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Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the
Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth The Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth is the senior rabbi of the United Synagogue, a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues. As of 2013, the chief rabbi is Ephraim Mirvis. See also * Chi ...
from 1991 to 2013. As the spiritual head of the United Synagogue, the largest synagogue body in the United Kingdom, he was the
Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...
of those
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
synagogues but was not recognized as the religious authority for the Haredi
Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations is an umbrella organisation of Haredi Jewish communities in London, and has an estimated membership of over 6,000. It was founded in 1926, with the stated mission "to protect traditional Judaism", and ha ...
or for the progressive movements such as Masorti, Reform, and Liberal Judaism. As Chief Rabbi, he formally carried the title of
Av Beit Din The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...
(head) of the
London Beth Din The London Beth Din (LBD) is the Ashkenazi Beth Din of the United Synagogue, the largest Ashkenazi synagogal body in London, England. In its capacity as ''Court of the Chief Rabbi'', it is historically the supreme halakhic Authority for Ashkenazim ...
. At the time of his death, he was the Emeritus Chief Rabbi. 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. He won the
Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...
(awarded for work affirming life's spiritual dimension) in 2016. He was also a Senior Fellow to the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.


Early life

Jonathan Henry Sacks was born in the
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
district of London on 8 March 1948, the son of Polish textile seller Louis David Sacks (died 1996) and his English wife Louisa (née Frumkin; 1919–2010), who came from a family of leading Jewish wine merchants. He had three brothers named Brian, Alan, and Eliot, all of whom eventually made aliyah. He said that his father did not have "much Jewish education". Sacks commenced his formal education at St Mary's Primary School and at Christ's College, Finchley. He completed his higher education at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he gained a first-class honours degree ( MA) in Philosophy. While a student at Cambridge, he travelled to New York City, where he met with rabbis
Joseph Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion ...
and
Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...
to discuss a variety of issues relating to religion, faith, and philosophy. He later wrote, "Rabbi Soloveitchik had challenged me to think, Rabbi Schneerson had challenged me to lead." Schneerson urged Sacks to seek rabbinic ordination and enter the rabbinate. Sacks subsequently continued his
postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...
studies at New College, Oxford, and King's College London, completing a PhD which the University of London awarded him in 1982. He received his rabbinic ordination from the
London School of Jewish Studies The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...
and London's Etz Chaim Yeshiva, with '' semikhah'' respectively from Rabbis Nahum Rabinovitch and Noson Ordman.


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 Western Marble Arch Synagogue in
Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its character ...
, a position he held until 1990. Between 1984 and 1990, Sacks also served as Principal of
Jews' College The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbini ...
, the United Synagogue's
rabbinical seminary A Jewish seminary is a Jewish educational institution. See Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Reform), Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative), Yeshiva University (Orthodox), Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Academy for ...
. Dr. Sacks was inducted to serve as
Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth The Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth is the senior rabbi of the United Synagogue, a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues. As of 2013, the chief rabbi is Ephraim Mirvis. See also * Chi ...
on 1 September 1991, a position he held until 1 September 2013. Sacks became a Knight Bachelor in the
2005 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2005 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2005 to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2005. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged first by the co ...
"for services to the Community and to Inter-faith Relations". He was made an Honorary Freeman of the London Borough of Barnet in September 2006. On 13 July 2009 the House of Lords Appointments Commission announced that Sacks was recommended for a life peerage with a seat in the House of Lords. He took the title "Baron Sacks of
Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...
in the City of London" and sat as a
crossbencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
. A visiting professor at several universities in Britain, the United States, and Israel, Sacks held 16 honorary degrees, including a
doctorate of divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
conferred on him in September 2001 by the then
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Jus ...
,
George Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the C ...
, 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 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...
in Israel in 2011. The author of 25 books, Sacks published commentaries on the daily Jewish prayer book (
siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ' ...
) and completed commentaries to the
Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
,
Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...
and Pesach festival prayer-books (machzorim) . 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''. ''Covenant & Conversation: Genesis'' was also awarded a National Jewish Book Award in 2009, and 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 The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. in the United States. His ''Covenant & Conversation'' commentaries on the weekly Torah portion are read by thousands of people in Jewish communities around the world. Sacks' contributions to wider British society have also been recognized. A regular contributor to national media, frequently appearing on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
's ''
Thought for the Day ''Thought for the Day'' is a daily scripted slot on the ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7:45 each Monday to Saturday morning. Nowadays lastin ...
'' 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 The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship since ...
as a representative of the Jewish community. At a Gala Dinner held in Central London in May 2013 to mark the completion of the Chief Rabbi's time in office, the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the ruler ...
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".


