian, author, and public figure. He served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. His ''Covenant & Conversation'' commentaries on weekly [[Torah]] portions continue to be read by thousands of people in [[Jewish]] communities around the world.
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{{toc}}
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While widely recognized as a leading representative of Judaism in interfaith events, Sacks found less acceptance among the different denominations of Judaism. His statement that "God is greater than religion," which he supported by arguing that a true relationship with God is available to all as an ongoing heritage from the covenant that God made with [[Noah]] and all his descendants, gained him praise from faiths beyond Judaism, but criticism within the Jewish communities. Sacks had a deep love for God and desired all humankind to know God better and thus create a harmonious society and world.  
  
He served as the [[List of Chief Rabbis of the United Kingdom|Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth]] from 1991 to 2013. As the spiritual head of the [[United Synagogue]], the largest synagogue body in the UK, he was the [[Chief Rabbi]] of those [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] synagogues, but was not recognized as the religious authority for the Haredi [[Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations]] or for the progressive movements such as [[Conservative Judaism|Masorti]], [[Reform Judaism (United Kingdom)|Reform]], and [[Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom)|Liberal Judaism]].<ref>{{cite news | first= Hester | last= Abrams | title= Philosopher is new leader of Britain's Jews : Educational standards, disintegrating family concern rabbi |newspaper= [[Waterloo Region Record|The Record]] | location= [[Kitchener, Ontario]] | page= C11 | date= 7 December 1991 |quote= He is officially head of the mainstream United Synagogue, but is not recognized as religious leader by many in the progressive Reform and Liberal movements}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title= Chief Rabbi joins House of Lords | url= https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jul/13/chief-rabbi-jonathan-sacks-lords | newspaper= The Guardian | date= 13 July 2009 | access-date= 15 August 2009 | quote= The decision to confer a title on Sacks angered Jews from both the progressive and strictly Orthodox branches who did not recognise him as their religious leader | location= London | first= Riazat | last= Butt | archive-date= 6 September 2013 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130906234849/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jul/13/chief-rabbi-jonathan-sacks-lords | url-status= live }}</ref> As Chief Rabbi, Sacks formally carried the title of [[Av Beit Din]] (head) of the [[London Beth Din]]. At the time of his death, he was the Emeritus Chief Rabbi.<ref>Compare: {{cite news |last= Cohen |first= Justin |date= 20 July 2016 |title= Lord Sacks leads tributes to Alan Senitt at moving memorial |url= http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/lord-sacks-leads-tributes-to-alan-senitt-at-moving-memorial/ |newspaper= [[Jewish News]] |location= London |access-date= 7 July 2017 |quote= The Chief Rabbi Emeritus said the one-time BBYO president and UJS chair would have been 'one of the great leaders of our time' [...]. |archive-date= 31 August 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170831135525/http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/lord-sacks-leads-tributes-to-alan-senitt-at-moving-memorial/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
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==Life==
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Jonathan Sacks was born in [[Lambeth]], [[London]] on March 8, 1948, to [[textile]] seller Louis David Sacks (d. 1996) and Louisa ("Libby"; née Frumkin, 1919–2010),<ref>[http://www.personal.briansacks.com/Some_Writing/In_memory_of_Libby_Sacks/in_memory_of_libby_sacks.html In memory of Libby Sacks] ''Jewish Chronicle'', November 12, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2021.</ref> of a family of leading Jewish wine merchants.<ref>[https://eastendvintageglamour.org.uk/photoshoot/libby-frumkin-and-louis-sacks/ Libby Frumkin and Louis Sacks] ''Vintage Glamour in London's East End''. Retrieved March 23, 2021.</ref> He grew up as one of four boys in the household, and his three brothers, Alan, Brian, and Elliot, would eventually make [[aliyah]].<ref name=Goldman>Ari L. Goldman, [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/world/europe/jonathan-sacks-dead.html Jonathan Sacks, the U.K.'s Inclusive Former Chief Rabbi, Dies at 72] ''The New York Times'', November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.</ref> His father "didn’t have much Jewish education."<ref>Yair Rosenberg, [https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/jonathan-sacks-death-memorial Remembering Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020)] ''Tablet Magazine'', November 12, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.</ref>  
  
After stepping down as Chief Rabbi, in addition to his international travelling and speaking engagements and prolific writing, Sacks served as the Ingeborg and Ira Rennert Global Distinguished Professor of Judaic Thought at [[New York University]] and as the Kressel and Ephrat Family University Professor of Jewish Thought at [[Yeshiva University]]. He was also appointed Professor of Law, Ethics, and the Bible at [[King's College London]].<ref name="rabbisacks.org"/> He won the [[Templeton Prize]] (awarded for work affirming life's [[spirituality|spiritual]] dimension) in 2016.<ref>{{cite web
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Sacks commenced his formal education at St Mary's Primary School and at [[Christ's College, Finchley]]. He completed his higher education at [[Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge]], where he gained a first-class [[honours degree]] ([[Master of Arts (Cambridge)|MA]]) in Philosophy. While a student at Cambridge, Sacks travelled to New York. He met with Rabbi [[Joseph Soloveitchik]] and with Rabbi [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson|Menachem M. Schneerson]] to discuss a variety of issues relating to religion, faith and philosophy. “Rabbi Soloveitchik had challenged me to think,” Rabbi Sacks wrote, “Rabbi Schneerson had challenged me to lead.<ref name=Goldman/> Schneerson urged Sacks to seek rabbinic ordination and to enter the rabbinate.<ref>Jonathan Sacks, [https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/1690783/jewish/A-Story-in-Three-Acts.htm How the Lubavitcher Rebbe Changed My Life] ''Chabad.org'', November 28, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2021.</ref>
|url= http://religionnews.com/2016/03/02/lord-jonathan-sacks-wins-templeton-prize/
 
|title= Lord Jonathan Sacks wins Templeton Prize
 
|first= Chris
 
|last= Herlinger
 
|access-date= 24 November 2016
 
|archive-date= 25 December 2016
 
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161225062824/http://religionnews.com/2016/03/02/lord-jonathan-sacks-wins-templeton-prize/
 
|url-status= live
 
}}</ref>
 
He was also a Senior Fellow to the [[Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights]].
 
  
==Early life and education==
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Sacks subsequently continued [[postgraduate]] study at [[New College, Oxford]], and at [[King's College London]], completing a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] which the [[University of London]] awarded in 1982.<ref>Jonathan Sacks, [https://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/record=b1525130 Rabbinic concepts of responsibility for others: A study of the Commandment of Rebuke and the idea of mutual surety] ''University of London''. Retrieved March 23, 2021.</ref> Sacks received his [[Semicha|rabbinic ordination]] from [[London School of Jewish Studies|Jews' College]] and London's [[Etz Chaim Yeshiva (London)|Etz Chaim Yeshiva]].
  
Born in [[Lambeth]], [[London]] on 8 March 1948,<ref name=whoswho/> to textile seller Louis David Sacks (d. 1996) and Louisa ("Libby"; née Frumkin, 1919–2010),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/chief-rabbi-s-mother-dies-at-91-1.18445 |title=Archived copy |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108214733/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/chief-rabbi-s-mother-dies-at-91-1.18445 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.personal.briansacks.com/Some_Writing/In_memory_of_Libby_Sacks/in_memory_of_libby_sacks.html|title=In memory of Libby Sacks|website=www.personal.briansacks.com|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108214734/http://www.personal.briansacks.com/Some_Writing/In_memory_of_Libby_Sacks/in_memory_of_libby_sacks.html|url-status=live}}</ref> of a family of leading Jewish wine merchants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-sacks-defender-faith-9222878.html|title=Jonathan Sacks: Defender of the faith|date=7 September 2001|website=The Independent|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108033341/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-sacks-defender-faith-9222878.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rabbi-lord-sacks-obituary-tnnz99cbb|title=Lord Sacks obituary|via=www.thetimes.co.uk|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108004725/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rabbi-lord-sacks-obituary-tnnz99cbb|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eastendvintageglamour.org.uk/photoshoot/libby-frumkin-and-louis-sacks/|title=LIBBY FRUMKIN and LOUIS SACKS – East End Vintage Glamour|website=eastendvintageglamour.org.uk|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=29 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229210140/http://eastendvintageglamour.org.uk/photoshoot/libby-frumkin-and-louis-sacks/|url-status=live}}</ref>  He grew up as one of four boys in the household, and his three brothers, Alan, Brian, and Elliot, would eventually make [[aliyah]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/world/europe/jonathan-sacks-dead.html|title=Jonathan Sacks, the U.K.'s Inclusive Former Chief Rabbi, Dies at 72|first=Ari L.|last=Goldman|date=9 November 2020|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> His father did not have "much Jewish education."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/jonathan-sacks-death-memorial|title=Remembering Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020)|date=12 November 2020|website=Tablet Magazine}}</ref> Sacks commenced his formal education at St Mary's Primary School and at [[Christ's College, Finchley]].<ref name=whoswho/> He completed his higher education at [[Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge]], where he gained a first-class [[honours degree]] ([[Master of Arts (Cambridge)|MA]]) in Philosophy. While a student at Cambridge, Sacks travelled to New York. He met with Rabbi [[Joseph Soloveitchik]] and with Rabbi [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson|Menachem M. Schneerson]] to discuss a variety of issues relating to religion, faith and philosophy. “Rabbi Soloveitchik had challenged me to think,” Rabbi Sacks wrote, “Rabbi Schneerson had challenged me to lead.”<ref name="auto"/> Schneerson urged Sacks to seek rabbinic ordination and to enter the rabbinate.<ref>Jonathan Sacks, [http://www.chabad.org/1690783 "How The Rebbe Changed My Life"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108214736/https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/1690783/jewish/A-Story-in-Three-Acts.htm |date=8 November 2020 }}. 28 November 2011.</ref>
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Sacks married Elaine Taylor in 1970 and together they had three children: Joshua, Dina, and Gila. Sacks was a [[vegetarian]], noting in response to a question after his lecture: "But I can't say very much about chickens because I'm a vegetarian and I stay milchik all the time."<ref>Jonathan Sacks, [https://rabbisacks.org/faith-lectures-the-messianic-idea-today/ The Messianic Idea Today] ''Faith Lectures'', February 6, 2001. Retrieved March 25, 2021.</ref>
  
Sacks subsequently continued [[postgraduate]] study at [[New College, Oxford]],<ref name=whoswho/> and at [[King's College London]], completing a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] which the [[University of London]] awarded in 1982.<ref name=phd>{{cite thesis|degree= PhD|first= Jonathan|last= Sacks|title= Rabbinic concepts of responsibility for others : a study of the Commandment of Rebuke and the idea of mutual surety|url= http://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/record=b1525130|website= london.ac.uk|publisher= University of London|id= {{Copac| 2412494}}|year= 1982|access-date= 17 May 2018|archive-date= 8 November 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201108214736/https://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/record=b1525130|url-status= live}}</ref> Sacks received his [[Semicha|rabbinic ordination]] from [[London School of Jewish Studies|Jews' College]] and London's [[Etz Chaim Yeshiva (London)|Etz Chaim Yeshiva]].<ref>
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Sacks became a [[Knight Bachelor]] in the [[2005 Birthday Honours]] "for services to the Community and to Inter-faith Relations."<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/57665/supplement/1 Birthday Honors List] ''London Gazette'' Supplement: 57665 (June 10, 2005): 1. Retrieved March 26, 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/58099/page/12615 Honours and Awards] ''The London Gazette'' 58099 (September 15, 2006): 12615. Retrieved March 25, 2021.</ref> He was made an Honorary Freeman of the [[London Borough of Barnet]] in September 2006.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080602173333/http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/community-living/barnet-mayor/other-civic-dignitaries/honorary-freemen.htm Honorary Freemen of the London Borough of Barnet] ''London Borough of Barnet'', September 29, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2021.</ref> On July 13, 2009 the [[House of Lords Appointments Commission]] announced that Sacks was recommended for a [[life peer]]age with a seat in the [[House of Lords]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110805211945/http://lordsappointments.independent.gov.uk/news/090713-twonew.aspx New non-party-political peers] ''House of Lords Appointments Commission'', July 13, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2021</ref> He took the title "Baron Sacks, of Aldgate in the City of London,"<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/59178/page/15388 Crown Office] ''The London Gazette'' 59178 (September 8, 2009): 15388. Retrieved March 26, 2021.</ref> and sat as a [[crossbencher]].
{{cite web
 
|url= http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/testimony/judaism/rabbisachs/introduction.asp
 
|title= Archived copy |access-date= 21 January 2014 |url-status= dead
 
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140202233147/http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/testimony/judaism/rabbisachs/introduction.asp
 
| archive-date= 2 February 2014
 
}}
 
</ref>
 
  
==Career==
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Jonathan Sacks died on November 7, 2020 in London at age 72.<ref name=Goldman/> He had been diagnosed with cancer in October 2020, having been twice previously treated for the disease.<ref>[https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/rabbi-lord-sacks-dies-of-cancer-at-72-1.508371 Rabbi Lord Sacks dies of cancer at 72] ''The Jewish Chronicle'', November 7, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.</ref>  
Sacks's first rabbinic appointment (1978–1982) was as the Rabbi for the [[Golders Green]] synagogue in London. In 1983, he became Rabbi of the prestigious [[Western Marble Arch Synagogue]] in [[Central London]], a position he held until 1990. Between 1984 and 1990, Sacks also served as [[Principal (university)|Principal]] of [[Jews' College]], the United Synagogue's [[Seminary#Jewish|rabbinical seminary]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/RABBI-Lord-JONATHAN-SACKS-extended-CV-September-20131.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=21 January 2014 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201181631/http://www.rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/RABBI-Lord-JONATHAN-SACKS-extended-CV-September-20131.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Dr. Sacks was inducted to serve as [[Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth]] on 1 September 1991, a position he held until 1 September 2013.
 
