Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English
Orthodox rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the
Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. As the spiritual head of the
United Synagogue
The United Synagogue (US) is the largest umbrella body for Orthodox Judaism in Britain. It is structured as a charity which serves the United Kingdom, British Jewish community in the broadest possible way. One of the largest charities in the B ...
, the largest synagogue body in the United Kingdom, he was the
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi () 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 capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...
of those
Orthodox synagogues but was not recognized as the religious authority for the
Haredi
Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...
Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations or for the progressive movements such as
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
,
Reform
Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
, and
Liberal Judaism. As Chief Rabbi, he 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.
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
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and as the Kressel and Ephrat Family University Professor of Jewish Thought at
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City. . He was also appointed Professor of Law, Ethics, and the Bible at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
.
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 ques ...
(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, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
district of London on 8 March 1948,
[ the son of Ashkenazi Jewish textile seller Louis David Sacks (died 1996) and his 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
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
. 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
Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...
, where he gained a first-class honours degree
Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, ...
( MA) in Philosophy.
While a student at Cambridge, he travelled to New York City, where he met with rabbis Joseph Soloveitchik and Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( – June 12, 1994; Anno Mundi, AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an American Orthodox rabbi and the most rec ...
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 studies at New College, Oxford
New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
,[ and ]King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
, completing a PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
which the University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
awarded him in 1982.
He received his rabbinic ordination from the London School of Jewish Studies and London's Etz Chaim Yeshiva,
with ''semikhah
''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism.
The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...
'' respectively from Rabbis Nahum Rabinovitch
Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch (; 30 April 1928 – 6 May 2020), born Norman Louis Rabinovitch, was a Canadian-Israeli Religious Zionist rabbi and ''posek''. He headed the London School of Jewish Studies from 1971 to 1982, and the ''hesder yeshiva' ...
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 the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
, 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 on 1 September 1991, a position he held until 1 September 2013.
Sacks became a Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...
in the 2005 Birthday Honours "for services to the Community and to Inter-faith Relations". He was made an Honorary Freeman of the London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in north London, England. Forming part of Outer London, the borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It is the ...
in September 2006. On 13 July 2009 the House of Lords Appointments Commission announced that Sacks was recommended for a life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
age with a seat in the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. He took the title "Baron Sacks of Aldgate
Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London.
The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...
in the City of London" and sat as a crossbencher
A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...
.
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 (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...
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 Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, 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 in Israel in 2011.
The author of 25 books, Sacks published commentaries on the daily Jewish prayer book (siddur
A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; 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, ''tef ...
) and completed commentaries to the Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...
, Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...
and Pesach
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt.
According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...
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 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. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's '' Thought for the Day'' or writing the Credo column or opinion pieces in ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 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.
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 (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
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 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
Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis (born 7 September 1956) is a British 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 ...
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
The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...
, 1989–1990
*Sherman lecturer at the University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
, 1989.
*Riddell lecturer at Newcastle University
Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...
, 1993.
*Cook lecturer at the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
and the University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
, 1996.
*Visiting professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
, 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 Lectures 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 ( – June 12, 1994; Anno Mundi, AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an American Orthodox rabbi and the most rec ...
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 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 halakha
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...
h, 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
Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch (; 30 April 1928 – 6 May 2020), born Norman Louis Rabinovitch, was a Canadian-Israeli Religious Zionist rabbi and ''posek''. He headed the London School of Jewish Studies from 1971 to 1982, and the ''hesder yeshiva' ...
, a former principal of the London School of Jewish Studies. 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
''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
'' 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 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
Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...
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.
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, 52–65][Faith Lectures: Jewish Identity: The Concept of a Chosen People](_blank)
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
The Grawemeyer Awards () are five awards given annually by the University of Louisville. The prizes are presented to individuals in the fields of education, ideas improving world order, music composition, religion, and psychology. The religion awa ...
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
In 1990, when he was Chief Rabbi-elect, he wrote to Sidney Brichto, a Liberal rabbi, about Brichto's 1987 proposals. Brichto had advocated for a historical compromise between the Orthodox rabbinate and the non-Orthodox denominations. Among the proposals were radical changes to the conversion process for prospective converts in the non-Orthodox streams. These streams would stop processing their own conversions to Judaism. Instead, their prospective converts would have their status conferred on them by an Orthodox Beit Din. The Beit Din would be expected to show more leniency than usual, only expecting that those before them demonstrate knowledge of Orthodox practice rather than observance.[Cohen, Jeffrey (18 November 2008]
How Chief Rabbis have battled against Reform
''The Jewish Chronicle''. Retrieved on 3 January 2025
The proposal had been rejected by the incumbent Chief Rabbi, Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits. However, in his letter to Brichto, Sacks wrote: "As soon as I read your article. ... I called it publicly 'the most courageous statement by a non-Orthodox Jew this century'. I felt it was a genuine way forward. Others turned out not to share my view." He continued: "It will be a while—18 months—before I take up office. But I believe we can still explore that way forward together. For if we do not move forward, I fear greatly for our community and for Am Yisrael."
Sacks provoked considerable controversy in the Anglo-Jewish community in 1996 when he refused to attend the funeral service of the late Reform
Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
Rabbi Hugo Gryn and for a private letter he had written in Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, 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
''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal.
The newspaper is published every Fri ...
'' 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 years earlier (2004) drew some criticism when he and his beit din prevented the retired Rabbi Louis Jacobs, who had helped establish the British branch of the Masorti movement, from being called up for the reading of the Torah 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 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
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...
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
Countries maintaining a popul ...
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 founded by Alon Goshen-Gottstein in 1997. The organization is headquartered in Jerusalem, with offices and representatives in different cou ...
.
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
* ''I Believe: A Weekly reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2022)
* ''Studies in Spirituality: A Weekly reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2021)
* ''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)
* ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'' (Koren, 2016)
* ''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'' (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
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
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 contrib ...
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 (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 Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
.
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 and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
said that Sacks' leadership had a "profound impact on our whole country and across the world". Rabbi Meir Soloveichik wrote a tribute piece in the ''Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' entitled "What Gentiles can Learn from Lord Sacks". Awarding the Genesis Prize 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
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