Chief Rabbi

In his installation address upon succeeding 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". 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." 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". 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. He was succeeded as chief rabbi by Rabbi
Ephraim Mirvis Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis (born 7 September 1956) is an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992. Early life a ...
on 1 September 2013.


Appointments held

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).Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks extended CV
, ''rabbisacks.org'', January 2016. Accessed 8 November 2020
*Professor of Jewish Thought, Yeshiva University, New York (announced 29 October 2013). *Professor of Law, Ethics and the Bible at King's College, London (announced 5 December 2013) *Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth (1 September 1991 – 1 September 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 (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
, 1996. *Visiting professor at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...
, 1998–2004. 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 The Reith Lectures is a series of annual BBC radio lectures given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on Radio 4 and the World Service. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic contr ...
s on ''The Persistence of Faith''.


Awards and honours

Sacks was awarded numerous prizes including: * 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" * 2021: Genesis Prize Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded posthumously by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.


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; (2) a book entitled ''Radical Responsibility'' edited by Michael J. Harris, Daniel Rynhold and Tamra Wright; and (3) a book entitled ''Morasha Kehillat Yaakov'' edited by Rabbi Michael Pollak and Dayan Shmuel Simons.


Early influences

In a pamphlet written to mark the completion of his time as Chief Rabbi entitled "A Judaism Engaged with the World",
A Judaism Engaged with the World
Sacks cites three individuals who have had a profound impact on his own philosophical thinking. The first figure was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...
who "was fully aware of the problem of the missing Jews... inventing the idea, revolutionary in its time, of Jewish outreach... echallenged me to lead." Indeed, Sacks called him "one of the greatest Jewish leaders, not just of our time, but of all time". The second was Rabbi
Joseph Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion ...
whom Sacks described as "the greatest Orthodox thinker of the time hochallenged me to think." 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." The third figure was Rabbi Nahum Rabinovitch, a former principal of the
London School of Jewish Studies The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...
. Sacks called Rabinovitch "One of the great Maimonidean scholars of our time, hotaught 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."


Universalism vs particularism

Writing of Sacks as a rabbi, social philosopher, proponent of interfaith dialogue and a public intellectual, Tirosh-Samuelson and Hughes note that " acks'svision—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." This is a view supported by Rabbi Nathan Lopez Cardozo, who wrote in '' The Jerusalem Post'' that Sacks's "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." Harris and Rynhold, in their introduction to ''Radical Responsibility'', argued: "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."


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 favoured phrase of Rabbi
Samson Raphael Hirsch Samson Raphael Hirsch (; June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German Orthodox rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the ''Torah im Derech Eretz'' school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed ''neo-Orthodoxy'', hi ...
was '' Torah im derekh eretz'', 'Torah with general culture'; for Rabbi
Norman Lamm Norman Lamm (December 19, 1927 – May 31, 2020) was an American Modern Orthodox rabbi, scholar, academic administrator, author, and Jewish community leader. He was the Chancellor of Yeshiva University until he announced his retirement on July ...
it was '' Torah u-mada'', 'Torah and Science'. For Sacks, his favoured phrase was ''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." Framed in religious terms, as Sacks sets out in his book ''Future Tense'': :"
Chokhmah ''Chokmah'' ( Hebrew: חָכְמָה ) is the Biblical Hebrew word rendered as " wisdom" in English Bible versions (LXX '' sophia'', Vulgate ').'' Strong's Concordance'H2451 "from H2449 �ָכַם ''chakam'' "wise" wisdom (in a good sense):—s ...
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." 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 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."