  
Sacks became a [[Knight Bachelor]] in the [[2005 Birthday Honours]] "for services to the Community and to Inter-faith Relations".<ref>{{London Gazette |issue = 57665|date = 10 June 2005 |page=1 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 58099 |date= 15 September 2006 |page=12615}}</ref> He was made an Honorary Freeman of the [[London Borough of Barnet]] in September 2006.<ref>[http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/community-living/barnet-mayor/other-civic-dignitaries/honorary-freemen.htm Honorary Freemen of the London Borough of Barnet]. Barnet.gov.uk (29 September 2009). Retrieved on 3 December 2011 {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080602173333/http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/community-living/barnet-mayor/other-civic-dignitaries/honorary-freemen.htm |date= 2 June 2008 }}</ref> On 13 July 2009 the [[House of Lords Appointments Commission]] announced that Sacks was recommended for a [[life peer]]age with a seat in the [[House of Lords]].<ref>{{cite news|url= http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443794021&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|archive-url= https://archive.is/20120709125333/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443794021&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|url-status= dead|archive-date= 9 July 2012|title= UK chief rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks gets peerage|last= Paul|first= Jonny|date= 13 July 2009|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|access-date= 20 July 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.lordsappointments.gov.uk/news/090713-twonew.aspx House of Lords Appointments Commission]. Lordsappointments.gov.uk (13 July 2009). Retrieved on 3 December 2011. {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110716021929/http://www.lordsappointments.gov.uk/news/090713-twonew.aspx |date= 16 July 2011}}</ref> He took the title "'''Baron Sacks''', of [[Aldgate]] in the City of London",<ref>{{London Gazette |issue= 59178 |date= 8 September 2009 |page=15388}}</ref> and sat as a [[crossbencher]].
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At the time of his death, in the words of Rabbi Abraham Levy, Sacks was the emeritus spiritual head of London’s Sephardi community, “Chief Rabbi to the English-speaking world.<ref>Simon Rocker, [https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/sacks-was-chief-rabbi-to-the-english-speaking-world-1.508373 Sacks was Chief Rabbi to the English-speaking world] ''The Jewish Chronicle'', November 7, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.</ref>
  
A visiting professor at several universities in Britain, the United States, and Israel, Sacks held 16 honorary degrees, including a [[Doctor of Divinity|doctorate of divinity]] conferred on him in September 2001 by the then [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], [[George Carey]], to mark his first ten years in office as Chief Rabbi. In recognition of his work, Sacks won several international awards, including the Jerusalem Prize in 1995 for his contribution to diaspora Jewish life and The Ladislaus Laszt Ecumenical and Social Concern Award from [[Ben-Gurion University of the Negev|Ben Gurion University]] in Israel in 2011.<ref name="rabbisacks.org">{{Cite web|url=https://rabbisacks.org/about-us/|title=About Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=7 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007064259/https://rabbisacks.org/about-us/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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==Career==
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Sacks's first rabbinic appointment (1978–1982) was as the Rabbi for the [[Golders Green]] synagogue in London. In 1983, he became Rabbi of the prestigious [[Western Marble Arch Synagogue]] in [[Central London]], a position he held until 1990. Between 1984 and 1990, Sacks also served as [[Principal (university)|Principal]] of [[Jews' College]], the United Synagogue's [[Seminary#Jewish|rabbinical seminary]]. Dr. Sacks was inducted to serve as [[Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth]] succeeding [[Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits|Immanuel, Lord Jakobovits]] on September 1, 1991, a position he held until September 1, 2013.
  
The author of 25 books, Sacks published commentaries on the daily Jewish prayer book ([[siddur]]) and completed commentaries to the [[Rosh Hashanah]], [[Yom Kippur]] and [[Pesach]] festival prayer-books (machzorim) {{as of | 2017 | lc = on}}. His other books include, ''Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence'', and ''The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning''. His books won literary awards, including the Grawemeyer Prize for Religion in 2004 for ''The Dignity of Difference'', and a National Jewish Book Award in 2000 for ''A Letter in the Scroll''.<ref name="rabbisacks.org"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30766|title=Past Winners|website=Jewish Book Council|language=en|url-status=live|access-date=23 January 2020|archive-date=5 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605122003/https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30766}}</ref> ''Covenant & Conversation: Genesis'' was also awarded a National Jewish Book Award in 2009,<ref name="Past Winners">{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30771|title=Past Winners|website=Jewish Book Council|language=en|url-status=live|access-date=24 January 2020|archive-date=5 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605121427/https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30771}}</ref> and his commentary to the Pesach festival prayer book won the Modern Jewish Thought and Experience Dorot Foundation Award in the 2013 [[Jewish Book Council#National Jewish Book Awards|National Jewish Book Awards]]<ref name="Past Winners"/> in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/sacks-passover-guide-scoops-prestigious-us-book-award/|title=Sacks' Passover guide scoops prestigious US book award|website=jewishnews.timesofisrael.com|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=25 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125115332/http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/sacks-passover-guide-scoops-prestigious-us-book-award/|url-status=live}}</ref> His ''Covenant & Conversation'' commentaries on the weekly Torah portion are read by thousands of people in Jewish communities around the world.<ref name="TorahCafe.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.torahcafe.com/scholar/chief-rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks_0000000053.html?id=0000000053|title=Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks|website=www.torahcafe.com|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923173750/https://www.torahcafe.com/scholar/chief-rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks_0000000053.html?id=0000000053|url-status=live}}</ref>
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===Chief Rabbi===
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In his installation address upon as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, formally carrying the title of [[Av Beit Din]] (head) of the [[London Beth Din]], Sacks called for a Decade of Renewal which would "revitalize British Jewry's great powers of creativity."<ref name="jta.org">[https://www.jta.org/1991/09/03/archive/new-british-chief-rabbi-speaks-of-need-for-decade-of-renewal New British Chief Rabbi Speaks of Need for Decade of Renewal] ''Jewish Telegraphic Agency'', September 3, 1991. Retrieved April 2, 2021.</ref> He said this renewal should be based on five central values: "love of every Jew, love of learning, love of God, a profound contribution to British society and an unequivocal attachment to Israel."<ref name="jta.org"/> Sacks said he wanted to be "a catalyst for creativity, to encourage leadership in others, and to let in the fresh air of initiative and imagination."<ref name="jta.org"/>  
  
Sacks' contributions to wider British society have also been recognized. A regular contributor to national media, frequently appearing on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Thought for the Day]]'' or writing the Credo column or opinion pieces in ''[[The Times]]'', Sacks was awarded The Sanford St Martin's Trust Personal Award for 2013 for "his advocacy of Judaism and religion in general". He was invited to the [[wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton]] as a representative of the Jewish community.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13175842 | work= [[BBC News]] | title= Royal wedding guest list | date= 23 April 2011 | access-date= 20 June 2018 | archive-date= 18 September 2018 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180918041600/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13175842 | url-status= live }}</ref>
+
This led to a series of innovative communal projects including Jewish Continuity, a national foundation for Jewish educational programs and outreach; the Association of Jewish Business Ethics; the Chief Rabbinate Awards for Excellence; the Chief Rabbinate Bursaries, and Community Development, a national scheme to enhance Jewish community life. The Chief Rabbi began his second decade of office with a call to 'Jewish Responsibility' and a renewed commitment to the ethical dimension of Judaism.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190420200856/https://www.torahinmotion.org/users/rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks Rabbi Jonathan Sacks] ''Torah in Motion''. Retrieved April 2, 2021.</ref>  
  
At a Gala Dinner held in Central London in May 2013 to mark the completion of the Chief Rabbi's time in office, the [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince of Wales]] called Sacks a "light unto this nation", "a steadfast friend" and "a valued adviser" whose "guidance on any given issue has never failed to be of practical value and deeply grounded in the kind of wisdom that is increasingly hard to come by".<ref>{{cite news
+
After serving as Chief Rabbi for 22 years, he was succeeded by Rabbi [[Ephraim Mirvis]] on September 1, 2013.
| url= http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/108970/prince-pays-tribute-chief-rabbi-his-steadfast-friend
 
| work= [[The Jewish Chronicle]]
 
| title= Prince pays tribute to Chief Rabbi
 
| date= 25 June 2013 | access-date= 20 January 2014 | archive-date= 1 February 2014 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140201220129/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/108970/prince-pays-tribute-chief-rabbi-his-steadfast-friend
 
| url-status= live
 
}}</ref>
 
  
===Chief Rabbi===
+
===Appointments held===
In his installation address upon succeeding [[Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits|Immanuel, Lord Jakobovits]] as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth in September 1991, Sacks called for a Decade of Renewal which would "revitalize British Jewry's great powers of creativity".<ref name="jta.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.jta.org/1991/09/03/archive/new-british-chief-rabbi-speaks-of-need-for-decade-of-renewal|title=New British Chief Rabbi Speaks of Need for Decade of Renewal|date=3 September 1991|publisher=JTA|access-date=21 January 2014|archive-date=20 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220095020/http://www.jta.org/1991/09/03/archive/new-british-chief-rabbi-speaks-of-need-for-decade-of-renewal|url-status=live}}</ref> He said this renewal should be based on five central values: "love of every Jew, love of learning, love of God, a profound contribution to British society and an unequivocal attachment to Israel."<ref name="jta.org"/> Sacks said he wanted to be "a catalyst for creativity, to encourage leadership in others, and to let in the fresh air of initiative and imagination".<ref name="jta.org"/> This led to a series of innovative communal projects including Jewish Continuity, a national foundation for Jewish educational programmes and outreach; the Association of Jewish Business Ethics; the Chief Rabbinate Awards for Excellence; the Chief Rabbinate Bursaries, and Community Development, a national scheme to enhance Jewish community life. The Chief Rabbi began his second decade of office with a call to 'Jewish Responsibility' and a renewed commitment to the ethical dimension of Judaism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.torahinmotion.org/users/rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks|title=Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks|website=Torah In Motion|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=20 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420200856/https://www.torahinmotion.org/users/rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks|url-status=live}}</ref> He was succeeded as chief rabbi by Rabbi [[Ephraim Mirvis]] on 1 September 2013.
+
In addition to serving as Chief Rabbi, Sacks held numerous appointments during his career including:<ref name=cv>[https://rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/RABBI-Lord-JONATHAN-SACKS-extended-CV-January-2016-1.pdf Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks extended CV] ''The Office of Rabbi Sacks''. Retrieved March 23, 2021.</ref>
 +
*Professor of Jewish Thought, [[Yeshiva University]], New York (announced October 29, 2013).
 +
*Professor of Judaic Thought, [[New York University]], New York (announced October 29, 2013).
 +
*Professor of Law, Ethics and the Bible at King's College, London (announced December 5, 2013)
 +
*Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth (September 1, 1991 – September 1, 2013)
 +
*Lecturer in moral philosophy, Middlesex Polytechnic, 1971–1973
 +
*Lecturer, Jews' College London, 1973–82; director of its rabbinic facility, 1983–1990; Principal, 1984–1990
 +
*Visiting professor of philosophy at the [[University of Essex]], 1989–1990
 +
*Sherman lecturer at the [[University of Manchester]], 1989
 +
*Riddell lecturer at [[Newcastle University]], 1993
 +
*Cook lecturer at the [[University of Oxford]], [[University of Edinburgh]] and the [[University of St Andrews]], 1996
 +
*Visiting professor at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], 1998–2004.
  
==Appointments held==
+
He was also a Senior Fellow at the [[Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights]].<ref>[https://www.raoulwallenbergcentre.org/seniorfellows Senior Fellows] ''Raoul Wallenberg Centre''. Retrieved April 2, 2021.</ref>
In addition to serving as Chief Rabbi, Sacks held numerous appointments during his career including:
 
*Professor of Judaic Thought, New York University, New York (announced 29 October 2013).<ref name=cv>[https://rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/RABBI-Lord-JONATHAN-SACKS-extended-CV-January-2016-1.pdf Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks extended CV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108214735/https://rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/RABBI-Lord-JONATHAN-SACKS-extended-CV-January-2016-1.pdf |date=8 November 2020 }}, ''rabbisacks.org'', January 2016. Accessed 8 November 2020</ref>
 
*Professor of Jewish Thought, Yeshiva University, New York (announced 29 October 2013).<ref name=cv />
 
*Professor of Law, Ethics and the Bible at King's College, London (announced 5 December 2013)<ref name=cv />
 
*Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth (1 September 1991 – 1 September 2013)<ref name=cv />
 
* Lecturer in moral philosophy, Middlesex Polytechnic, 1971–1973<ref name=cv />
 
*Lecturer, Jews' College London, 1973–82; director of its rabbinic facility, 1983–1990; Principal, 1984–1990<ref name=cv />
 
*Visiting professor of philosophy at the [[University of Essex]], 1989–1990<ref name=cv />
 
*Sherman lecturer at the [[University of Manchester]], 1989.<ref name=cv />
 
*Riddell lecturer at [[Newcastle University]], 1993.<ref name=cv />
 
*Cook lecturer at the [[University of Oxford]], [[University of Edinburgh]] and the [[University of St Andrews]], 1996.<ref name=cv />
 
*Visiting professor at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], 1998–2004.<ref name=cv />
 
  
Sacks was also a frequent guest on both [[television]] and [[radio]], and regularly contributed to the national press. He delivered the 1990 BBC [[Reith Lecture]]s on ''The Persistence of Faith''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gq0dl|title=Jonathan Sacks: The Persistence of Faith: 1990, The Reith Lectures - BBC Radio 4|access-date=12 August 2011|archive-date=3 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803161057/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gq0dl|url-status=live}}</ref>
+
Sacks was a frequent guest on both [[television]] and [[radio]], and regularly contributed to the national press. He delivered the 1990 [[BBC]] [[Reith Lecture]]s on ''The Persistence of Faith''.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gq0dl Jonathan Sacks: The Persistence of Faith] The Reith Lectures: 1990, ''BBC Radio 4''. Retrieved April 2, 2021.</ref>
  
==Awards and honours==
+
After stepping down as Chief Rabbi, in addition to his international traveling and speaking engagements and prolific writing, Sacks served as the Ingeborg and Ira Rennert Global Distinguished Professor of Judaic Thought at [[New York University]] and as the Kressel and Ephrat Family University Professor of Jewish Thought at [[Yeshiva University]]. He was also appointed Professor of Law, Ethics, and the Bible at [[King's College London]].<ref name="rabbisacks.org"/> He won the [[Templeton Prize]] (awarded for work affirming life's [[spirituality|spiritual]] dimension) in 2016, his vision of a better world and his “future-mindedness” being key reasons he was chosen for the award.<ref>Chris Herlinger, [https://religionnews.com/2016/03/02/lord-jonathan-sacks-wins-templeton-prize/ Lord Jonathan Sacks wins Templeton Prize] ''Religion News Service (RNS)'', March 2, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2021.  </ref>
Sacks was awarded numerous prizes including:<ref name=cv />
 
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
 
* 1995: Jerusalem Prize (Israel)
 
* 2000: American National Jewish Book for ''A Letter in the Scroll''
 
* 2004: The Grawemeyer Prize for Religion (USA)
 
* 2009: American National Jewish Book Award for ''Covenant & Conversation Genesis: The Book of Beginnings''
 
* 2010: The Norman Lamm Prize, Yeshiva University (USA)
 
* 2010: The Abraham Kuyper Prize, Princeton Theological Seminary (USA)
 
* 2011: The Ladislaus Laszt Ecumenical and Social Concern Award, Ben Gurion University (Israel)
 
* 2011: Keter Torah Award, Open University (Israel)
 
* 2013: The Sanford St Martin's Trust Personal Award for Excellence in Religious Broadcasting
 
* 2013: American National Jewish Book Award for ''The Koren Sacks Pesah Mahzor''
 
* 2015: American National Jewish Book Award for ''Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence''
 
* 2016: Templeton Prize, "has spent decades bringing spiritual insight to the public conversation through mass media, popular lectures and more than two dozen books"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.templetonprize.org/templeton-prize-winners-2/|title=Templeton Prize Winners - Discover Laureates From 1973 to Today|website=Templeton Prize|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=22 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022095253/https://www.templetonprize.org/templeton-prize-winners-2/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
{{div col end}}
 
