Jonathan Sacks’s vision of community

In his new book Morality, the former chief rabbi lays out his thoughts on populism, identity politics and the decline of the West.

By Nikhil Krishnan

Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks is the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom. His official title is Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His Hebrew name is Yaakov Zvi. As the spiritual head of the United Synagogue, the largest synagogue body in the UK, he is the Chief Rabbi of the mainstream British orthodox synagogues, but not the religious authority for the Federation of Synagogues or the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations or the progressive movements, Masorti, Reform and Liberal Judaism. However, he is recognised by the majority of UK Jews of all denominations as the Chief Rabbi, hence his formal title and, in addition, there is widespread recognition for the office holder's role as a spokesman and ambassador for the Jewish community. Sacks is also still recognised as the Chief Rabbi of Hong Kong's Jewish community, a role he was asked to retain after Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule. © Michael Donald / eyevine Contact eyevine for more information about using this image: T: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709 E: info@eyevine.com http:///www.eyevine.com

It has been seven years since Jonathan Sacks stepped down as chief rabbi, a position he held for 22 years. His tenure saw him occupy a prominent role in the public life of Britain, an articulate and sympathetic intermediary between the world-view of the Orthodox communities he represented and the increasingly secular society in which they lived. His new book draws on the substance of his series Morality in the 21st Century, broadcast in 2018 on BBC Radio 4.

Sacks’s subtitle sets out its ambitions: “Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times”. The divided times in which the book was written – populism, identity politics, the decline of the West – seem as foreign to the pandemic-ridden present as those times did to the sunny 1990s, when the Cold War (and, apparently, history) had ended and no one had heard of Osama bin Laden. It is a mark of Sacks’s seriousness as a thinker that his concerns have not been rendered trivial by events.