The Lord Sacks | |
|---|---|
 Sacks in December 2006 | |
| Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth | |
| In office 1 September 1991 – 1 September 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Immanuel, Lord Jakobovits |
| Succeeded by | Ephraim Mirvis |
| In office 1 September 2009 – 7 November 2020 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jonathan Henry Sacks 8 March 1948 London, England |
| Died | 7 November 2020 (aged 72) London, England |
| Political party | None (crossbencher) |
| Spouse |
Elaine Taylor
(m. 1970) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation |
|
| Semicha | |
| Website | Official website  |
Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (8 March 1948 – 7 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, 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 largest synagogue body in the United Kingdom, 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.[2][3] 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.[4]
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.[5] He won the Templeton Prize (awarded for work affirming life's spiritual dimension) in 2016.[6] He was also a Senior Fellow to the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.
- ^ "Gedolim Portraits".
- ^ Abrams, Hester (7 December 1991). "Philosopher is new leader of Britain's Jews : Educational standards, disintegrating family concern rabbi". The Record. Kitchener, Ontario. p. C11.
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
- ^ Butt, Riazat (13 July 2009). "Chief Rabbi joins House of Lords". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 6 September 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
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
- ^ Compare: Cohen, Justin (20 July 2016). "Lord Sacks leads tributes to Alan Senitt at moving memorial". Jewish News. London. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
The Chief Rabbi Emeritus said the one-time BBYO president and UJS chair would have been 'one of the great leaders of our time' [...].
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
rabbisacks.orgwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Herlinger, Chris (2 March 2016). "Lord Jonathan Sacks wins Templeton Prize". Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.