  
 
==Philosophy and views==
 
==Philosophy and views==
Much has been written about Sacks' philosophical contribution to Judaism and beyond. These include: (1) a volume on his work entitled ''Universalizing Particularity'' that forms part of The Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers series, edited by Hava Tirosh-Samuelson and Aaron W. Hughes;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathan-Sacks-Universalizing-Particularity-Tirosh-Samuelson/dp/B00L6Z97B6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1417771891&sr=8-4&keywords=universalizing%20particularity|title=[(Jonathan Sacks: Universalizing Particularity )]|first=Hava|last=Tirosh-Samuelson|date=1 October 2013|publisher=Brill|via=Amazon}}</ref> (2) a book entitled ''Radical Responsibility'' edited by Michael J. Harris, Daniel Rynhold and Tamra Wright;<ref name="Radical Responsibility">{{cite book|title=Radical Responsibility:: Celebrating the Thought of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks|first=Michael J.|last=Harris|editor-first1=Daniel|editor-last1=Rynhold|editor-first2=Tamra|editor-last2=Wright|date=1 January 2013|publisher=Maggid|id={{ASIN|1592643663|country=uk}}}}</ref> and (3) a book entitled ''Morasha Kehillat Yaakov'' edited by Rabbi Michael Pollak and Dayan Shmuel Simons.<ref>{{cite book|title=Morasha Kehillat Yaakov: Essays in Honour of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks|first1=Michael|last1=Pollak|first2=Shmuel|last2=Simons|editor-first1=Rabbi Michael|editor-last1=Pollak|editor-first2=Dayan Shmuel|editor-last2=Simons|date=1 October 2014|publisher=The Toby Press|id={{ASIN|1592643906|country=uk}}}}</ref>
+
Much has been written about Sacks' philosophical contribution to Judaism and beyond. These include: a volume of his work entitled ''Universalizing Particularity'' that forms part of The Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers series;<ref name=Hava>Hava Tirosh-Samuelson and Aaron W. Hughes (eds.), ''Jonathan Sacks: Universalizing Particularity'' (Brill, 2013, ISBN 978-9004257214).</ref> a book entitled ''Radical Responsibility'' edited by Michael J. Harris, Daniel Rynhold, and Tamra Wright;<ref name="Radical Responsibility"> Michael J. Harris, Daniel Rynhold, and Tamra Wright (eds.), ''Radical Responsibilty: Celebrating the Thought of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks'' (Maggid, 2013, ISBN 978-1592643660).</ref> and a book entitled ''Morasha Kehillat Yaakov'' edited by Rabbi Michael Pollak and Dayan Shmuel Simons.<ref> Michael Pollak and Shmuel Simons, ''Morasha Kehillat Yaakov: Essays in Honour of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks'' (Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2014, ISBN 978-1592643905).</ref>
  
 
===Early influences===
 
===Early influences===
In a pamphlet written to mark the completion of his time as Chief Rabbi entitled "A Judaism Engaged with the World",<ref name="engaged">[http://www.rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Judaism_Engaged_JSacks_webpdf2.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715071406/http://www.rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Judaism_Engaged_JSacks_webpdf2.pdf |date=15 July 2015 }} A Judaism Engaged with the World</ref> Sacks cites three individuals who have had a profound impact on his own philosophical thinking.
+
In a pamphlet written to mark the completion of his time as Chief Rabbi entitled "A Judaism Engaged with the World," Sacks cites three individuals who have had a profound impact on his own philosophical thinking.<ref name="engaged">Jonathan Sacks, [http://www.rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Judaism_Engaged_JSacks_webpdf2.pdf A Judaism Engaged with the World], June 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2021. </ref>
  
The first figure was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] who "was fully aware of the problem of the missing Jews... inventing the idea, revolutionary in its time, of Jewish outreach... [He] challenged me to lead."<ref name="engaged" />{{rp|10}} Indeed, Sacks called him "one of the greatest Jewish leaders, not just of our time, but of all time"<ref>Jonathan Mark, [http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/chief_rabbi_and_rebbe The Chief Rabbi And The Rebbe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110203825/http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/chief_rabbi_and_rebbe |date=10 November 2014 }}. ''The Jewish Week'', 11/29/11.</ref>
+
The first figure was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] who "was fully aware of the problem of the missing Jews... inventing the idea, revolutionary in its time, of Jewish outreach... [He] challenged me to lead."<ref name="engaged" /> Indeed, Sacks called him "one of the greatest Jewish leaders, not just of our time, but of all time."<ref>Jonathan Mark, [https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/the-chief-rabbi-and-the-rebbe/ The Chief Rabbi And The Rebbe] ''The Jewish Week'', November 29, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2021.</ref>
  
The second was Rabbi [[Joseph Soloveitchik]] whom Sacks described as "the greatest Orthodox thinker of the time [who] challenged me to think."<ref name="engaged" />{{rp|10–11}}  Sacks argued that for Rav Soloveichik "Jewish philosophy, he said, had to emerge from [[Halakha|halakhah]], Jewish law. Jewish thought and Jewish practice were not two different things but the same thing seen from different perspectives. Halakhah was a way of living a way of thinking about the world – taking abstract ideas and making them real in everyday life."<ref name="engaged" />{{rp|11}}
+
The second was Rabbi [[Joseph Soloveitchik]] whom Sacks described as "the greatest Orthodox thinker of the time [who] challenged me to think."<ref name="engaged" /> Sacks argued that for Rav Soloveichik:
 +
<blockquote>Jewish philosophy, he said, had to emerge from [[Halakha|halakhah]], Jewish law. Jewish thought and Jewish practice were not two different things but the same thing seen from different perspectives. Halakhah was a way of living a way of thinking about the world – taking abstract ideas and making them real in everyday life.<ref name="engaged" /></blockquote>
  
The third figure was Rabbi [[Nahum Rabinovitch]], a former principal of the [[London School of Jewish Studies]]. Sacks called Rabinovitch "One of the great Maimonidean scholars of our time, [who] taught us, his students, that Torah leadership demands the highest intellectual and moral courage. He did this in the best way possible: by personal example. The following thoughts, which are his, are a small indication of what I learned from him – not least that Torah is, among other things, a refusal to give easy answers to difficult questions."<ref>[http://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-5768-shemot-of-what-was-moses-afraid/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910150218/http://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-5768-shemot-of-what-was-moses-afraid/ |date=10 September 2015 }} Of What Was Moses Afraid? Covenant & Conversation for Shemot 5768 by R. Sacks</ref>
+
The third figure was Rabbi [[Nahum Rabinovitch]], a former principal of the [[London School of Jewish Studies]]. Sacks called Rabinovitch:
 +
<blockquote>One of the great Maimonidean scholars of our time, [who] taught us, his students, that Torah leadership demands the highest intellectual and moral courage. He did this in the best way possible: by personal example. The following thoughts, which are his, are a small indication of what I learned from him – not least that Torah is, among other things, a refusal to give easy answers to difficult questions.<ref>Jonathan Sacks, [https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-5768-shemot-of-what-was-moses-afraid/ Shemot (5768) – Of what was Moses afraid?] December 29, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2021.</ref></blockquote>
  
 
===Universalism vs particularism===
 
===Universalism vs particularism===
As a rabbi, social philosopher, proponent of interfaith dialogue and public intellectual, Tirosh-Samuelson and Hughes note that "[Sacks's] vision—informed as it is by the concerns of modern Orthodoxy—is paradoxically one of the most universalizing voices within contemporary Judaism. Sacks possesses a rare ability to hold in delicate balance the universal demands of the modern, multicultural world with the particularism associated with Judaism."<ref>{{cite book |editor=Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Aaron W. Hughes |year=2013 |title=Jonathan Sacks: Universalizing Particularity |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004249813 |chapter=Jonathan Sacks: An Intellectual Portrait |pages=1–20}}</ref>{{rp|1}} This is a view supported by Rabbi Nathan Lopez Cardozo who wrote in ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'' that Sacks' "confidence in the power of Judaism and its infinite wisdom enabled him to enter the lion's den, taking on famous philosophers, scientists, religious thinkers and sociologists and showing them that Judaism had something to teach that they couldn't afford to miss if they wanted to be at the forefront of philosophy and science."<ref>"The rebellion of Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks", ''The Jerusalem Post'', 7 September 2013</ref> Harris and Rynhold, in their introduction to ''Radical Responsibility'' argued that: "The special contribution made by the thought of Chief Rabbi Sacks is that it not only continues the venerable Jewish philosophical tradition of maintaining traditional faith in the face of external intellectual challenges, but also moves beyond this tradition by showing how core Jewish teachings can address the dilemmas of the secular world itself. What make Lord Sacks' approach so effective is that he is able to do so without any exception of the wider world taking on Judaism's theological beliefs."<ref name="Radical Responsibility"/>{{rp|xvi}}
+
Somewhat surprisingly given that Sacks' religious home was in Orthodox Judaism, Sacks was one of the most inclusive voices beyond Judaism. In their commentary on Sacks' writings, Tirosh-Samuelson and Hughes note that:
 +
<blockquote>[Sacks's] vision—informed as it is by the concerns of modern Orthodoxy—is paradoxically one of the most universalizing voices within contemporary Judaism. Sacks possesses a rare ability to hold in delicate balance the universal demands of the modern, multicultural world with the particularism associated with Judaism."<ref name=Hava/></blockquote>  
 +
 
 +
Rabbi Nathan Lopez Cardozo commented on how Sacks' firm belief in Judaism was his foundation to embrace and challenge the world:
 +
<blockquote>Confidence in the power of Judaism and its infinite wisdom enabled him to enter the lion's den, taking on famous philosophers, scientists, religious thinkers and sociologists and showing them that Judaism had something to teach that they couldn't afford to miss if they wanted to be at the forefront of philosophy and science.<ref>Nathan Lopes Cardozo, [https://www.cardozoacademy.org/thoughtstoponder/the-rebellion-of-chief-rabbi-sacks-ttp-351/ The Rebellion of Chief Rabbi Sacks] ''David Cardozo Academy'', July 9, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2021.</ref></blockquote>
 +
 
 +
Harris and Rynhold wrote in their introduction to ''Radical Responsibility'':  
 +
<blockquote>The special contribution made by the thought of Chief Rabbi Sacks is that it not only continues the venerable Jewish philosophical tradition of maintaining traditional faith in the face of external intellectual challenges, but also moves beyond this tradition by showing how core Jewish teachings can address the dilemmas of the secular world itself. What make Lord Sacks' approach so effective is that he is able to do so without any exception of the wider world taking on Judaism's theological beliefs.<ref name="Radical Responsibility"/></blockquote>
  
 
===Torah v'Chokhma===
 
===Torah v'Chokhma===
The framework for Sacks' philosophical approach and his interaction between the universal and the particular is not too dissimilar from [[Modern_Orthodox_Judaism#Philosophy|those positions]] adopted by other leading Orthodox thinkers of recent times. The favoured phrase of Rabbi [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]] was ''Torah im derekh eretz'', 'Torah and general culture'; for Rabbi [[Norman Lamm]] it was ''Torah u-mada''. 'Torah and Science'. For Sacks, his favoured phrase has been ''Torah vehokhmah'', 'Torah and Wisdom'. As noted in the introduction to ''Radical Responsibility'': "''Torah'', for Jonathan Sacks represents the particularistic, inherited teachings of Judaism, while ''hokhmah'' (wisdom) refers to the universal realm of the sciences and humanities."<ref name="Radical Responsibility"/>{{rp|xviii}} Framed in religious terms, as Sacks sets out in his book ''Future Tense'': "Chokhmah is the truth we discover; Torah is the truth we inherit. Chokhmah is the universal language of humankind; Torah is the specific heritage of Israel. Chokhmah is what we attain by being in the image of God; Torah is what guides Jews as the people of God. Chokhmah is acquired by seeing and reasoning; Torah is received by listening and responding. Chokhmah tells us what is; Torah tells us what ought to be."<ref>Jonathan Sacks, ''Future Tense'' (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2009), p.221</ref>
+
The framework for Sacks' philosophical approach and his interaction between the universal and the particular is not too dissimilar from those positions adopted by other leading Orthodox thinkers of recent times. The favored phrase of Rabbi [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]] was ''Torah im derekh eretz'' (Torah and general culture); for Rabbi [[Norman Lamm]] it was ''Torah u-mada'' (Torah and Science). For Sacks, his favored phrase has been ''Torah vehokhmah'' (Torah and Wisdom): <blockquote>''Torah'', for Jonathan Sacks represents the particularistic, inherited teachings of Judaism, while ''hokhmah'' (wisdom) refers to the universal realm of the sciences and humanities.<ref name="Radical Responsibility"/>
 +
</blockquote>
 +
In religious terms, Sacks explained:  
 +
<blockquote>Chokhmah is the truth we discover; Torah is the truth we inherit. Chokhmah is the universal language of humankind; Torah is the specific heritage of Israel. Chokhmah is what we attain by being in the image of God; Torah is what guides Jews as the people of God. Chokhmah is acquired by seeing and reasoning; Torah is received by listening and responding. Chokhmah tells us what is; Torah tells us what ought to be.<ref name=Future>Jonathan Sacks, ''Future Tense: Jews, Judaism, and Israel in the Twenty-first Century'' (Schocken, 2012, ISBN 978-0805212297).</ref></blockquote>
 +
Tirosh-Samuelson and Hughes noted that whilst ''Torah v'Chokhmah'' is certainly a valid overarching framework, Sacks' perspective is one rooted in modern orthodoxy:  
 +
<blockquote>Although he [Sacks] will try to understand various denominations of Judaism, he is always quick to point out that Orthodoxy cannot recognize the legitimacy of interpretations of Judaism that abandon fundamental beliefs of halakhic (Jewish law) authority. Judaism that departs from the truth and acceptance of the halakha is a departure from authentic Judaism and, he reasons, is tantamount to the accommodation of secularism. So, while Sacks will develop a highly inclusive account of the world's religions, there were times when he was critical of the denominations ''within'' Judaism.<ref name=Hava/></blockquote>
 +
 
 +
===God is greater than religion===
 +
After the publication of his book '' Dignity of Difference'' (2002), a group of [[Haredi]] rabbis, most notably Rabbis [[Yosef Shalom Elyashiv]] and [[Bezalel Rakow]], accused Sacks of heresy against what they consider the traditional Orthodox viewpoint. According to them, some words seemed to imply an endorsement of pure relativism between religions, and that Judaism is not the sole true religion, for example, "No one creed has a monopoly on spiritual truth." This led him to rephrase more clearly some sentences in the book for its second edition, though he refused to recall books already in the stores.<ref name="Petre">Jonathan Petre, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1422145/Chief-Rabbi-revises-book-after-attack-by-critics.html Chief Rabbi revises book after attack by critics] ''The Daily Telegraph'', February 15, 2003. Retrieved April 3, 2021.</ref>
 +
 
