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Tribute book reveals Sacks gave daily lessons to staff
Emeritus Chief Rabbi 'never missed' the shiur
September 9, 2021 10:42
Emeritus Chief Rabbi 'never missed' the shiur
September 9, 2021 10:42A new tribute book to Lord Sacks reveals that he started every day with a lesson for his staff, no matter what pressures he was under at the time.
Lord Kestenbaum, who was the first director of his office, recalls in the 250-page book how Rabbi Sacks “never missed” the shiur. He says: “It was the highlight of each day. No matter what the pressures of the hour, he began by teaching us words of Torah.”
The Emeritus Chief Rabbi, who died aged 72 last November, was the creator of “a corpus of Jewish thought unprecedented in modern times”, according to one of the contributors, former Israel envoy to the UK, Daniel Taub.
Some 90 rabbis, rebbetzins and other colleagues, including his protection officer Darren Stalick, record their appreciation of his career and life and the impact he made on them.
The paperback, Rabbi Sacks and the Community We Built Together – whose title alludes to one of his many books, The Home We Build Together, is being distributed free to US members ahead of yarhzeit next month.
Published today, it includes essays inspired by his teaching and writing, short appraisals of his books and thought, as well as more personal recollections and many photographs.
It ends with a short selection from his writing, including advice to young people and his exposition of the values of the United Synagogue.
Rabbi Michael Laitner, joint director of the book project, said, “The United Synagogue wanted to honour his memory, bring some comfort to his family and all those mourning him and to share some of the most important lessons of his Chief Rabbinate for today’s and future generations.”
In the foreword, his widow, Lady Elaine Sacks writes, “Whenever we travelled in the world, he always spoke of the United Synagogue and its centrality to the success of Jewish life in Britain.”
His children Josh, Dina and Gila depict their father in the early days when they lived in Golders Green crafting his sermons in his study in the bottom of the garden, “bashing away loudly with two fingers on a typewriter”.
Rabbi David Lister of Edgware Synagogue writes, “He carried the world’s problems in his heart and brought his mighty intelligence and prodigious Torah knowledge to bear on them, offering insights and perspectives which made world leaders lead differently and made thinkers think again.”
Copies can be bought from the United Synagogue
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