Lord Sacks
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Emeritus Chief Rabbi The Right Honourable The Lord Sacks |
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| Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth | |
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In office 1 September 1991 – 1 September 2013 |
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| Preceded by | The Lord Jakobovits |
| Succeeded by | Ephraim Mirvis |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
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Assumed office 1 September 2009 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jonathan Henry Sacks (Yaakov Zvi) 8 March 1948 London, England |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Political party | Crossbench |
| Spouse(s) | Elaine Taylor Sacks |
| Children | Joshua, Dina and Gila |
| Alma mater |
Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge New College, Oxford King's College London |
| Religion | Modern Orthodox Judaism |
| Awards | Canterbury Medal |
| Semicha | Jews' College and Etz Chaim Yeshiva (London) |
| Website | rabbisacks |
Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (Hebrew: Yaakov Zvi, יעקב צבי; born 8 March 1948) is a British rabbi, philosopher, theologian and politician.
He 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 UK, 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. As Chief Rabbi, Sacks formally carried the title of Av Beit Din (head) of the London Beth Din.
Since stepping down as Chief Rabbi, in addition to his international travelling and speaking engagements and prolific writing, Sacks has served as the Ingeborg and Ira Rennert Global Distinguished Professor of Judaic Thought at New York University and the Kressel and Ephrat Family University Professor of Jewish Thought at Yeshiva University. He has also been appointed as Professor of Law, Ethics and the Bible at King's College London.
He won the Templeton Prize for 2016.
Born in London (England) on 8 March 1948, Sacks commenced his formal education at St Mary's Primary School and at Christ's College Finchley. He completed his higher education at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge where he gained a first-class Honours Degree in Philosophy. While a student at Cambridge, Sacks traveled to New York to meet Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, to discuss a variety of issues relating to religion, faith and philosophy. Schneerson urged Sacks to seek rabbinic ordination and to enter the rabbinate.
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