 +
In his "Preface" to the second edition of the book, Sacks wrote that certain passages in the book had been misconstrued: He had already explicitly criticized cultural and religious relativism in his book, and he did not deny Judaism's uniqueness. He also stressed, however, that mainstream rabbinic teachings teach that wisdom, righteousness, and the possibility of a true relationship with God are all available in non-Jewish cultures and religions as an ongoing heritage from the covenant that God made with Noah and all his descendants, so the tradition teaches that one does not need to be Jewish to know God or truth, or to attain salvation:
 +
<blockquote>God is greater than religion. He is only partially comprehended by any faith.<ref name=Dignity>Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, ''The Dignity of Difference'' 2nd edition (Continuum, 2003, ISBN  978-0826468505).</ref></blockquote>
  
Tirosh-Samuelson and Hughes are of the opinion that whilst ''Torah v'Chokhmah'' is certainly a valid overarching framework, they note that Sacks' perspective is one rooted in modern orthodoxy: "Although he [Sacks] will try to understand various denominations of Judaism, he is always quick to point out that Orthodoxy cannot recognize the legitimacy of interpretations of Judaism that abandon fundamental beliefs of halakhic (Jewish law) authority. Judaism that departs from the truth and acceptance of the halakha is a departure from authentic Judaism and, he reasons, is tantamount to the accommodation of secularism. So, while Sacks will develop a highly inclusive account of the world's religions, there were times when he was critical of the denominations ''within'' Judaism."<ref>Universalizing Particularity, p.7</ref>
+
He argued that as this diversity of covenantal bonds implies, traditional Jewish sources clearly deny that any one creed has a monopoly on spiritual truth. Monopolistic and simplistic claims of universal truth would therefore not be true Jewish teachings,<ref name=Dignity/> a point he reaffirmed in his book ''Future Tense''<ref name=Future/>
  
==="No one creed has a monopoly on spiritual truth"===
+
===Interfaith dialogue===
After the publication of his book ''The Dignity of Difference'', a group of [[Haredi]] rabbis, most notably Rabbis [[Yosef Shalom Elyashiv]] and [[Bezalel Rakow]], accused Sacks of heresy against what they consider the traditional Orthodox viewpoint. According to them, some words seemed to imply an endorsement of pure relativism between religions, and that Judaism is not the sole true religion, e.g. "No one creed has a monopoly on spiritual truth." This led him to rephrase more clearly some sentences in the book for its second edition, though he refused to recall books already in the stores.<ref name="Petre">{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1422145/Chief-Rabbi-revises-book-after-attack-by-critics.html | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | title=Chief Rabbi revises book after attack by critics | first=Jonathan | last=Petre | date=15 February 2003 | access-date=7 May 2010 | archive-date=5 June 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605081347/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1422145/Chief-Rabbi-revises-book-after-attack-by-critics.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
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[[File:Religious Leaders, World Economic Forum 2009 Annual Meeting.jpg|thumb|300px|Jonathan Sacks (second from left) with [[George Carey]] (Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002), [[Mustafa Cerić]] (Grand Mufti of Bosnia), and [[Jim Wallis]] (founder and editor of ''Sojourners'' magazine), at the 2009 [[World Economic Forum]]]]
  
In his "Preface to the Second Edition" of the book, Sacks wrote that certain passages in the book had been misconstrued: He had already explicitly criticised cultural and religious relativism in his book, and he did not deny Judaism's uniqueness. He also stressed, however, that mainstream rabbinic teachings teach that wisdom, righteousness, and the possibility of a true relationship with God are all available in non-Jewish cultures and religions as an ongoing heritage from the covenant that God made with Noah and all his descendants, so the tradition teaches that one does not need to be Jewish to know God or truth, or to attain salvation.<ref name="Rabbi Jonathan Sacks 2003">Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, ''The Dignity of Difference'', 2nd edition, 2003, pp. vii, 52–65</ref><ref name="chiefrabbi.org">[http://www.chiefrabbi.org/ReadArtical.aspx?id=454 Faith Lectures: Jewish Identity: The Concept of a Chosen People]. Chief Rabbi (1 December 1990). Retrieved on 3 December 2011. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417184347/http://www.chiefrabbi.org/ReadArtical.aspx?id=454 |date=17 April 2012 }}</ref> As this diversity of covenantal bonds implies, however, traditional Jewish sources do clearly deny that any one creed has a monopoly on spiritual truth. Monopolistic and simplistic claims of universal truth he has characterized as imperialistic, pagan and Platonic, and not Jewish at all.<ref>See Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, ''The Dignity of Difference'', Chapter 3: "Exorcising Plato's Ghost," and reaffirmed in his book, ''Future Tense'', 2009, Chapter 4: "The Other: Judaism, Christianity and Islam."</ref> The book received international acclaim, winning the [[Grawemeyer Award]] for Religion in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://grawemeyer.org/religion/previous-winners/2004-jonathan-sacks.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=9 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201201639/http://grawemeyer.org/religion/previous-winners/2004-jonathan-sacks.html |archive-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>
+
Sacks' contributions to interfaith work were widely acknowledged: "He has been excellent in building bridges between the faiths," according to Sir Sigmund Sternberg, the president of the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain as well as founder of the Three Faiths Forum for Christian/Muslim/Jewish dialogue.<ref name=Independent>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-sacks-defender-faith-9222878.html Jonathan Sacks: Defender of the faith] ''The Independent'', March 29, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref>
  
===Efforts to accommodate Haredi Jews===
+
Sacks not only wrote about the coming together of all religions, as an advocate of interfaith dialogue he sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the [[Elijah Interfaith Institute]].<ref>[https://elijah-interfaith.org/world-religious-leaders-activity/the-elijah-board-of-world-religious-leaders/jewish-leaders Members of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders: Jewish Leaders] ''The Elijah Interfaith Institute''. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref>
A book by the British historian and journalist Meir Persoff, ''Another Way, Another Time'', has argued that "Sacks's top priority has been staying in the good graces of the Haredi, or strictly Orthodox, faction, whose high birthrate has made it the fastest-growing component of British Jewry."<ref name="MP9996">{{cite news |url=http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/is-sacks-britain%E2%80%99s-last-chief-rabbi |title=Is Sacks Britain's Last Chief Rabbi? |work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]] |date=16 May 2010 |access-date=12 October 2013 |author=MP9996 |archive-date=15 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015101317/http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/is-sacks-britain%E2%80%99s-last-chief-rabbi |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Meir Persoff (2008), ''[https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/13444/ Another way, another time: an academic response to Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' installation address, a decade of Jewish renewal.]'' PhD thesis, [[Middlesex University]]. The published book (2010) was considerably longer than the thesis.<br />For a critical review of Persoff's book see Elkan D. Levy (2011), ''Jewish Journal of Sociology'' '''[https://archive.jpr.org.uk/download?id=2786 53]''', pp.87-93<br />See also Miri Freud-Kandel (2011), [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=30160 review] for H-Judaic, [[H-Net]]</ref>
+
 
 +
He attended the 2009 Annual Meeting of the [[World Economic Forum]] in Davos, [[Switzerland]], participating in a group of religious leaders who called for peace in the [[Middle East]].
  
 
===Relationship with the non-Orthodox denominations===
 
===Relationship with the non-Orthodox denominations===
Sacks provoked considerable controversy in the Anglo-Jewish community in 1996 when he refused to attend the funeral service of the late [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] Rabbi [[Hugo Gryn]] and for a private letter he had written in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], which (in translation) asserted that Auschwitz survivor Gryn was "among those who destroy the faith", was leaked and published. He wrote further that he was an "enemy" of the Reform, Liberal and Masorti movements, leading some to reject the notion that he was "Chief Rabbi" for all Jews in Britain. He attended a memorial meeting for Gryn, a move that brought the wrath of some in the ultra-Orthodox community.<ref name="Defender">{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-sacks-defender-of-the-faith-9222878.html | title=Jonathan Sacks: Defender of the faith | work=[[The Independent]] | date=8 September 2001 | access-date=28 November 2015 | archive-date=9 December 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209005237/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-sacks-defender-of-the-faith-9222878.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Ian Burrell, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leaked-letter-widens-schism-in-jewry-1272921.html "Leaked letter widens schism in Jewry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831130200/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/leaked-letter-widens-schism-in-jewry-1272921.html |date=31 August 2017 }}, ''The Independent'', 15 March 1997</ref> Rabbi Dow Marmur, a Canada-based progressive Rabbi, argued that after attending the memorial service, Sacks then attempted to placate the ultra-Orthodox community, an attempt which Marmur has described as "neurotic and cowardly."<ref name= "Criticised">{{cite news | url=http://www.thejc.com/news/40113/lord-sacks-criticised-progressive-rabbi | title=Lord Sacks criticised by progressive rabbi | work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]] | date=22 October 2010 | access-date=12 October 2013 | first=Simon | last=Rocker | archive-date=15 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015101251/http://www.thejc.com/news/40113/lord-sacks-criticised-progressive-rabbi | url-status=live }}</ref>
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While widely recognized as a leading representative of Judaism in interfaith events, Sacks found less acceptance among the different denominations of Judaism. David Goldberg, the senior rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, noted that "He has a brilliant intellect and is an impressive spokesman, even if the position he occupies as Chief Rabbi is increasingly untenable."<ref name=Independent>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jonathan-sacks-defender-faith-9222878.html Jonathan Sacks: Defender of the faith] ''The Independent'', March 29, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref> As the spiritual head of the [[United Synagogue]], the largest synagogue body in the UK, he was the [[Chief Rabbi]] of those [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] synagogues, but was not recognized as the religious authority for the Haredi [[Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations]] or for the progressive movements such as [[Conservative Judaism|Masorti]], [[Reform Judaism (United Kingdom)|Reform]], and [[Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom)|Liberal Judaism]].
  
Later, in a letter to ''[[The Jewish Chronicle]]'' in May 2013, Jackie Gryn, the widow of Rabbi [[Hugo Gryn]], wrote: "I feel the time has come for me to lay to rest, once and for all , the idea… that there ever was a 'Hugo Gryn Affair', as far as I am concerned, regarding the absence of the Chief Rabbi at the funeral of my late husband, Hugo… From the beginning, relations were cordial and sympathetic and have remained so", she wrote. "There has never been any personal grievance between us concerning his non-attendance at the funeral, which promoted such venomous and divisive comments and regrettably continues to do so."<ref name= "No more">{{cite news | url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/107306/no-more-talk-gryn-affair-says-hugos-wife | title=No more talk of Gryn Affair, says Hugo's wife | work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]] | date=9 May 2013 | access-date=28 November 2015 | author=Simon Rocker | location=London | archive-date=8 December 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208200857/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/107306/no-more-talk-gryn-affair-says-hugos-wife | url-status=live }}</ref>
+
Sack's longstanding respect and support of other religions was in sharp contrast to his unwillingness to accept the authenticity of non-orthodox Jewish traditions. Commenting on this seeming contradiction, Rabbi John D. Rayner wrote: “[i]n other words, Rabbi Sacks is prepared to say to non-Jews ‘you don’t have to be Jewish.’ But he is not prepared to say to Jews ‘you don’t have to be orthodox.’” <ref>Sarah Abramson, [https://archive.jpr.org.uk/download?id=2786 The Plurality of Pluralism: Youth Movements and The Communal Discourse of Jewish Diversity] ''The Jewish Journal of Sociology'' 53 (2011): 57-68. Retrieved April 7, 2021.</ref></blockquote>
  
Sacks responded to the incident by rethinking his relationship with the non-Orthodox movements, eventually developing what he called the "two principles". Responding to an interview shortly before his retirement, he wrote that "You try and make things better in the future. As a result of the turbulence at that time, I was forced to think this whole issue through and I came up with these two principles; on all matters that affect us as Jews regardless of our religious differences we work together regardless of our religious differences, and on all things that touch our religious differences we agree to differ, but with respect. As a result of those two principles, relations between Reform and Orthodox have got much better and are actually a model for the rest of the Jewish world. Progressive rabbis sit with me on the top table of the Council of Christians and Jews, we stand together for Israel. All of this flowed from those two principles. Until then there had been a view never to do anything with the non-Orthodox movements but once you thought it through you saw that there were all sorts of opportunities."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sacks|first1=Jonathan|title=Lord Sacks: The full interview (The Jewish News)|url=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/lord-sacks-the-full-interview//|website=The Times of Israel|access-date=19 August 2017|date=21 August 2013|archive-date=19 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819070629/http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/lord-sacks-the-full-interview//|url-status=live}}</ref>
+
British historian and journalist Meir Persoff, suggested that "Sacks's top priority has been staying in the good graces of the Haredi, or strictly Orthodox, faction, whose high birthrate has made it the fastest-growing component of British Jewry."<ref>Meir Persoff, ''Another Way, Another Time: Religious Inclusivism and the Sacks Chief Rabbinate'' (Academic Studies Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1936235100).</ref> Persoff's criticism of Sacks' leadership, evidenced by his partisan focus on Orthodox Judaism and consequent inability to unite British Jewry as a whole, raises the broader question of the office of chief rabbi itself, and thus does not necessarily entail personal failings on the part of Sacks:
 +
<blockquote>Trying to please, or at least appease, all parties, he has all too often faced criticism from every direction. ... As Persoff notes, following many others, the post demands an improbable balancing act between the need to serve the communities who formally elect the chief rabbi and a perception that it can somehow fulfill a representative function for all of Anglo-Jewry alongside other religious leaders in Britain. The chances of success in this task were always limited.<ref>Miri Freud-Kandel, [https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=30160 Review of Persoff's "Another Way, Another Time"] ''H-Judaic'', May, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2021.</ref></blockquote>
 +
 +
Sacks provoked considerable controversy in the Anglo-Jewish community in 1996 when he refused to attend the funeral service of the late [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] Rabbi [[Hugo Gryn]] and for a private letter he had written in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], which (in translation) asserted that [[Auschwitz]] survivor Gryn was "among those who destroy the faith," was leaked and published. He wrote further that he was an "enemy" of the Reform, Liberal, and Masorti movements, leading some to reject the notion that he was "Chief Rabbi" for all Jews in Britain.<ref>Ian Burrell, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leaked-letter-widens-schism-in-jewry-1272921.html Leaked letter widens schism in Jewry] ''The Independent'', March 15, 1997. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref>  
  
Sacks would later draw some criticism when he and his Beth Din prevented the retired Rabbi [[Louis Jacobs]], who had helped establish the British branch of the [[Conservative Judaism|Masorti movement]], from being called up for the [[Reading of the Torah]] on the Saturday before his granddaughter's wedding.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article682446.ece | work=[[The Times]] | location=London | title=Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs | date=4 July 2006 | access-date=7 May 2010 | archive-date=4 June 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604045732/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article682446.ece | url-status=live }}</ref>
+
Sacks responded to the incident by rethinking his relationship with the non-Orthodox movements, eventually developing what he called the "two principles":
 +
<blockquote>You try and make things better in the future. As a result of the turbulence at that time, I was forced to think this whole issue through and I came up with these two principles; on all matters that affect us as Jews regardless of our religious differences we work together regardless of our religious differences, and on all things that touch our religious differences we agree to differ, but with respect. As a result of those two principles relations between Reform and Orthodox have got much better and are actually a model for the rest of the Jewish world. Progressive rabbis sit with me on the top table of the Council of Christians and Jews, we stand together for Israel. All of this flowed from those two principles. Until then there had been a view never to do anything with the non-Orthodox movements but once you thought it through you saw that there were all sorts of opportunities.<ref> Justin Cohen, [https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/lord-sacks-the-full-interview/ Lord Sacks: the full interview] ''Jewish News'', August 22, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref></blockquote>
  
