Bar Ilan University hosts major conference celebrating Rabbi Sacks’ academic legacy
The university also announced the establishment of "The Jonathan Sacks Institute of Bar Ilan University", to ensure his teachings are recognised in academia
Israel’s Bar Ilan University has announced the establishment of The Jonathan Sacks Institute, in honour of the late Rabbi Sacks. The announcement was made as the university kickstarted a three-day conference, media partnered by Jewish News, bringing together scholars, students and guests from all over the world to discuss Rabbi Sacks’ teachings.
More than 800 guests signed up for the conference, which will have nearly 40 lectures on themes of religious extremism, Bible and commentary, Jewish philosophy, interreligious theology, political thought, ethics, sustainability and more by scholars from around the world.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog greeted the guests at the opening of the conference, hailing Sacks’s intellectual legacy and which offers “unique wisdom” that holds the promise of growth.
“It’s no surprise that many in Israel have come to discover his teachings,” Herzog said.
University President Prof. Arie Zaban told Jewish News that Rabbi Sacks was one of the “leading public intellectuals in the world.”
“There have been many great rabbinical thinkers. What is exceptional about Rabbi Sacks is that he developed a body of thought deeply grounded in the Jewish religious tradition that speaks to the most important contemporary issues for Jews and non-Jews alike. For many Jews, but also for many people of other religions or no religion, he was looked to as the foremost moral thinker of our age,” Prof. Zaban said.
One of the topics which will be discussed at the forum is religious extremism, a growing problem worldwide, including in Israel.
Prof. Zaban said that Rabbi Sacks was “deeply concerned with the threat to a free democratic society posed by rampant individualism on the one hand and religious extremism on the other. He argued that our ability to overcome these challenges depends on a civic culture that engages in debates with mutual respect, a moral ecology that provides hope and builds connections and trust between different communities.”
He believed “in principle” that Rabbis should not aspire to political power, but rather to “moral, cultural and religious influence, and that consequently they should stay out of party politics and day-to-day political issues,” Prof. Zaban added.
Elliot Sacks thanked the University for hosting and arranging the conference honouring his brother, describing how deeply his connection to Israel was.
“It’s appropriate and fitting that this conference, the first to be devoted to Rabbi Sacks’ thoughts, is taking place in Israel, and in particular at Bar Illan University. My brother’s deep connection to Israel is well known. A love that dated back to his first visit here with my late father shortly after the six day war in 1967,” Elliot Sacks said.
The Jonathan Sacks Institute
“The Jonathan Sacks Institute” at Bar Ilan University which aims at ensuring that Rabbi Lord Sacks’ ideas “receive the attention and recognition that they deserve within academia, through programs and research, especially as they relate to contemporary moral, social and political challenges.”
“In addition, the Institute will develop a diverse network of alumni with leadership potential who can make a practical impact on the future of Israeli, Jewish and world society, inspired and guided by Rabbi Sacks’ vision,” a statement from the university said.
Lady Elaine Sacks said she was “deeply moved” that the university was naming an institution that “will bear my husband’s name.”
“He was passionate about bridging the gap between traditional Jewish thought and contemporary societal issues, and this institute will continue that legacy. I am grateful to Bar-Ilan University for providing a platform for Rabbi Sacks’ teachings in Israel, which will continue to inspire future generations,” Lady Sacks said.
Prof. Jonathan Rynhold, who heads Bar-Ilan’s Department of Political Studies, will serve as the academic director of The Jonathan Sacks Institute.
“Rabbi Sacks developed a body of thought grounded in the Jewish religious tradition that speaks to the most important contemporary social, political and moral issues for Jews and non-Jews alike,” said Rynhold, adding the “importance of ensuring his legacy in the canon of great Jewish and Western thinkers.”
The conference at Bar Ilan University is co-sponsored by Jewish News
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