"No one creed has a monopoly on spiritual truth"

After the publication of his book ''The Dignity of Difference'', a group of Haredi rabbis, most notably Rabbis
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ( he, יוסף שלום אלישיב; 10 April 1910 – 18 July 2012) was a Haredi Rabbi and ''posek'' (arbiter of Jewish law) who lived in Jerusalem. Until his death at the age of 102, Rav Elyashiv was the paramount lead ...
and
Bezalel Rakow Bezalel Rakow (15 May 1927 – 20 July 2003) was a British orthodox rabbi who headed Gateshead’s Jewish community. He was the chair of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudas Yisroel of Great Britain. Born in Frankfurt, Germany into a distinguis ...
, 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. 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.Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, ''The Dignity of Difference'', 2nd edition, 2003, pp. vii, 52–65Faith Lectures: Jewish Identity: The Concept of a Chosen People
Chief Rabbi (1 December 1990). Retrieved on 3 December 2011.
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. The book received international acclaim, winning the Grawemeyer Award for Religion in 2004.


Efforts to accommodate Haredi Jews

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."


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 Rabbi Hugo Gryn and for a private letter he had written in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, 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.Ian Burrell
"Leaked letter widens schism in Jewry"
, ''The Independent'', 15 March 1997
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." 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." 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." Sacks would later draw some criticism when he and his Beth Din prevented the retired Rabbi
Louis Jacobs Louis Jacobs (17 July 1920 – 1 July 2006) was a leading writer and theologian. He was the rabbi of the New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom. He was also the focus in the early 1960s of what became known as "The Jacobs Affair" in the ...
, who had helped establish the British branch of the Masorti movement, from being called up for the
Reading of the Torah Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting th ...
on the Saturday before his granddaughter's wedding.


Secularism and Europe's changing demographics

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".


Consumerism and Steve Jobs

Sacks made remarks at an inter-faith reception attended by
the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
, 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." 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."


Position on gay marriage

In July 2012 a group of prominent British Jews criticised Sacks for opposing plans to allow
civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a ...
for gays and lesbians. He said that he understood "the fear that gays have of prejudice and persecution" 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."


Interfaith dialogue

Sacks was an advocate of interfaith dialogue and sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the
Elijah Interfaith Institute Elijah Interfaith Institute is a nonprofit, international, UNESCO-sponsored interfaith organization which was founded by Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein in 1997. Headquartered in Jerusalem, Elijah has offices and representatives in different ...
.


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."


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". Additionally, Sacks equated anti-Semitism to a "mutating virus."