===Secularism and Europe's changing demographics===
+
===Secularism and Consumerism===
Sacks expressed concern at what he regarded as the negative effects of materialism and secularism in European society, arguing that they undermined the basic values of family life and lead to selfishness. In 2009, Sacks gave an address claiming that Europeans have chosen consumerism over the self-sacrifice of parenting children, and that "the major assault on religion today comes from the neo-Darwinians". He argued that Europe is in population decline "because non-believers lack shared values of family and community that religion has".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/6507782/Europeans-too-selfish-to-have-children-says-Chief-Rabbi.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Europeans too selfish to have children, says Chief Rabbi |date=5 November 2009 |access-date=7 May 2010 |archive-date=2 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102050939/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/6507782/Europeans-too-selfish-to-have-children-says-Chief-Rabbi.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/05/birth-rate-chief-rabbi-sacks |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=Falling birth rate is killing Europe, says chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks |first=Riazat |last=Butt |date=5 November 2009 |access-date=7 May 2010 |archive-date=8 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908074226/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/05/birth-rate-chief-rabbi-sacks |url-status=live }}</ref>
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Sacks expressed concern at what he regarded as the negative effects of [[materialism]] and secularism in European society, arguing that they undermined the basic values of family life and lead to selfishness. In 2009, Sacks gave an address claiming that Europeans had chosen "consumerism and instant gratification" over the self-sacrifice of parenting children: "Parenthood involves massive sacrifice: money, attention, time and emotional energy." He noted that today, in the increasingly secular European culture there was no room for sacrifice for "the sake of generations not yet born." <ref>Riazat Butt, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/05/birth-rate-chief-rabbi-sacks Falling birth rate is killing Europe, says chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks] ''Guardian'', November 5, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2021. </ref>
  
===Consumerism and Steve Jobs===
+
Sacks made remarks at an inter-faith reception attended by Queen [[Elizabeth II]], in November 2011, in which he criticized what he believed to be the selfish consumer culture that has only brought unhappiness:
Sacks made remarks at an inter-faith reception attended by [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]], in November 2011, in which he criticised what he believed to be the selfish consumer culture that has only brought unhappiness. "The consumer society was laid down by the late Steve Jobs coming down the mountain with two tablets, iPad one and iPad two, and the result is that we now have a culture of iPod, iPhone, iTune, i, i, i. When you're an individualist, egocentric culture and you only care about 'I', you don’t do terribly well."<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8899737/Chief-Rabbi-blames-Apple-for-helping-create-selfish-society.html Chief Rabbi blames Apple for helping create selfish society] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912092217/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8899737/Chief-Rabbi-blames-Apple-for-helping-create-selfish-society.html |date=12 September 2018 }}. ''Telegraph''. Retrieved on 3 December 2011.</ref><ref>[http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/otoh/2011/11/11121-rabbi-vs-steve-jobs-ithis-ithat-cause-sadness/index.htm Rabbi vs. Steve Jobs: iThis & iThat cause sadness – OTOH: On the other hand] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211161446/http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/otoh/2011/11/11121-rabbi-vs-steve-jobs-ithis-ithat-cause-sadness/index.htm |date=11 December 2011 }}. Blogs.computerworlduk.com. Retrieved on 3 December 2011.</ref> In a later statement, the Chief Rabbi's office said "The Chief Rabbi meant no criticism of either Steve Jobs personally or the contribution Apple has made to the development of technology in the 21st century."<ref>Anna Leach, [https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/22/rabbi_has_no_criticisms_of_apple_technology_uses_ipad_everyday/ Chief Rabbi: I admire Jobs and Apple and use my iPad daily] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805112400/https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/22/rabbi_has_no_criticisms_of_apple_technology_uses_ipad_everyday/ |date=5 August 2020 }}, ''[[The Register]]'', 22 November 2011</ref>
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<blockquote>The consumer society was laid down by the late Steve Jobs coming down the mountain with two tablets, iPad one and iPad two, and the result is that we now have a culture of iPod, iPhone, iTune, i, i, i. When you're an individualist, egocentric culture and you only care about 'I', you don’t do terribly well. <ref>Jonathan Wynne Jones, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/steve-jobs/8899737/Chief-Rabbi-blames-Apple-for-helping-create-selfish-society.html Chief Rabbi blames Apple for helping create selfish society] ''The Telegraph'', November 19, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref></blockquote>
 +
 
 +
In a later statement, the Chief Rabbi's office said: <blockquote>The Chief Rabbi meant no criticism of either Steve Jobs personally or the contribution Apple has made to the development of technology in the 21st century. ...The Chief Rabbi was simply pointing out the potential dangers of consumerism when taken too far.<ref>Anna Leach, [https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/22/rabbi_has_no_criticisms_of_apple_technology_uses_ipad_everyday/ Chief Rabbi: I admire Jobs and Apple and use my iPad daily] ''The Register'', November 22, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref></blockquote>
  
 
===Position on gay marriage===
 
===Position on gay marriage===
In July 2012 a group of prominent British Jews criticised Sacks for opposing plans to allow [[civil marriage]] for gays and lesbians.<ref name="Gay marriage">{{cite news | url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/69523/chief-rabbi-lord-sacks-attacked-over-gay-marriage-opposition | title=Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks attacked over gay marriage opposition | work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]] | date=5 July 2012 | access-date=12 October 2013 | last=Rocker | first=Simon | archive-date=15 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015101304/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/69523/chief-rabbi-lord-sacks-attacked-over-gay-marriage-opposition | url-status=live }}</ref> He said that he understood "the fear that gays have of prejudice and persecution"<ref name="plight of gays in Britain">{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10264449/I-understand-gay-peoples-fears-says-Chief-Rabbi-Lord-Sacks.html | title=I understand gay people's fears, says Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks | work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] | date=25 August 2013 | access-date=27 November 2016 | last=Malnick | first=Edward | archive-date=27 November 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127224246/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10264449/I-understand-gay-peoples-fears-says-Chief-Rabbi-Lord-Sacks.html | url-status=live }}</ref> and went on to say, in a lecture on the institution of marriage, that a world that persecutes homosexuals is one "to which we should never return."<ref name="The love that brings new life into the world – Rabbi Sacks on the institution of marriage">{{cite web|last1=Sacks|first1=Jonathan|title=Rabbi|url=http://www.rabbisacks.org/love-brings-new-life-world-rabbi-sacks-institution-marriage/|publisher=humanum.global|access-date=27 November 2016|date=17 November 2014|archive-date=27 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127153502/http://www.rabbisacks.org/love-brings-new-life-world-rabbi-sacks-institution-marriage/|url-status=live}}</ref>
+
In July 2012 a group of prominent British Jews criticized Sacks for opposing plans to allow [[civil marriage]] for gays and lesbians. Sacks stated that "marriage was a sacred union between a man and a woman and any redefinition would undermine it."<ref> Simon Rocker, [https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/chief-rabbi-lord-sacks-attacked-over-gay-marriage-opposition-1.34167 Chief Rabbi attacked over gay marriage opposition] ''The Jewish Chronicle'', July 5, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref> However, he acknowledged "the fear that gays have of prejudice and persecution,"<ref>Edward Malnick, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10264449/I-understand-gay-peoples-fears-says-Chief-Rabbi-Lord-Sacks.html I understand gay people's fears, says Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks] ''The Telegraph'', August 25, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref> and said strongly that a world that persecutes homosexuals is one "to which we should never return."<ref name=marriage>Jonathan Sacks, [https://rabbisacks.org/love-brings-new-life-world-rabbi-sacks-institution-marriage/ “The love that brings new life into the world” – Rabbi Sacks on the institution of marriage] International Colloquium on “The Complementarity of Man and Woman,” November 17, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref>  
  
{{cquote | I fully understood... that gays, not just Jews, were sent to the concentration camps, and I did not want to become a voice that would be caught up in a very polarised debate and be seen to be heartless towards the gays in our own community. I am not heartless towards them, I really seek to understand them and they seek to understand where I am coming from. – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks<ref name="plight of gays in Britain" /> }}
+
In his lecture on marriage, Sacks explained further:
 
+
<blockquote>But our compassion for those who choose to live differently should not inhibit us from being advocates for the single most humanising institution in history. The family, man, woman, and child, is not one lifestyle choice among many. It is the best means we have yet discovered for nurturing future generations and enabling children to grow in a matrix of stability and love. It is where we learn the delicate choreography of relationship and how to handle the inevitable conflicts within any human group. It is where we first take the risk of giving and receiving love. It is where one generation passes on its values to the next, ensuring the continuity of a civilisation. For any society, the family is the crucible of its future, and for the sake of our children’s future, we must be its defenders.<ref name=marriage/></blockquote>
===Interfaith dialogue===
 
[[File:Religious Leaders, World Economic Forum 2009 Annual Meeting.jpg|thumb|250px|Jonathan Sacks (second from left) with [[George Carey]], [[Mustafa Cerić]], and [[Jim Wallis]] at the 2009 [[World Economic Forum]]]]
 
Sacks was an advocate of interfaith dialogue and sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the [[Elijah Interfaith Institute]].<ref>[http://www.elijah-interfaith.org/index.php?id=732 The Elijah Interfaith Institute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008074833/http://www.elijah-interfaith.org/index.php?id=732 |date=8 October 2014 }} - Jewish Members of the Board of World Religious Leaders</ref>
 
  
 
===Politics in the United States===
 
===Politics in the United States===
In October 2017, Jonathan Sacks inveighed against a "politics of anger" he said was corroding the fabric of U.S. society. "The politics of anger that's emerged in our time is full of danger," Sacks said. He decried the breakdown of American society into narrower and narrower identities that nurtured a "culture of grievances." Sacks warned that "The social contract is still there, but the social covenant is being lost."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aei.org/research-products/speech/2017-irving-kristol-award-recipient-rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks-remarks/|title=2017 Irving Kristol Award recipient Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' remarks - AEI|access-date=10 November 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108010450/https://www.aei.org/research-products/speech/2017-irving-kristol-award-recipient-rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks-remarks/|url-status=live}}</ref>
+
In October 2017, Sacks inveighed against a "politics of anger" he said was corroding the fabric of U.S. society: "The politics of anger that's emerged in our time is full of danger." He decried the breakdown of American society into narrower and narrower identities that nurtured a "culture of grievances." Nothing that "the social contract creates a state but the social covenant creates a society," Sacks warned that "The social contract is still there, but the social covenant is being lost."<ref>[https://www.aei.org/research-products/speech/2017-irving-kristol-award-recipient-rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks-remarks/ 2017 Irving Kristol Award recipient Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' remarks] ''AEI'', October 24, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2021.</ref>
  
 
===On antisemitism===
 
===On antisemitism===
In a June 2019 debate on anti-Semitism in the House of Lords, Sacks stated that "there is hardly a country in the world, certainly not a single country in Europe, where Jews feel safe" and that societies tolerating anti-Semitism had "forfeited all moral credibility".<ref>{{cite news |title=UK rabbi to House of Lords: Rise in antisemitism today like Holocaust-era - Diaspora - Jerusalem Post |url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/UK-rabbi-to-House-of-Lords-Rise-in-antisemitism-today-similar-to-Holocaust-era-593269 |access-date=22 June 2019 |work=jpost.com |archive-date=22 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622051637/https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/UK-rabbi-to-House-of-Lords-Rise-in-antisemitism-today-similar-to-Holocaust-era-593269 |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, Sacks equated anti-Semitism to a "mutating [[virus]]." <ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-09-27|title=The Mutating Virus: Understanding Antisemitism|url=https://rabbisacks.org/mutating-virus-understanding-antisemitism/|access-date=2020-12-01|website=Rabbi Sacks|language=en-GB}}</ref>
+
In a June 2019 debate on [[antisemitism]] in the [[House of Lords]], Sacks described the rise of antisemitism in Europe today as being "similar to that of Holocaust-era Europe." He stated that "there is hardly a country in the world, certainly not a single country in Europe, where Jews feel safe" and that societies tolerating antisemitism had "forfeited all moral credibility."<ref> Tamar Beeri, [https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/UK-rabbi-to-House-of-Lords-Rise-in-antisemitism-today-similar-to-Holocaust-era-593269 UK rabbi to House of Lords: Rise in antisemitism today like Holocaust-era] ''The Jerusalem Post'', June 23, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref>  
 +
 
 +
He warned that "The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews" and that antisemitism has reared its ugly head again but in a slightly different form just like a "mutating virus." <ref>Jonathan Sacks, [https://rabbisacks.org/mutating-virus-understanding-antisemitism/ The Mutating Virus: Understanding Antisemitism] Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref>
  
==Publications==
+
==Published works==
 +
The author of 35 books, Sacks published commentaries on the daily Jewish prayer book ([[siddur]]) and completed commentaries to the [[Rosh Hashanah]], [[Yom Kippur]] and [[Pesach]] festival prayer-books (machzorim). His books won literary awards, including the Grawemeyer Prize for Religion in 2004 for ''The Dignity of Difference'', and a National Jewish Book Award in 2000 for ''A Letter in the Scroll''.<ref name="rabbisacks.org"/> ''Covenant & Conversation: Genesis'' was also awarded a National Jewish Book Award in 2009, and ''Moral­i­ty: Restor­ing the Com­mon Good in Divid­ed Times'' in 2020<ref name="Past Winners">[https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners Nation­al Jew­ish Book Awards: Past Winners] ''Jewish Book Council''. Retrieved April 7, 2021.</ref> His commentary to the Pesach festival prayer book won the Modern Jewish Thought and Experience Dorot Foundation Award in the 2013 National Jewish Book Awards.<ref>[https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/sacks-passover-guide-scoops-prestigious-us-book-award/ Sacks' Passover guide scoops prestigious US book award] ''The Jewish News'', January 16, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2021. </ref> His ''Covenant & Conversation'' commentaries on the weekly Torah portion continue to be read by thousands of people in Jewish communities around the world.<ref name>[https://www.torahcafe.com/scholar/chief-rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks_0000000053.html?id=0000000053 Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks] ''Torah Cafe''. Retrieved April 7, 2021. </ref>
 
;As author
 
;As author
 
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
 
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* ''Judaism's Life-Changing Ideas: A Weekly reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2020) {{ISBN|9781592645527}}
+
 
