Sir Jonathan Henry Sacks (born 1948, London) is the Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogue, the United Kingdom's main body of Orthodox synagogues. His official title is Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Image File history File links Sir_Jonathan_Sacks_(small). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London (see Wiktionary:London for the name in other languages) is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. ... Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... United Synagogue is an organization of London Jews that was founded with the sanction of an act of parliament, in 1870. ... Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of 53 independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ...

As well as the spritual head of the United Synagogue, he is the Chief Rabbi of most orthodox synagogues, but not the formal religous authority for the Federation of Synagogues or most of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations. However, he is recognised by the majority of orthodox synagogues throughout the Commonwealth, hence his formal title. In addition the vast majority of UK Jews recognise his wider role as a spokesperson and ambassador for the Jewish community. Sacks is also still recognised as the Chief Rabbi of the Hong Kong Jewish community, a role he was asked to retain after Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule.

Rabbi Sacks heads the Chief Rabbi's Cabinet [1] consisting of over twenty other rabbis who advise him on a number of areas, such as Jewish education, Israel, Jewish-Christian relations, matters relating to the Beth Din (Jewish "religious court"), and several other areas of concern to the Jewish community. Torah study is the study by Jews of the Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaisms religious texts, for the purpose of the mitzvah (commandment) of Torah study itself, meaning study for religious (as opposed to academic) purposes. ... This article deals with Jewish views of religious pluralism. ... A beth din (בית דין, Hebrew: house of judgment, plural battei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. ...

Rabbi Sacks had been Principal of Jews' College, London, the world's oldest rabbinical seminary, as well as rabbi of the Golders Green (1978-82) and Marble Arch (1983-90) Synagogues in London. He gained rabbinic ordination from Jews' College as well as from London's Yeshivat Etz Chaim (a yeshiva). The Principal is the chief executive and the chief academic officer of a University in Scotland and at certains institutions in Canada and other parts of the Commonwealth. ... Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Marble Arch Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument near Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, at the western end of Oxford Street in London, England. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... // See related article about rabbis (who may or may not have formal semicha (ordination). Semicha (סמיכה) (meaning leaning [of the hands]) is a Hebrew word referring to what may be roughly translated as the ordination (in Hebrew: semichut סמיכות) of a rabbi within Judaism. ... Yeshiva or yeshivah (Hebrew: ישיבה pl. ...

Rabbi Sacks studied philosophy and obtained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of: Cambridge; Glasgow; Haifa; Middlesex; Yeshiva University; Liverpool and St. Andrews, and is an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius and King's College. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph. ... The University of Cambridge, located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... -1... The University of Haifa (אוניברסיטת חיפה) is a university in Haifa, Israel. ... Middlesex University is a university in North London, England, located in the traditional county of Middlesex (from which it takes its name). ... Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City whose first component was founded in 1886. ... The University of Liverpool is a university in the city of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. ... The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410 and 1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland (and third oldest in the English speaking world). ... Full name Gonville and Caius College Motto Named after Edmund Gonville & John Caius Previous names Gonville Hall (1348), Gonville & Caius (1557) Established 1348, refounded 1557 Sister College(s) Brasenose College Master Sir Christopher Hum Location Trinity St Undergraduates 468 Postgraduates 291 Homepage Boatclub Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, generally known... Kings College London in London is the largest and second longest serving member college in the federal University of London, with 21,300 registered students (2003-04). ...

In September 2001, the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred on him a doctorate of divinity in recognition of his first ten years in the Chief Rabbinate of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Arms of the see of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... Doctor of Divinity (D.D., Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an academic degree. ...

Rabbi Sacks provoked considerable controversy in the Anglo-Jewish community when he refused to attend the funeral service of the late Reform Rabbi Hugo Gryn and a private letter he had written in Hebrew, which some people suggested in translation claimed that Reform Jews are "dividers of the faith", was leaked and published. He rejected demands that he should resign for these comments, claiming to have been using rabbinical terminology. He did attend a memorial meeting for Rabbi Gryn. Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th Century Germany. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel, the West Bank, the United States, and by Jewish communities around the world. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ...

More recently Sacks has been praised for building positive relationships with the Progressive community and notably is the first Chief Rabbi to sit with a Reform Rabbi as a joint President of the Council of Christians and Jews.

