Article published by RadioJai on October, 26th 2021

Tribute on the first anniversary of the death of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Z’L
Participation of Chief Rabbi Baruj Garzón, Chief Rabbi Isaac Sacca, Sr. Reuben Lerner, editor in Spanish of the Rabbi’s books. Hosted by Miguel Steuermann, Director of Radio Jai.

The premature death of Rabbi Lord Dr. Jonathan Sacks, which occurred a few months ago, marks the disappearance of a giant of modern Jewish thought.

Born in Great Britain in 1948 and owner of a vast and general Jewish culture, he was rightly considered one of the most brilliant intellectuals of the world and not only at the Jewish level. Being a Modern Orthodox Rabbi, he obtained a Doctorate in Philosophy from the King’s College of London and planned to turn to the academic world where a very promising future was waiting for him. But an interview he had with the Lubavitch Rabbi changed his fate. The Lubavitch Rabbi was shocked by the young British Jew’s oratory ability and his personal attributes and suggested that he lead the religious life of the Jewish Community of Great Britain.

Thus, Rabbi Sacks served as Chief Rabbi of Great Britain from 1991 to 2013. After that he taught at the King’s College of London, New York University and Yeshiva University also in New York.

His intellectual and human hierarchy transcended borders. Encouraged by his vocation of service, his work was not resigned to the Jewish space. He was a social issues advisor to British Prime Ministers John Maigor, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. With the latter he maintained a relationship that transcended the public space and arose in very special circumstances. Both returned on the same flight from the burial of Isaac Rabin, they discussed biblical topics and from that moment Tony Blair, captivated by his enormous wisdom and personal charm, started to study the First Testament and Jewish sources with Rabbi Sacks. He also maintained close relations with the British Royal Household and especially with Prince Charles, for all these reasons in 2005 he was awarded the title of Lord and in 2009 he was incorporated for life into the House of Lords with the title of Baron Sacks of Aldgate. In 2016, he was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize for his spiritual contribution to humanity.

From a Jewish perspective, he approached burning challenges of our time: ecology, conservation of natural resources, migration, human rights, genetics, scientific, sociological, psychological and economic topics.

Rabbi Sacks used to mention that “Judaism sets up a protest against the real world on behalf of the world that should be.” Hence, before the individualistic discourse of a good part of Western society, his response was to highlight and strengthen the community and the values that it entails: sensitivity, solidarity, protagonism and vocation of service. With this he aimed to demonstrate the validity of Judaism and ensure the continuity of the Jewish people – these are priority premises in his scale of values-, but at the same time he configured the contribution of the Jewish people to humanity. He was based on the well-known biblical verses by which the blessings of the Almighty to Abraham and Jacob, will redound to the benefit of the whole world. He was a man of the great world.

Firm in his convictions as a Modern Orthodox, he always respected the thinking of others. He was active in Interfaith Dialogue worldwide. In his book Judaism’s Life-Changing ideas, Rabbi Sacks argued that after the Flood, whenever you come across a person different from you, try to respect him and think that he was also created in the image and likeness of the Creator. The extinct and talented Israeli writer Amos Oz pointed out that Rabbi Sacks “is one of the most important Jews of our generation, not only because of his wonderful books and for being the leader of many citizens in England, including non-Jews, but mainly because he is one of the few that proposes a serious dialogue ”.

He was a brilliant speaker who impressed his audience, author of more than thirty books and numerous articles. In Israel he was only known in recent years when part of his work was translated into Hebrew and the same happened with those that were translated into Spanish.

Therefore, it is not surprising that he has been awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa awarded by the Universities of Cambridge (England), Glasgow (Scotland), Bar-Ilán (Israel), Middlesex (London), Yeshiva University (New York) , Liverpool (England) and Saint Andrew (Scotland) and that after his death, the British Prime Minister expressed his regret adding that his leadership had a profound impact on Great Britain and around the world.

In the last few years his book Dialogue and Conversation (Sig Vesiaj in Hebrew), accompanied me and it still accompanies me every Saturday. In this book he addresses the different chapters of the First Testament that are read each week in the synagogues. He is a benchmark of faith, wisdom and optimism.

Source: www.radiojai.com