* ''Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2020) {{ISBN|9781473617315}}
+
* ''Judaism's Life-Changing Ideas: A Weekly reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2020) ISBN 9781592645527
* ''Covenant & Conversation: Deuteronomy: Renewal of the Sinai Covenant'' (Koren, 2019) {{ISBN|9781592640232}}
+
* ''Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2020) ISBN 9781473617315
* ''Covenant & Conversation: Numbers: the Wilderness Years'' (Koren, 2017) {{ISBN| 9781592640232}}
+
* ''Covenant & Conversation: Deuteronomy: Renewal of the Sinai Covenant'' (Koren, 2019) ISBN 9781592640232
* ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2015) {{ISBN|9781592644322}}
+
* ''Covenant & Conversation: Numbers: the Wilderness Years'' (Koren, 2017) ISBN 9781592640232
* ''Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2015) {{ISBN|9781473616516}}
+
* ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2015) ISBN 9781592644322
* ''Covenant & Conversation: Leviticus, the Book of Holiness'' (Koren, 2015) {{ISBN|9781592640225}}
+
* ''Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2015) ISBN 9781473616516
* ''The Koren Sacks Pesach Mahzor'' (Koren, 2013) {{ISBN|9789653013179}}
+
* ''Covenant & Conversation: Leviticus, the Book of Holiness'' (Koren, 2015) ISBN 9781592640225
* ''The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur Mahzor'' (Koren, 2012) {{ISBN|9789653013469}}
+
* ''The Koren Sacks Pesach Mahzor'' (Koren, 2013) ISBN 9789653013179
* ''The Koren Sacks Rosh Hashana Mahzor'' (Koren, 2011) {{ISBN|9789653013421}}
+
* ''The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur Mahzor'' (Koren, 2012) ISBN 9789653013469
* ''The Great Partnership: God Science and the Search for Meaning'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2011) {{ISBN|9780340995259}}
+
* ''The Koren Sacks Rosh Hashana Mahzor'' (Koren, 2011) ISBN 9789653013421
* ''Covenant and Conversation: Exodus'' (Koren, Jerusalem, 2010) {{ISBN|9781592640218}}
+
* ''The Great Partnership: God Science and the Search for Meaning'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2011) ISBN 9780340995259
* ''Future Tense'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2009) {{ISBN|9780340979853}}
+
* ''Covenant and Conversation: Exodus'' (Koren, Jerusalem, 2010) ISBN 9781592640218
* ''Covenant and Conversation: Genesis'' (Koren, 2009) {{ISBN|9781592640201}}
+
* ''Future Tense'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2009) ISBN 9780340979853
* ''The Koren (Sacks) Siddur'' (Koren, 2009) {{ISBN|9789653012172}}
+
* ''Covenant and Conversation: Genesis'' (Koren, 2009) ISBN 9781592640201
* ''The Home We Build Together'' (Continuum, 2007) {{ISBN|9780826423498}}
+
* ''The Koren (Sacks) Siddur'' (Koren, 2009) ISBN 9789653012172
* ''[[Authorised Daily Prayer Book]]'' (HarperCollins, 2006) {{ISBN|9780007200917}}
+
* ''The Home We Build Together'' (Continuum, 2007) ISBN 9780826423498
* ''To Heal a Fractured World'' (Continuum, 2005) {{ISBN|9780826480392}}
+
* ''Authorised Daily Prayer Book'' (HarperCollins, 2006) ISBN 9780007200917
* ''From Optimism to Hope'' (Continuum, 2004) {{ISBN|9780826474810}}
+
* ''To Heal a Fractured World'' (Continuum, 2005) ISBN 9780826480392
* ''Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's Haggadah'' (Harper Collins, 2003) {{ISBN|9789653013421}}
+
* ''From Optimism to Hope'' (Continuum, 2004) ISBN 9780826474810
* ''The Dignity of Difference'' (Continuum, 2002) {{ISBN|9780826468505}}
+
* ''Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's Haggadah'' (Harper Collins, 2003) ISBN 9789653013421
* ''Radical Then, Radical Now'' (published in the US as ''A Letter in the Scroll'') (Continuum, 2001) {{ISBN|9780826473363}}
+
* ''The Dignity of Difference'' (Continuum, 2002) ISBN 978-0826414434; 2nd edition (Continuum, 2003) ISBN 978-0826468505
* ''Celebrating Life'' (Continuum, 2006) {{ISBN|9780826473370}}
+
* ''Radical Then, Radical Now'' (published in the US as ''A Letter in the Scroll'') (Continuum, 2001) ISBN 9780826473363
* ''Morals and Markets'' (Occasional Paper 108) (Institute of Economic Affairs, 1998) {{ISBN|0255364245}}
+
* ''Celebrating Life'' (Continuum, 2006) ISBN 9780826473370
* ''The Politics of Hope'' (Vintage, 2000) {{ISBN|9780224043298}}
+
* ''Morals and Markets'' (Occasional Paper 108) (Institute of Economic Affairs, 1998) ISBN 0255364245
* ''The Persistence of Faith'' (Continuum, 2005) - based on his [[BBC]] [[Reith Lectures]] series {{ISBN|9780297820857}}
+
* ''The Politics of Hope'' (Vintage, 2000) ISBN 9780224043298
* ''One People: Tradition, Modernity and Jewish Unity'' (The Littman Library, 1993) {{ISBN|9781874774013}}
+
* ''The Persistence of Faith'' (Continuum, 2005) - based on his BBC Reith Lectures series ISBN 9780297820857
* ''Community of Faith'' (Peter Halban, 1995) {{ISBN|9781870015592}}
+
* ''One People: Tradition, Modernity and Jewish Unity'' (The Littman Library, 1993) ISBN 9781874774013
* ''Faith in the Future'' (Darton, Longman and Todd, 1995) {{ISBN|9780232520989}}
+
* ''Community of Faith'' (Peter Halban, 1995) ISBN 9781870015592
* ''Will We Have Jewish Grandchildren?'' (Vallentine Mitchell, 1994) {{ISBN|9780853032823}}
+
* ''Faith in the Future'' (Darton, Longman and Todd, 1995) ISBN 9780232520989
* ''Crisis and Covenant'' (Manchester University Press, 1992) {{ISBN|0719033004}}
+
* ''Will We Have Jewish Grandchildren?'' (Vallentine Mitchell, 1994) ISBN 9780853032823
* ''Arguments for the Sake of Heaven'' (Jason Aronson, 1991) {{ISBN|0876687834}}
+
* ''Crisis and Covenant'' (Manchester University Press, 1992) ISBN 0719033004
* ''Tradition in an Untraditional Age'' (Vallentine Mitchell, 1990) {{ISBN|0853032394}}
+
* ''Arguments for the Sake of Heaven'' (Jason Aronson, 1991) ISBN 0876687834
 +
* ''Tradition in an Untraditional Age'' (Vallentine Mitchell, 1990) ISBN 0853032394
 
{{div col end}}
 
{{div col end}}
 
;As editor
 
;As editor
* ''Torah Studies: Discourses'' by [[Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson]] (Kehot, New York, 1996) {{ISBN|0826604935}}
+
* ''Torah Studies: Discourses'' by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson (Kehot, New York, 1996) ISBN 0826604935
* ''Orthodoxy Confronts Modernity'' (Ktav, New York, 1991) {{ISBN|0881253634}}
+
* ''Orthodoxy Confronts Modernity'' (Ktav, New York, 1991) ISBN 0881253634
* ''Tradition and Transition'' (Jews College Publications, 1986) {{ISBN|095121490X}}
+
* ''Tradition and Transition'' (Jews College Publications, 1986) ISBN 095121490X
 +
 
 +
==Legacy==
 +
At a Gala Dinner held in Central London in May 2013 to mark the completion of the Chief Rabbi's time in office, [[Charles, Prince of Wales]] called Sacks a "light unto this nation," "a steadfast friend," and "a valued adviser" whose "guidance on any given issue has never failed to be of practical value and deeply grounded in the kind of wisdom that is increasingly hard to come by."<ref>Simon Rocker, [https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/prince-pays-tribute-to-chief-rabbi-his-steadfast-friend-1.46252 Prince pays tribute to Chief Rabbi - his 'steadfast friend'] ''The Jewish Chronicle'', June 25, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2021. </ref>
 +
 
 +
Sending tribute to Sacks, the UK Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]] said that his leadership had a "profound impact on our whole country and across the world."<ref> "Warmest human spirit": UK's former chief rabbi Sacks dies ''The Association Press'', November 8, 2020.</ref> Additionally, Rabbi [[Meir Soloveichik]] penned a piece in the ''Wall Street Journal'', entitled "What Gentiles can Learn from Lord Sacks." <ref>Meir Soloveichik, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-gentiles-can-learn-from-lord-sacks-11605221911 What Gentiles Can Learn From Lord Sacks] ''The Wall Street Journal'', November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2021. </ref>
 +
 
 +
Sacks had maintained a close relationship with former Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]], who said in a statement that the rabbi “had the rarest of gifts — expressing complex ideas in the simplest of terms.” He called him “a man of huge intellectual stature but with the warmest human spirit.”<ref name=Goldman/>
 +
 
 +
===Awards and honors===
 +
A visiting professor at several universities in Britain, the United States, and Israel, Sacks held 18 honorary degrees, including [[Doctor of Divinity]] conferred on him in September 2001 by the then [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], [[George Carey]], to mark his first ten years in office as Chief Rabbi.
 +
 
 +
In recognition of his work, Sacks won several international awards, including the Jerusalem Prize in 1995 for his contribution to diaspora Jewish life and The Ladislaus Laszt Ecumenical and Social Concern Award from [[Ben-Gurion University of the Negev|Ben Gurion University]] in Israel in 2011.<ref name="rabbisacks.org">[https://rabbisacks.org/about-us/ About Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks] ''The Office of Rabbi Sacks''. Retrieved April 5, 2021.</ref>
  
==Personal life==
+
Sacks' contributions to wider British society have also been recognized. A regular contributor to national media, frequently appearing on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Thought for the Day]]'' or writing the Credo column or opinion pieces in ''[[The Times]]'', Sacks was awarded The Sanford St Martin's Trust Personal Award for 2013 for "his advocacy of Judaism and religion in general." He was invited to the wedding of [[Prince William of Wales]] and [[Kate Middleton]] as a representative of the Jewish community.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-13175842 Royal wedding guest list] ''BBC News'', April 23, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2021.</ref>
Sacks married Elaine Taylor in 1970 and together they had three children: Joshua, Dina and Gila.<ref name=whoswho>{{Who's Who | author=Anon| surname = Sacks | othernames = Baron, (Jonathan Henry Sacks) | id = U33626 | year = 2017 | doi =10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.33626 | edition = online [[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Sacks was a [[vegetarian]].<ref>{{cite web |last= Sacks |first= Jonathan |author-link= Jonathan Sacks |title= Faith Lectures: The Messianic Idea Today |url= http://www.rabbisacks.org/faith-lectures-the-messianic-idea-today/ |date= 6 June 2001 |access-date= 19 August 2016 |quote= But I can't say very much about chickens because I'm a vegetarian and I stay milchik all the time. |archive-date= 21 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160421001845/http://www.rabbisacks.org/faith-lectures-the-messianic-idea-today/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
 
  
==Death==
+
Sacks was awarded numerous prizes including:<ref name=cv />
Sacks died on 7 November 2020 in London at age 72.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jonathan Sacks, the U.K.'s Inclusive Former Chief Rabbi, Dies at 72|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/world/europe/jonathan-sacks-dead.html|work=The New York Times|last=Goldman|first=Ari|date=9 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Rabbi Lord Sacks has died, online statement confirms|first=Gabriella|last=Swerling|newspaper=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/07/rabbi-lord-sacks-has-died-online-statement-confirms/|access-date=7 November 2020|date=7 November 2020|archive-date=7 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107183233/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/07/rabbi-lord-sacks-has-died-online-statement-confirms/|url-status=live}} {{paywall}}</ref> He had been diagnosed with cancer in October 2020, having been twice previously treated for the disease.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rabbi Lord Sacks dies of cancer at 72|newspaper=[[Jewish Chronicle]]|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/rabbi-lord-sacks-dies-of-cancer-at-72-1.508371|access-date=7 November 2020|date=7 November 2020|archive-date=7 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107181603/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/rabbi-lord-sacks-dies-of-cancer-at-72-1.508371|url-status=live}}</ref> Sending tribute to Sacks, the UK Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]] said that his leadership had a "profound impact on our whole country and across the world".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/warmest-human-spirit-uks-chief-rabbi-sacks-dies-74088969|title="Warmest human spirit": UK's former chief rabbi Sacks dies|access-date=8 November 2020|website=ABC News|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108150552/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/warmest-human-spirit-uks-chief-rabbi-sacks-dies-74088969|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, Rabbi [[Meir Soloveichik]] penned a piece in the ''Wall Street Journal'', entitled "What Gentiles can Learn from Lord Sacks." <ref>{{Cite news|last=Soloveichik|first=Meir|date=12 November 2020|title=What Gentiles Can Learn From Lord Sacks|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-gentiles-can-learn-from-lord-sacks-11605221911|access-date=22 November 2020}}</ref>
+
 
 +
* 1995: Jerusalem Prize (Israel)
 +
* 2000: American National Jewish Book for ''A Letter in the Scroll''
 +
* 2004: The Grawemeyer Prize for Religion (USA)
 +
* 2009: American National Jewish Book Award for ''Covenant & Conversation Genesis: The Book of Beginnings''
 +
* 2010: The Norman Lamm Prize, Yeshiva University (USA)
 +
* 2010: The Abraham Kuyper Prize, Princeton Theological Seminary (USA)
 +
* 2011: The Ladislaus Laszt Ecumenical and Social Concern Award, Ben Gurion University (Israel)
 +
* 2011: Keter Torah Award, Open University (Israel)
 +
* 2013: The Sanford St Martin's Trust Personal Award for Excellence in Religious Broadcasting
 +
* 2013: American National Jewish Book Award for ''The Koren Sacks Pesah Mahzor''
 +
* 2015: American National Jewish Book Award for ''Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence''
 +
* 2016: Templeton Prize, "has spent decades bringing spiritual insight to the public conversation through mass media, popular lectures and more than two dozen books"<ref>[https://www.templetonprize.org/laureate/rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks/ Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks] ''Templeton Prize''. Retrieved April 7, 2021.</ref>
 +
 
 +
==Notes==
 +
<references/>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
+
* Harris, Michael J., Daniel Rynhold, and Tamra Wright (eds.). ''Radical Responsibilty: Celebrating the Thought of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks''. Maggid, 2013. ISBN 978-1592643660
 +
* Persoff, Meir. ''Another Way, Another Time: Religious Inclusivism and the Sacks Chief Rabbinate''. Academic Studies Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1936235100
 +
* Pollak, Michael, and Shmuel Simons. ''Morasha Kehillat Yaakov: Essays in Honour of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks''. Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2014. ISBN 978-1592643905
 +
* Tirosh-Samuelson, Hava, and Aaron W. Hughes (eds.). ''Jonathan Sacks: Universalizing Particularity''. Brill, 2013. ISBN 978-9004257214
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
+
All links retrieved August 3, 2022.
{{Commons category|Jonathan Sacks}}
+
 
*{{Official}}
+
*[https://rabbisacks.org/ Rabbi Sacks official website]
{{UK Peer links | parliament = lords/lord-sacks/3901 | hansardcurr = 5468 | publicwhip = Sacks | theywork = lord_sacks | record = | bbc = 74923.stm | journalisted = jonathan-sacks}}
+
*[https://members.parliament.uk/member/3901/career Lord Sacks] ''UK Parliament''
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Latest revision as of 07:34, 27 February 2023


The Lord Sacks
Jonathan Sacks

Sacks in 2006


Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
In office
September 1, 1991 – September 1, 2013
Preceded by Immanuel, Lord Jakobovits
Succeeded by Ephraim Mirvis

Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
September 1, 2009 – November 7, 2020

Born March 8 1948(1948-03-08)
Lambeth, London, England, United Kingdom
Died November 7 2020 (aged 72)
London, England, United Kingdom
Political party Crossbench
Spouse Elaine Taylor (m. 1970)
Children Joshua, Dina and Gila
Alma mater
  • Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (MA Cantab)
  • New College, Oxford
  • King's College London (PhD)
Occupation Rabbi
Website Official website

Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (Hebrew: יעקב צבי זקס, romanized: Ya'akov Tzvi Zaks; March 8, 1948 - November 7, 2020) was a British Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, author, and public figure. He served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. His Covenant & Conversation commentaries on weekly Torah portions continue to be read by thousands of people in Jewish communities around the world.