Rabbi Sacks was knighted in 2005. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Education

Rabbi Sacks was educated at St Mary's Primary School and Christ's College Finchley, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (MA), New College, Oxford, University of London (PhD), Jews' College London and Yeshivat Etz Hayyim London. Christs College is a secondary school in East Finchley, London, United Kingdom. ... Full name Gonville and Caius College Motto - Named after Edmund Gonville & John Caius Previous names Gonville Hall (1348), Gonville & Caius (1557) Established 1348 Sister College Brasenose College Master Neil McKendrick Location Trinity St Undergraduates 468 Graduates 291 Homepage Boatclub Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, generally known as Caius (though pronounced... College name New College Named after Blessed Virgin Mary Established 1379 Sister College Kings College Warden Prof. ... Senate House, designed by Charles Holden, home to the universitys central administrative offices and its library The University of London is a federation of colleges and institutes which together constitute one of the worlds largest universities. ...

Current positions

1. Jakobovits Professor in modern Jewish thought, Jews' College London, 1982.
2. Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth (since September 1, 1991).
3. Visiting professor of theology at King's College London.
4. Honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, 1993.
5. Presentation (Honorary) fellow, King's College London, 1993.

Immanuel Jakobovits, also Baron Jakobovits (8 February 1921 - 31 October 1999) was the Orthodox Judaism Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A professor (Latin: one who publicly professes to be an expert) (or prof for short) is a senior teacher, lecturer and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... Kings College London in London is the largest and second longest serving member college in the federal University of London, with 21,300 registered students (2003-04). ... Full name Gonville and Caius College Motto Named after Edmund Gonville & John Caius Previous names Gonville Hall (1348), Gonville & Caius (1557) Established 1348, refounded 1557 Sister College(s) Brasenose College Master Sir Christopher Hum Location Trinity St Undergraduates 468 Postgraduates 291 Homepage Boatclub Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, generally known... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Kings College London in London is the largest and second longest serving member college in the federal University of London, with 21,300 registered students (2003-04). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Previous positions held

1. Lecturer in moral philosophy, Middlesex Polytechnic, 1971-3.
2. Lecturer, Jews' College London, 1973-1982; director of its rabbinic facility, 1983-90; Principal, 1984-90.
3. Visiting professor of philosophy at the University of Essex, 1989-90.
4. Sherman lecturer at the University of Manchester, 1989.
5. Riddell lecturer at the University of Newcastle.
6. Cook lecturer at the University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews.
7. Visiting professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Chief Rabbi is also a frequent guest on both television and radio, and regularly contributes to the national press. He delivered the 1990 BBC Reith Lectures on The Persistence of Faith. Middlesex University is a university in North London, England, located in the traditional county of Middlesex (from which it takes its name). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... University of Essex The University of Essex is a British university, one of the Glass Plate universities (like Warwick or York). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The University of Manchester in Manchester, England, was formed by the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester before the merger) and UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) on 1 October 2004. ... The University of Newcastle upon Tyne is located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north of England. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410 and 1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland (and third oldest in the English speaking world). ... האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים) is one of Israels oldest, largest and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... The Reith Lectures are a series of annual radio lectures given by leading figures of the day, and broadcast by the BBC. They were begun in 1948, in honour of the first Director-General of the BBC, John Reith. ...

Books by Jonathan Sacks

1. Tradition in an Untraditional Age (1990)
2. Persistence of Faith (1991)
3. Arguments for the Sake of Heaven (1991)
4. Crisis and Covenant (1992)
5. One People? (1993)
6. Will We Have Jewish Grandchildren? (1994)
7. Community of Faith (1995)
8. Torah Studies: Discourses by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson (1996)
9. The Politics of Hope (1997 revised 2nd edition 2000)
10. Morals and Markets (1999)
11. Celebrating Life (2000)
12. Radical Then, Radical Now (published in America as A Letter in the Scroll) (2001)
13. Dignity of Difference (2002)
14. The Chief Rabbi's Haggadah (2003)
15. To Heal a Fractured World - The Ethics of Responsibility (2005)

Rabbi M.M. Schneerson The third Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch dynasty was also named Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (with a h) Menachem Mendel Schneerson (April 18, 1902-June 12, 1994), referred to by Lubavitchers as The Rebbe, was a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe...

External links

• About Rabbi Sacks
• History of the position
• Articles written by Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks for chabad.org