Jonathan Sacks

(1948 - )

As of 1991 he has been known as the Chief Rabbi of Britain, and the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, in which Chief Rabbi, Dr. Jonathan Sacks (b. London) has earned international acclaimed, both as a scholar and spiritual leader who has been working towards the revival of both Judaic and Anglo-Jewry relations in Britain. Recently he has worked on numerous projects, some of which include the Jewish Continuity, which is a foundation that aims to fund projects pertaining to Jewish education and outreach issues, the Association of Jewish Business Ethics, the Chief Rabbinate Bursaries, the Chief Rabbinate Awards of Excellence, and Community Development, which is a national program that is designed to work towards the betterment of the Jewish community at large.

However, his involvement in the Jewish community did not begin with his 1991 appointment. Sacks career background incorporates his being a principal at the Jews' College in London, a Rabbi of the Golders Green and Marble Arch Synagogue in London, and rabbinic ordination from Jews' College and London's Yeshiva, Etz Chaim.

His collegiate background, which greatly influenced and solidified his commitments, began with his philosophical studies at Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge, where he earned first class honors. He then continued with his postgraduate studies at New College in Oxford and King's College in London. To add to his list of accomplishments, Rabbi Sacks has also been a visiting professor at the University of Essex, where he taught Philosophy, and at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel; in addition to being a lecturer at Manchester University, Riddell lecturer at Newcastle University, cook lecturer at the Universities of Oxford, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews. Presently, Sacks is a visiting professor at King's College in London, where he teaches theology. To add to his repertoire of achievements, he has also received honorary degrees from the Universities of Cambridge, Haifa, Middlesex, Glasgow, Liverpool, Yeshiva University in New York, and St. Andrews University. Furthermore he is an honorary fellow at Gonville and Caius College, King's College and Cambridge College, both of which are in London. Most recently, as of 2001, Sacks, received the honorary doctorate of Divinity from the Archbishop of Canterbury, which was in acknowledgment of his service as the Chief Rabbinate.

Rabbi Sacks has also made numerous appearances on national radio, television, and press interviews. He has received the Jerusalem Prize in 1995 for his contributions in relation to enhancing Diaspora Jewish life.

Throughout the years, his studies, personal interactions and achievements have enabled him to publish a variety of books pertaining to the Jewish faith and national concerns. He began writing in 1990 with his book titled Tradition in an Untraditional Age, and then proceeded to write twelve more books: Persistence of Faith (1991), Arguments for the Sake of Heaven (1991), Crisis and Covenant (1992), One People? (1993), Will We Have Jewish Grandchildren? (1994) Community of Faith (1995), The Politics of Hope (1997), Morals and Markets, Celebrating Life (1999), Radical Them Radical Now (2000), Dignity of Difference (2001), and The Chief Rabbi's Haggadah (2003).

Sources: Something Jewish