While widely recognized as a leading representative of Judaism in interfaith events, Sacks found less acceptance among the different denominations of Judaism. His statement that "God is greater than religion," which he supported by arguing that a true relationship with God is available to all as an ongoing heritage from the covenant that God made with Noah and all his descendants, gained him praise from faiths beyond Judaism, but criticism within the Jewish communities. Sacks had a deep love for God and desired all humankind to know God better and thus create a harmonious society and world.

Life

Jonathan Sacks was born in Lambeth, London on March 8, 1948, to textile seller Louis David Sacks (d. 1996) and Louisa ("Libby"; née Frumkin, 1919–2010),[1] of a family of leading Jewish wine merchants.[2] He grew up as one of four boys in the household, and his three brothers, Alan, Brian, and Elliot, would eventually make aliyah.[3] His father "didn’t have much Jewish education."[4]

Sacks commenced his formal education at St Mary's Primary School and at Christ's College, Finchley. He completed his higher education at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, where he gained a first-class honours degree (MA) in Philosophy. While a student at Cambridge, Sacks travelled to New York. He met with Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and with Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson to discuss a variety of issues relating to religion, faith and philosophy. “Rabbi Soloveitchik had challenged me to think,” Rabbi Sacks wrote, “Rabbi Schneerson had challenged me to lead.”[3] Schneerson urged Sacks to seek rabbinic ordination and to enter the rabbinate.[5]

Sacks subsequently continued postgraduate study at New College, Oxford, and at King's College London, completing a PhD which the University of London awarded in 1982.[6] Sacks received his rabbinic ordination from Jews' College and London's Etz Chaim Yeshiva.

Sacks married Elaine Taylor in 1970 and together they had three children: Joshua, Dina, and Gila. Sacks was a vegetarian, noting in response to a question after his lecture: "But I can't say very much about chickens because I'm a vegetarian and I stay milchik all the time."[7]

Sacks became a Knight Bachelor in the 2005 Birthday Honours "for services to the Community and to Inter-faith Relations."[8][9] He was made an Honorary Freeman of the London Borough of Barnet in September 2006.[10] On July 13, 2009 the House of Lords Appointments Commission announced that Sacks was recommended for a life peerage with a seat in the House of Lords.[11] He took the title "Baron Sacks, of Aldgate in the City of London,"[12] and sat as a crossbencher.

Jonathan Sacks died on November 7, 2020 in London at age 72.[3] He had been diagnosed with cancer in October 2020, having been twice previously treated for the disease.[13]

At the time of his death, in the words of Rabbi Abraham Levy, Sacks was the emeritus spiritual head of London’s Sephardi community, “Chief Rabbi to the English-speaking world.”[14]

Career

Sacks's first rabbinic appointment (1978–1982) was as the Rabbi for the Golders Green synagogue in London. In 1983, he became Rabbi of the prestigious Western Marble Arch Synagogue in Central London, a position he held until 1990. Between 1984 and 1990, Sacks also served as Principal of Jews' College, the United Synagogue's rabbinical seminary. Dr. Sacks was inducted to serve as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth succeeding Immanuel, Lord Jakobovits on September 1, 1991, a position he held until September 1, 2013.

Chief Rabbi

In his installation address upon as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, formally carrying the title of Av Beit Din (head) of the London Beth Din, Sacks called for a Decade of Renewal which would "revitalize British Jewry's great powers of creativity."[15] He said this renewal should be based on five central values: "love of every Jew, love of learning, love of God, a profound contribution to British society and an unequivocal attachment to Israel."[15] Sacks said he wanted to be "a catalyst for creativity, to encourage leadership in others, and to let in the fresh air of initiative and imagination."[15]

This led to a series of innovative communal projects including Jewish Continuity, a national foundation for Jewish educational programs and outreach; the Association of Jewish Business Ethics; the Chief Rabbinate Awards for Excellence; the Chief Rabbinate Bursaries, and Community Development, a national scheme to enhance Jewish community life. The Chief Rabbi began his second decade of office with a call to 'Jewish Responsibility' and a renewed commitment to the ethical dimension of Judaism.[16]

After serving as Chief Rabbi for 22 years, he was succeeded by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis on September 1, 2013.

Appointments held

In addition to serving as Chief Rabbi, Sacks held numerous appointments during his career including:[17]

  • Professor of Jewish Thought, Yeshiva University, New York (announced October 29, 2013).
  • Professor of Judaic Thought, New York University, New York (announced October 29, 2013).
  • Professor of Law, Ethics and the Bible at King's College, London (announced December 5, 2013)
  • Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth (September 1, 1991 – September 1, 2013)
  • Lecturer in moral philosophy, Middlesex Polytechnic, 1971–1973
  • Lecturer, Jews' College London, 1973–82; director of its rabbinic facility, 1983–1990; Principal, 1984–1990
  • Visiting professor of philosophy at the University of Essex, 1989–1990
  • Sherman lecturer at the University of Manchester, 1989
  • Riddell lecturer at Newcastle University, 1993
  • Cook lecturer at the University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews, 1996
  • Visiting professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1998–2004.

He was also a Senior Fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.[18]

Sacks was a frequent guest on both television and radio, and regularly contributed to the national press. He delivered the 1990 BBC Reith Lectures on The Persistence of Faith.[19]

After stepping down as Chief Rabbi, in addition to his international traveling and speaking engagements and prolific writing, Sacks served as the Ingeborg and Ira Rennert Global Distinguished Professor of Judaic Thought at New York University and as the Kressel and Ephrat Family University Professor of Jewish Thought at Yeshiva University. He was also appointed Professor of Law, Ethics, and the Bible at King's College London.[20] He won the Templeton Prize (awarded for work affirming life's spiritual dimension) in 2016, his vision of a better world and his “future-mindedness” being key reasons he was chosen for the award.[21]

Philosophy and views

Much has been written about Sacks' philosophical contribution to Judaism and beyond. These include: a volume of his work entitled Universalizing Particularity that forms part of The Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers series;[22] a book entitled Radical Responsibility edited by Michael J. Harris, Daniel Rynhold, and Tamra Wright;[23] and a book entitled Morasha Kehillat Yaakov edited by Rabbi Michael Pollak and Dayan Shmuel Simons.[24]

Early influences

In a pamphlet written to mark the completion of his time as Chief Rabbi entitled "A Judaism Engaged with the World," Sacks cites three individuals who have had a profound impact on his own philosophical thinking.[25]

The first figure was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson who "was fully aware of the problem of the missing Jews... inventing the idea, revolutionary in its time, of Jewish outreach... [He] challenged me to lead."[25] Indeed, Sacks called him "one of the greatest Jewish leaders, not just of our time, but of all time."[26]

The second was Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik whom Sacks described as "the greatest Orthodox thinker of the time [who] challenged me to think."[25] Sacks argued that for Rav Soloveichik:

Jewish philosophy, he said, had to emerge from halakhah, Jewish law. Jewish thought and Jewish practice were not two different things but the same thing seen from different perspectives. Halakhah was a way of living a way of thinking about the world – taking abstract ideas and making them real in everyday life.[25]

The third figure was Rabbi Nahum Rabinovitch, a former principal of the London School of Jewish Studies. Sacks called Rabinovitch:

One of the great Maimonidean scholars of our time, [who] taught us, his students, that Torah leadership demands the highest intellectual and moral courage. He did this in the best way possible: by personal example. The following thoughts, which are his, are a small indication of what I learned from him – not least that Torah is, among other things, a refusal to give easy answers to difficult questions.[27]

Universalism vs particularism

Somewhat surprisingly given that Sacks' religious home was in Orthodox Judaism, Sacks was one of the most inclusive voices beyond Judaism. In their commentary on Sacks' writings, Tirosh-Samuelson and Hughes note that:

[Sacks's] vision—informed as it is by the concerns of modern Orthodoxy—is paradoxically one of the most universalizing voices within contemporary Judaism. Sacks possesses a rare ability to hold in delicate balance the universal demands of the modern, multicultural world with the particularism associated with Judaism."[22]

Rabbi Nathan Lopez Cardozo commented on how Sacks' firm belief in Judaism was his foundation to embrace and challenge the world:

Confidence in the power of Judaism and its infinite wisdom enabled him to enter the lion's den, taking on famous philosophers, scientists, religious thinkers and sociologists and showing them that Judaism had something to teach that they couldn't afford to miss if they wanted to be at the forefront of philosophy and science.[28]

Harris and Rynhold wrote in their introduction to Radical Responsibility:

The special contribution made by the thought of Chief Rabbi Sacks is that it not only continues the venerable Jewish philosophical tradition of maintaining traditional faith in the face of external intellectual challenges, but also moves beyond this tradition by showing how core Jewish teachings can address the dilemmas of the secular world itself. What make Lord Sacks' approach so effective is that he is able to do so without any exception of the wider world taking on Judaism's theological beliefs.[23]

Torah v'Chokhma

The framework for Sacks' philosophical approach and his interaction between the universal and the particular is not too dissimilar from those positions adopted by other leading Orthodox thinkers of recent times. The favored phrase of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch was Torah im derekh eretz (Torah and general culture); for Rabbi Norman Lamm it was Torah u-mada (Torah and Science). For Sacks, his favored phrase has been Torah vehokhmah (Torah and Wisdom):

Torah, for Jonathan Sacks represents the particularistic, inherited teachings of Judaism, while hokhmah (wisdom) refers to the universal realm of the sciences and humanities.[23]

In religious terms, Sacks explained:

Chokhmah is the truth we discover; Torah is the truth we inherit. Chokhmah is the universal language of humankind; Torah is the specific heritage of Israel. Chokhmah is what we attain by being in the image of God; Torah is what guides Jews as the people of God. Chokhmah is acquired by seeing and reasoning; Torah is received by listening and responding. Chokhmah tells us what is; Torah tells us what ought to be.[29]

Tirosh-Samuelson and Hughes noted that whilst Torah v'Chokhmah is certainly a valid overarching framework, Sacks' perspective is one rooted in modern orthodoxy:

Although he [Sacks] will try to understand various denominations of Judaism, he is always quick to point out that Orthodoxy cannot recognize the legitimacy of interpretations of Judaism that abandon fundamental beliefs of halakhic (Jewish law) authority. Judaism that departs from the truth and acceptance of the halakha is a departure from authentic Judaism and, he reasons, is tantamount to the accommodation of secularism. So, while Sacks will develop a highly inclusive account of the world's religions, there were times when he was critical of the denominations within Judaism.[22]

God is greater than religion

After the publication of his book Dignity of Difference (2002), a group of Haredi rabbis, most notably Rabbis Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Bezalel Rakow, accused Sacks of heresy against what they consider the traditional Orthodox viewpoint. According to them, some words seemed to imply an endorsement of pure relativism between religions, and that Judaism is not the sole true religion, for example, "No one creed has a monopoly on spiritual truth." This led him to rephrase more clearly some sentences in the book for its second edition, though he refused to recall books already in the stores.[30]

In his "Preface" to the second edition of the book, Sacks wrote that certain passages in the book had been misconstrued: He had already explicitly criticized cultural and religious relativism in his book, and he did not deny Judaism's uniqueness. He also stressed, however, that mainstream rabbinic teachings teach that wisdom, righteousness, and the possibility of a true relationship with God are all available in non-Jewish cultures and religions as an ongoing heritage from the covenant that God made with Noah and all his descendants, so the tradition teaches that one does not need to be Jewish to know God or truth, or to attain salvation:

God is greater than religion. He is only partially comprehended by any faith.[31]

He argued that as this diversity of covenantal bonds implies, traditional Jewish sources clearly deny that any one creed has a monopoly on spiritual truth. Monopolistic and simplistic claims of universal truth would therefore not be true Jewish teachings,[31] a point he reaffirmed in his book Future Tense[29]

Interfaith dialogue

Jonathan Sacks (second from left) with George Carey (Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002), Mustafa Cerić (Grand Mufti of Bosnia), and Jim Wallis (founder and editor of Sojourners magazine), at the 2009 World Economic Forum

Sacks' contributions to interfaith work were widely acknowledged: "He has been excellent in building bridges between the faiths," according to Sir Sigmund Sternberg, the president of the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain as well as founder of the Three Faiths Forum for Christian/Muslim/Jewish dialogue.[32]

Sacks not only wrote about the coming together of all religions, as an advocate of interfaith dialogue he sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.[33]

He attended the 2009 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, participating in a group of religious leaders who called for peace in the Middle East.

Relationship with the non-Orthodox denominations

While widely recognized as a leading representative of Judaism in interfaith events, Sacks found less acceptance among the different denominations of Judaism. David Goldberg, the senior rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, noted that "He has a brilliant intellect and is an impressive spokesman, even if the position he occupies as Chief Rabbi is increasingly untenable."[32] As the spiritual head of the United Synagogue, the largest synagogue body in the UK, he was the Chief Rabbi of those Orthodox synagogues, but was not recognized as the religious authority for the Haredi Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations or for the progressive movements such as Masorti, Reform, and Liberal Judaism.

