Farewell to a moral giant who spoke for all faiths and none

‘Rabbi Sacks explained vital questions, and answered them’

- Stephen Pollard

ONE of the most brilliant men our country has produced died on Saturday, at the tragically young age of 72. He was taken by cancer.

If I tell you that he was a former rabbi and wrote books about moral philosophy, your first reaction is probably to think him some obscure figure of whom few beyond the Jewish faith have ever heard.

But if I tell you he was Jonathan Sacks – Rabbi Lord Sacks, to give him his full title – I suspect your reaction will be rather different. Because one consequence of his brilliance was that his renown was global.

Rabbi Sacks will be missed, however, not just because he was a brilliant man, with a mind of rare clarity and suppleness, but precisely because he was a rabbi – or, rather, a spiritual leader. Not only are there now so few moral philosophers, let alone faith leaders, whose writings and words carry any weight, but there are also almost none whose insights and views are valued outside their own faith.

Jonathan Sacks, however, was the exception, revered by Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and other religious groups alike – as well as those of no faith. He was a former Chief Rabbi, and in that sense was as religious a figure as one can imagine.