As a global religious leader, philosopher, author and moral voice of our time, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks is currently the Kressel and Ephrat Family University Professor of Jewish Thought at New York University and the Ingeborg and Ira Rennert Global Distinguished Professor of Jewish Thought at Yeshiva University. He is also Professor of Law, Ethics and the Bible at King's College London. Between September 1991 and September 2013, Rabbi Sacks served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales described him as 'a light unto this nation,' while former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called him 'an intellectual giant.' Both in Britain and around the world, Rabbi Sacks is a frequent presence on radio, television and in the press. As a visiting professor at several universities in Britain, the US and Israel, Rabbi Sacks held 16 honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Divinity conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, to mark his first decade as Chief Rabbi.
In recognition of his work, Rabbi Sacks received numerous international awards, including the Jerusalem Prize in 1995 for his contribution to Jewish diaspora life and the Ladislaus Laszt Ecumenical and Literary Prize, as well as the Guardian of Zion Award from Israel's Ben-Gurion University in 2011. In 2014, Rabbi Sacks was named The Becket Fund's 2014 Canterbury Medallist for his contribution to defending religious freedom in the public square. In 2005, he was granted a life peerage by Her Majesty the Queen, and was formally inducted into the House of Lords in October 2009.
To date, Rabbi Sacks is the author of 25 books, has published a commentary on the Jewish daily prayer book (siddur), and has completed commentaries on the prayer books (machzorim) for the Jewish New Year, the Day of Atonement and Passover. His book 'The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning,' published in July 2011, sets out an approach for the coexistence of religion and science and received widespread acclaim. Many of his books have won literary awards, including the 2004 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for 'The Dignity of Difference,' and the 2000 National Jewish Book Award for 'A Letter in the Scroll.' In 2009, 'Covenant & Conversation: Genesis' was named a National Jewish Book Award winner, while in 2013 'The Koren Sacks Pesach Machzor' won the National Jewish Book Award's Dorot Foundation Award for Modern Jewish Thought and Experience. His 'Covenant & Conversation' commentary on the weekly Torah portion is read in thousands of Jewish communities around the world.
His latest book, 'Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence,' published in June 2015, explores the roots of violence and its relationship with religion, focusing on the long-standing tensions among the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. You can read more about it, or purchase it, at this link: http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Sacks/e/B001HCVVK8/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
Rabbi Sacks was born in London in 1948 and studied at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge University, where he earned first-class honours in philosophy. In 1981, he continued his postgraduate studies at New College, Oxford, and King's College London, where he obtained his doctorate. In the same year, he was ordained at the Jews' College and the Etz Chaim seminary in London. He served as rabbi at the Golders Green Synagogue and the Marble Arch Synagogue in London. Besides serving as Chief Rabbi, he was also president of the main Jewish university - the world's oldest Jewish theological seminary. In 1970, Rabbi Sacks married Elaine, and they had three children, Joshua, Dina and Gila, as well as several grandchildren.