Remembering Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, zt'l
HaRav Ya'akov Tzvi ben David Arieh, zt'l
27 Adar I 5708 - 20 Heshvan 5781
Earlier this month, throughout Jewish communities spread across continents, a range of denominations, movements, and cultural groups paid tribute to an optimistic leader, a warm and nurturing guide, a learned teacher. However, the loss of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, zt’l, resounded well beyond the bounds of our Jewish communities and, in fact, affected people throughout the world. The Prince of Wales mourned his loss along with Tony Blair, the BBC—and this was merely in the UK.
To say that Rabbi Sacks, zt’l, was accomplished is an understatement. He completed a Master's in Philosophy at Cambridge, then a PhD at Oxford, before studying for his rabbinical smicha with Rabbi Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch, zt'l, his lifelong mentor. Among Rabbi Sacks' contributions to the Jewish community, he served as Great Britain's Chief Rabbi from 1991 to 2013. Earning public recognition, he also received 16 honorary degrees, was knighted in 2005 and given a lifetime peerage in the House of Lords in 2009. He wrote 25 books. Those are just a handful of his accomplishments, the ones most easily recognized.
A quietly charismatic, famous, and effective teacher, Rabbi Sacks was, himself, a paradox. He was an inimitable, popular orator and a focused scholar. As much as a rabbi may be one, he was a celebrity; and, he was also a person who valued humility. He constantly wrote, engaging in what is often an isolating, even lonely, endeavor. Yet, he reveled in family, in community, in what connected people to one another; and he encouraged us to do the same. Erudite from secular study and theological inquiry, he spoke not merely with eloquence, but from his heart.
Perhaps because he lived such a diverse, thoughtful life, Rabbi Sacks could challenge us to grapple with and make moral meaning of this world and its complexity. On numerous occasions, Kahal's newsletter has shared Rabbi Sacks' words on the weekly parasha. His teachings evince a love for humanity and tolerance of our foibles, an acceptance and appreciation of each of Hashem’s creations. His themes and lessons resonate with Kahal’s Sephardic communal values in a manner somewhat unique among contemporary Torah scholars.
Through his archived talks, writings, and recordings, Rabbi Sacks' thought-provoking ideas remain with us still. This week we share a few of his past conversations, essays, and family education materials to sample the wealth and breadth of his insights and Torah lessons. Transmitting Rabbi Sacks' teachings seems especially appropriate for a Torah portion entitled Toldot, 'the stories of generations.'
May Hashem comfort his family among the mourners of Tsion, and may his soul be woven into the thread of life.