Publications

;As author * ''Judaism's Life-Changing Ideas: A Weekly reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2020) * ''Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2020) * ''Covenant & Conversation: Deuteronomy: Renewal of the Sinai Covenant'' (Koren, 2019) * ''Covenant & Conversation: Numbers: the Wilderness Years'' (Koren, 2017) * ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2015) * ''Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2015) * ''Covenant & Conversation: Leviticus, the Book of Holiness'' (Koren, 2015) * ''The Koren Sacks Pesach Mahzor'' (Koren, 2013) * ''The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur Mahzor'' (Koren, 2012) * ''The Koren Sacks Rosh Hashana Mahzor'' (Koren, 2011) * ''The Great Partnership: God Science and the Search for Meaning'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2011) * ''Covenant and Conversation: Exodus'' (Koren, Jerusalem, 2010) * ''Future Tense'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2009) * ''Covenant and Conversation: Genesis'' (Koren, 2009) * ''The Koren (Sacks) Siddur'' (Koren, 2009) * ''The Home We Build Together'' (Continuum, 2007) * ''
Authorised Daily Prayer Book The Authorised Daily Prayer Book (formally The Authorised Daily Prayer Book of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, commonly known as Singer's Prayer Book or Singer's Siddur) was an English translation of the Hebrew ''siddur'' cre ...
'' (HarperCollins, 2006) * ''To Heal a Fractured World'' (Continuum, 2005) * ''From Optimism to Hope'' (Continuum, 2004) * ''Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's Haggadah'' (Harper Collins, 2003) * ''The Dignity of Difference'' (Continuum, 2002) * ''Radical Then, Radical Now'' (published in the US as ''A Letter in the Scroll'') (Continuum, 2001) * ''Celebrating Life'' (Continuum, 2006) * ''Morals and Markets'' (Occasional Paper 108) (Institute of Economic Affairs, 1998) * ''The Politics of Hope'' (Vintage, 2000) * ''The Persistence of Faith'' (Continuum, 2005) - based on his
BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
Reith Lectures The Reith Lectures is a series of annual BBC radio lectures given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on Radio 4 and the World Service. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic contri ...
series * ''One People: Tradition, Modernity and Jewish Unity'' (The Littman Library, 1993) * ''Community of Faith'' (Peter Halban, 1995) * ''Faith in the Future'' (Darton, Longman and Todd, 1995) * ''Will We Have Jewish Grandchildren?'' (Vallentine Mitchell, 1994) * ''Crisis and Covenant'' (Manchester University Press, 1992) * ''Arguments for the Sake of Heaven'' (Jason Aronson, 1991) * ''Tradition in an Untraditional Age'' (Vallentine Mitchell, 1990) ;As editor * ''Torah Studies: Discourses'' by
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...
(Kehot, New York, 1996) * ''Orthodoxy Confronts Modernity'' (Ktav, New York, 1991) * ''Tradition and Transition'' (Jews College Publications, 1986)


Personal life

Sacks married Elaine Taylor in 1970, and together they had three children: Joshua, Dina and Gila. He was a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...
.


Death

Sacks died in London on 7 November 2020, at the age of 72. He had been diagnosed with cancer a month earlier, having been twice previously treated for the disease. Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Fo ...
said that Sacks' leadership had a "profound impact on our whole country and across the world". Rabbi
Meir Soloveichik Meir Yaakov Soloveichik (born July 29, 1977) is an American Orthodox rabbi and writer. He is the son of Rabbi Eliyahu Soloveichik, grandson of Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik; and a great nephew of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the leader of American Je ...
wrote a tribute piece in the '' Wall Street Journal'' entitled "What Gentiles can Learn from Lord Sacks". Awarding the
Genesis Prize The Genesis Prize ( he, פרס בראשית) is a $1 million annual prize awarded to Jewish people who have achieved significant professional success, in recognition of their accomplishments, contributions to humanity, and commitment to Jewish val ...
Lifetime Achievement Award to Rabbi Sacks posthumously in late 2021, Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid tribute to him and praised him as “a master articulator of the Jewish foundation of universal values" who "unapologetically verbalized a proud, dignified Jewish identity.”


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sacks, Jonathan 1948 births 2020 deaths Academics of King's College London Academics of Middlesex University Academics of Newcastle University Academics of the University of Essex Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the London School of Jewish Studies Alumni of New College, Oxford British Jewish theologians Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Chief rabbis of the United Kingdom Crossbench life peers Deaths from cancer in England English non-fiction writers English Orthodox rabbis English people of Jewish descent Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College London Holders of a Lambeth degree Jewish British politicians Jewish ethicists 20th-century English rabbis Knights Bachelor Modern Orthodox rabbis Ordained peers People educated at Christ's College, Finchley Rabbis from London Templeton Prize laureates Writers from London People's peers 21st-century English rabbis Life peers created by Elizabeth II