Sack's longstanding respect and support of other religions was in sharp contrast to his unwillingness to accept the authenticity of non-orthodox Jewish traditions. Commenting on this seeming contradiction, Rabbi John D. Rayner wrote: “[i]n other words, Rabbi Sacks is prepared to say to non-Jews ‘you don’t have to be Jewish.’ But he is not prepared to say to Jews ‘you don’t have to be orthodox.’” [34]

British historian and journalist Meir Persoff, suggested that "Sacks's top priority has been staying in the good graces of the Haredi, or strictly Orthodox, faction, whose high birthrate has made it the fastest-growing component of British Jewry."[35] Persoff's criticism of Sacks' leadership, evidenced by his partisan focus on Orthodox Judaism and consequent inability to unite British Jewry as a whole, raises the broader question of the office of chief rabbi itself, and thus does not necessarily entail personal failings on the part of Sacks:

Trying to please, or at least appease, all parties, he has all too often faced criticism from every direction. ... As Persoff notes, following many others, the post demands an improbable balancing act between the need to serve the communities who formally elect the chief rabbi and a perception that it can somehow fulfill a representative function for all of Anglo-Jewry alongside other religious leaders in Britain. The chances of success in this task were always limited.[36]

Sacks provoked considerable controversy in the Anglo-Jewish community in 1996 when he refused to attend the funeral service of the late Reform Rabbi Hugo Gryn and for a private letter he had written in Hebrew, which (in translation) asserted that Auschwitz survivor Gryn was "among those who destroy the faith," was leaked and published. He wrote further that he was an "enemy" of the Reform, Liberal, and Masorti movements, leading some to reject the notion that he was "Chief Rabbi" for all Jews in Britain.[37]

Sacks responded to the incident by rethinking his relationship with the non-Orthodox movements, eventually developing what he called the "two principles":

You try and make things better in the future. As a result of the turbulence at that time, I was forced to think this whole issue through and I came up with these two principles; on all matters that affect us as Jews regardless of our religious differences we work together regardless of our religious differences, and on all things that touch our religious differences we agree to differ, but with respect. As a result of those two principles relations between Reform and Orthodox have got much better and are actually a model for the rest of the Jewish world. Progressive rabbis sit with me on the top table of the Council of Christians and Jews, we stand together for Israel. All of this flowed from those two principles. Until then there had been a view never to do anything with the non-Orthodox movements but once you thought it through you saw that there were all sorts of opportunities.[38]

Secularism and Consumerism

Sacks expressed concern at what he regarded as the negative effects of materialism and secularism in European society, arguing that they undermined the basic values of family life and lead to selfishness. In 2009, Sacks gave an address claiming that Europeans had chosen "consumerism and instant gratification" over the self-sacrifice of parenting children: "Parenthood involves massive sacrifice: money, attention, time and emotional energy." He noted that today, in the increasingly secular European culture there was no room for sacrifice for "the sake of generations not yet born." [39]

Sacks made remarks at an inter-faith reception attended by Queen Elizabeth II, in November 2011, in which he criticized what he believed to be the selfish consumer culture that has only brought unhappiness:

The consumer society was laid down by the late Steve Jobs coming down the mountain with two tablets, iPad one and iPad two, and the result is that we now have a culture of iPod, iPhone, iTune, i, i, i. When you're an individualist, egocentric culture and you only care about 'I', you don’t do terribly well. [40]

In a later statement, the Chief Rabbi's office said:

The Chief Rabbi meant no criticism of either Steve Jobs personally or the contribution Apple has made to the development of technology in the 21st century. ...The Chief Rabbi was simply pointing out the potential dangers of consumerism when taken too far.[41]

Position on gay marriage

In July 2012 a group of prominent British Jews criticized Sacks for opposing plans to allow civil marriage for gays and lesbians. Sacks stated that "marriage was a sacred union between a man and a woman and any redefinition would undermine it."[42] However, he acknowledged "the fear that gays have of prejudice and persecution,"[43] and said strongly that a world that persecutes homosexuals is one "to which we should never return."[44]

In his lecture on marriage, Sacks explained further:

But our compassion for those who choose to live differently should not inhibit us from being advocates for the single most humanising institution in history. The family, man, woman, and child, is not one lifestyle choice among many. It is the best means we have yet discovered for nurturing future generations and enabling children to grow in a matrix of stability and love. It is where we learn the delicate choreography of relationship and how to handle the inevitable conflicts within any human group. It is where we first take the risk of giving and receiving love. It is where one generation passes on its values to the next, ensuring the continuity of a civilisation. For any society, the family is the crucible of its future, and for the sake of our children’s future, we must be its defenders.[44]

Politics in the United States

In October 2017, Sacks inveighed against a "politics of anger" he said was corroding the fabric of U.S. society: "The politics of anger that's emerged in our time is full of danger." He decried the breakdown of American society into narrower and narrower identities that nurtured a "culture of grievances." Nothing that "the social contract creates a state but the social covenant creates a society," Sacks warned that "The social contract is still there, but the social covenant is being lost."[45]

On antisemitism

In a June 2019 debate on antisemitism in the House of Lords, Sacks described the rise of antisemitism in Europe today as being "similar to that of Holocaust-era Europe." He stated that "there is hardly a country in the world, certainly not a single country in Europe, where Jews feel safe" and that societies tolerating antisemitism had "forfeited all moral credibility."[46]

He warned that "The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews" and that antisemitism has reared its ugly head again but in a slightly different form just like a "mutating virus." [47]

Published works

The author of 35 books, Sacks published commentaries on the daily Jewish prayer book (siddur) and completed commentaries to the Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Pesach festival prayer-books (machzorim). His books won literary awards, including the Grawemeyer Prize for Religion in 2004 for The Dignity of Difference, and a National Jewish Book Award in 2000 for A Letter in the Scroll.[20] Covenant & Conversation: Genesis was also awarded a National Jewish Book Award in 2009, and Moral­i­ty: Restor­ing the Com­mon Good in Divid­ed Times in 2020[48] His commentary to the Pesach festival prayer book won the Modern Jewish Thought and Experience Dorot Foundation Award in the 2013 National Jewish Book Awards.[49] His Covenant & Conversation commentaries on the weekly Torah portion continue to be read by thousands of people in Jewish communities around the world.[50]

As author
As editor
  • Torah Studies: Discourses by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson (Kehot, New York, 1996) ISBN 0826604935
  • Orthodoxy Confronts Modernity (Ktav, New York, 1991) ISBN 0881253634
  • Tradition and Transition (Jews College Publications, 1986) ISBN 095121490X

Legacy

At a Gala Dinner held in Central London in May 2013 to mark the completion of the Chief Rabbi's time in office, Charles, Prince of Wales called Sacks a "light unto this nation," "a steadfast friend," and "a valued adviser" whose "guidance on any given issue has never failed to be of practical value and deeply grounded in the kind of wisdom that is increasingly hard to come by."[51]

Sending tribute to Sacks, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that his leadership had a "profound impact on our whole country and across the world."[52] Additionally, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik penned a piece in the Wall Street Journal, entitled "What Gentiles can Learn from Lord Sacks." [53]

Sacks had maintained a close relationship with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said in a statement that the rabbi “had the rarest of gifts — expressing complex ideas in the simplest of terms.” He called him “a man of huge intellectual stature but with the warmest human spirit.”[3]

Awards and honors

A visiting professor at several universities in Britain, the United States, and Israel, Sacks held 18 honorary degrees, including Doctor of Divinity conferred on him in September 2001 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, to mark his first ten years in office as Chief Rabbi.

In recognition of his work, Sacks won several international awards, including the Jerusalem Prize in 1995 for his contribution to diaspora Jewish life and The Ladislaus Laszt Ecumenical and Social Concern Award from Ben Gurion University in Israel in 2011.[20]

Sacks' contributions to wider British society have also been recognized. A regular contributor to national media, frequently appearing on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day or writing the Credo column or opinion pieces in The Times, Sacks was awarded The Sanford St Martin's Trust Personal Award for 2013 for "his advocacy of Judaism and religion in general." He was invited to the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton as a representative of the Jewish community.[54]

Sacks was awarded numerous prizes including:[17]

  • 1995: Jerusalem Prize (Israel)
  • 2000: American National Jewish Book for A Letter in the Scroll
  • 2004: The Grawemeyer Prize for Religion (USA)
  • 2009: American National Jewish Book Award for Covenant & Conversation Genesis: The Book of Beginnings
  • 2010: The Norman Lamm Prize, Yeshiva University (USA)
  • 2010: The Abraham Kuyper Prize, Princeton Theological Seminary (USA)
  • 2011: The Ladislaus Laszt Ecumenical and Social Concern Award, Ben Gurion University (Israel)
  • 2011: Keter Torah Award, Open University (Israel)
  • 2013: The Sanford St Martin's Trust Personal Award for Excellence in Religious Broadcasting
  • 2013: American National Jewish Book Award for The Koren Sacks Pesah Mahzor
  • 2015: American National Jewish Book Award for Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence
  • 2016: Templeton Prize, "has spent decades bringing spiritual insight to the public conversation through mass media, popular lectures and more than two dozen books"[55]

Notes

  1. In memory of Libby Sacks Jewish Chronicle, November 12, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  2. Libby Frumkin and Louis Sacks Vintage Glamour in London's East End. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ari L. Goldman, Jonathan Sacks, the U.K.'s Inclusive Former Chief Rabbi, Dies at 72 The New York Times, November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  4. Yair Rosenberg, Remembering Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020) Tablet Magazine, November 12, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  5. Jonathan Sacks, How the Lubavitcher Rebbe Changed My Life Chabad.org, November 28, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  6. Jonathan Sacks, Rabbinic concepts of responsibility for others: A study of the Commandment of Rebuke and the idea of mutual surety University of London. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  7. Jonathan Sacks, The Messianic Idea Today Faith Lectures, February 6, 2001. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  8. Birthday Honors List London Gazette Supplement: 57665 (June 10, 2005): 1. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  9. Honours and Awards The London Gazette 58099 (September 15, 2006): 12615. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  10. Honorary Freemen of the London Borough of Barnet London Borough of Barnet, September 29, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  11. New non-party-political peers House of Lords Appointments Commission, July 13, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2021
  12. Crown Office The London Gazette 59178 (September 8, 2009): 15388. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  13. Rabbi Lord Sacks dies of cancer at 72 The Jewish Chronicle, November 7, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  14. Simon Rocker, Sacks was Chief Rabbi to the English-speaking world The Jewish Chronicle, November 7, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 New British Chief Rabbi Speaks of Need for Decade of Renewal Jewish Telegraphic Agency, September 3, 1991. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  16. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Torah in Motion. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks extended CV The Office of Rabbi Sacks. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  18. Senior Fellows Raoul Wallenberg Centre. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  19. Jonathan Sacks: The Persistence of Faith The Reith Lectures: 1990, BBC Radio 4. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 About Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks The Office of Rabbi Sacks. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  21. Chris Herlinger, Lord Jonathan Sacks wins Templeton Prize Religion News Service (RNS), March 2, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 Hava Tirosh-Samuelson and Aaron W. Hughes (eds.), Jonathan Sacks: Universalizing Particularity (Brill, 2013, ISBN 978-9004257214).
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Michael J. Harris, Daniel Rynhold, and Tamra Wright (eds.), Radical Responsibilty: Celebrating the Thought of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Maggid, 2013, ISBN 978-1592643660).
  24. Michael Pollak and Shmuel Simons, Morasha Kehillat Yaakov: Essays in Honour of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2014, ISBN 978-1592643905).
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Jonathan Sacks, A Judaism Engaged with the World, June 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  26. Jonathan Mark, The Chief Rabbi And The Rebbe The Jewish Week, November 29, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  27. Jonathan Sacks, Shemot (5768) – Of what was Moses afraid? December 29, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  28. Nathan Lopes Cardozo, The Rebellion of Chief Rabbi Sacks David Cardozo Academy, July 9, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  29. 29.0 29.1 Jonathan Sacks, Future Tense: Jews, Judaism, and Israel in the Twenty-first Century (Schocken, 2012, ISBN 978-0805212297).
  30. Jonathan Petre, Chief Rabbi revises book after attack by critics The Daily Telegraph, February 15, 2003. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  31. 31.0 31.1 Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference 2nd edition (Continuum, 2003, ISBN 978-0826468505).
  32. 32.0 32.1 Jonathan Sacks: Defender of the faith The Independent, March 29, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  33. Members of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders: Jewish Leaders The Elijah Interfaith Institute. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  34. Sarah Abramson, The Plurality of Pluralism: Youth Movements and The Communal Discourse of Jewish Diversity The Jewish Journal of Sociology 53 (2011): 57-68. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  35. Meir Persoff, Another Way, Another Time: Religious Inclusivism and the Sacks Chief Rabbinate (Academic Studies Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1936235100).
  36. Miri Freud-Kandel, Review of Persoff's "Another Way, Another Time" H-Judaic, May, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  37. Ian Burrell, Leaked letter widens schism in Jewry The Independent, March 15, 1997. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  38. Justin Cohen, Lord Sacks: the full interview Jewish News, August 22, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  39. Riazat Butt, Falling birth rate is killing Europe, says chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks Guardian, November 5, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  40. Jonathan Wynne Jones, Chief Rabbi blames Apple for helping create selfish society The Telegraph, November 19, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  41. Anna Leach, Chief Rabbi: I admire Jobs and Apple and use my iPad daily The Register, November 22, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  42. Simon Rocker, Chief Rabbi attacked over gay marriage opposition The Jewish Chronicle, July 5, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  43. Edward Malnick, I understand gay people's fears, says Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks The Telegraph, August 25, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  44. 44.0 44.1 Jonathan Sacks, “The love that brings new life into the world” – Rabbi Sacks on the institution of marriage International Colloquium on “The Complementarity of Man and Woman,” November 17, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  45. 2017 Irving Kristol Award recipient Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' remarks AEI, October 24, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  46. Tamar Beeri, UK rabbi to House of Lords: Rise in antisemitism today like Holocaust-era The Jerusalem Post, June 23, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  47. Jonathan Sacks, The Mutating Virus: Understanding Antisemitism Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  48. Nation­al Jew­ish Book Awards: Past Winners Jewish Book Council. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  49. Sacks' Passover guide scoops prestigious US book award The Jewish News, January 16, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  50. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Torah Cafe. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  51. Simon Rocker, Prince pays tribute to Chief Rabbi - his 'steadfast friend' The Jewish Chronicle, June 25, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  52. "Warmest human spirit": UK's former chief rabbi Sacks dies The Association Press, November 8, 2020.
  53. Meir Soloveichik, What Gentiles Can Learn From Lord Sacks The Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  54. Royal wedding guest list BBC News, April 23, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  55. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Templeton Prize. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Harris, Michael J., Daniel Rynhold, and Tamra Wright (eds.). Radical Responsibilty: Celebrating the Thought of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. Maggid, 2013. ISBN 978-1592643660
  • Persoff, Meir. Another Way, Another Time: Religious Inclusivism and the Sacks Chief Rabbinate. Academic Studies Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1936235100
  • Pollak, Michael, and Shmuel Simons. Morasha Kehillat Yaakov: Essays in Honour of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2014. ISBN 978-1592643905
  • Tirosh-Samuelson, Hava, and Aaron W. Hughes (eds.). Jonathan Sacks: Universalizing Particularity. Brill, 2013. ISBN 978-9004257214

External links

All links retrieved August 3, 2022.


Jewish titles
Preceded by:
Immanuel Jakobovits
Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth
1991–2013
Succeeded by:
Ephraim Mirvis


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