Rabbi Jonathan Sacks died of cancer yesterday at the age of 72. He was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013, and probably one of the most widely recognized and influential rabbis in the world. From his 2013 Erasmus lecture:
I believe Jews and Christians can and should work together to promote the values that we share and that we believe truly are universal: the sanctity of life as the gift of God, the dignity of the human person as the image of God, the covenantal virtues of tzedek, umishpat, chesed, ve-rachamim; fairness, justice, love, and compassion. Let us stand together in defence of the ecology of human freedom: the loving, stable family uniting parents and children in a bond of loyalty and care and supportive communities built on the principle of chesed, or caritas.
A 2013 profile at The Tablet, in which he talks briefly about his previous bouts with cancer.
A YouTube video in which he discusses what it is to be Jewish:
