“We were grappling with how we could begin to enshrine the legacy of Rabbi Sacks as we planned our educational future without our former principal and guiding light,” said Michael Rainsbury, LSJS’ Head of Adult Education.
“We decided to update and reimagine a course Rabbi Sacks devised in 1978 for students, with the aim of introducing the main themes and challenges of Jewish faith, practice, theology and philosophy. Using this as a springboard, we designed a one-year programme that navigates contemporary modern living through an honest engagement with Jewish thought, teachings and wisdom. We are looking forward to welcoming our third cohort onto the programme.”
“Crucially, the Fellowship does not aim to merely teach the ideas that Rabbi Sacks taught, but instead aims to foster a cadre of individuals who think, learn and speak Torah in a way that reflects Rabbi Sacks’ unique worldview”, said Joanne Greenaway, Chief Executive of LSJS.
The programme brings together a prestigious cohort of young professionals who spend the year exploring key themes in Jewish thought, as well as Rabbi Sacks’ teachings, with an emphasis on their relevance and application, and how they can influence our lives.
One previous participant, Rafi Addlestone, was responsible for spearheading LSJS’ symposium on ‘Climate Change and Halacha: Theory to practice’, held in November, which strived to bring together the worlds of Torah and science. According to Rafi, “the Fellowship was a fantastic deep dive into Rabbi Sacks’ thought and inspired me to pursue an initiative to bring together over 40 orthodox rabbinical leaders and educators, with the aim of bringing about a change of approach in UK mainstream orthodoxy, whereby climate change is framed within the language of halacha.”
“The Rabbi Sacks Learning Fellowship was a truly formative experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life”, said past student Jon Dannemann. “This is one of the few programmes I am aware of that provides an overview as to how our ancient and venerable tradition grapples with, and answers some of the world's most serious and pressing questions. There is probably no other organisation that can deliver this programme aside from LSJS, with which the late Rabbi Sacks had such a close relationship.”
For applications, please contact joel.ucko@lsjs.ac.uk
For more information please go to: www.lsjs.ac.uk , call 020 8203 6427 or email lsjsadmin@lsjs.ac.uk
Attached is a photo of the current group of Rabbi Sacks Fellows with LSJS staff, Joanne Greenaway, Rabbi Dr Zarum and Michael Rainsbury.
