It was with shock and with great sadness that I learned of the death of Lord Sacks. Jonathan Sacks was an outstanding commentator on the ethical dimension of the Torah and a philosopher whose theoretical analyses never lacked a practical outcome. He was truly a Pirkei Avot man, as this video clip of his daughter Gila indicates. He was however a good deal more than that, as the flood of testimonials and tributes has shown.
For four years during the 1990s I worked with Rabbi Sacks, during the transition of the Chief Rabbinate in the UK from Lord Jakobovits. He was a wonderful work colleague: cheerful, positive, polite, caring, accessible and humble. While many have praised his oratory and presentational skills, I recall that he was also an attentive and sympathetic listener -- a skill which, unlike speaking, cannot be easily recorded for posterity by modern technology.
May his family and friends be comforted in their memories of a truly great figure.
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