The world mourns a great moral voice

RABBI LORD SACKS 1948-2020

 AMID THE outpouring of grief and heartfelt eulogies for Rabbi Lord Sacks, who died last Saturday aged 72, one moment stood out.

Speaking through tears at his funeral, his youngest daughter, Gila, said he “never ever missed any opportunity in recent years” to express his love or “how proud he was of each grandchild and every bit of joy they brought into this world”.

She added that he “taught us that the world is there to be challenged and that there is no such thing as an unsolvable problem”.

Rabbi Sacks had been diagnosed with cancer last month, having been treated twice previously.

He served as Chief Rabbi for 22 years until 2013 and was the author of over 30 books. His most recent, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, was published this year.

He was knighted in 2005 and made a Life Peer in 2009.

A scaled-back, Covid-19-compliant funeral was held Sunday afternoon.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who was self-isolating and unable to attend, prepared the hesped delivered by Hendon Rabbi Mordechai Ginsbury.

Rabbi Mirvis lamented the loss of “a Torah luminary and intellectual giant who had a transformative global impact” and said he will be missed “by all those whose lives he enlightened with his wisdom, profundity and inspiration.”

On BBC Radio 4, Rabbi Mirvis praised his “illustrious predecessor” and noted his “voice of warmth and wisdom, interlaced with sensitivity and humour”.

Amid an avalanche of tributes from Jewish and non-Jewish groups around the world, Prince Charles expressed his “profound sorrow” and said the entire world had lost “a leader whose wisdom, scholarship and humanity were without equal.

“His immense learning spanned the sacred and the secular, and his prophetic voice spoke to our greatest challenges with unfailing insight and boundless compassion.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his “leadership had a profound impact on our whole country and across the world” while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer praised his “towering intellect” and “eloquence, insights and kindness.”

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl cited “his astounding intellect and courageous moral voice” and said his “outstanding tenure as Chief Rabbi led to a revolution in Jewish life and learning which has ensured his legacy will pass not just through his own beloved family, but through generations of our community’s young people too.”

United Synagogue President Michael Goldstein said a “flame of Torah has gone out. But the Torah Rabbi Sacks taught us will continue to be taught across the world for generations to come and will endure forever.”

Liberal Judaism president Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein praised his “immense” contribution to modern Judaism and said he had “brought so much recognition to, and respect for, the Anglo-Jewish community by his erudition, broadcasting, lectures and books.”

Israel’s president Reuven Rivlin said he had “bravely faced difficult questions and always found the right words to illuminate the Torah and explain its paths.” He noted his “warnings against violence in the name of God, and his belief that we have the power to heal a fractured world.”

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, paid tribute to the “firm friend and passionate supporter of Holocaust education and remembrance, revered by the survivors.”

Gonville and Caius, the Cambridge University college where he studied, flew its flag at half-mast.

A Torah luminary and intellectual giant who had a transformative impact’