World Jerwy has paid tribute Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks who passed away on Shabbat.

Leader of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth for 22 years from 1991 to 2013, he was a prolific author, philosopher and renowned orator.

Rabbi Lord Sacks, 72, announced he was being treated for an unspecified cancer last month.

Prince Charles led global tributes.

“It was with the most profound personal sorrow that I heard of the death of Rabbi Lord Sacks. With his passing, the Jewish community, our nation, and the entire world have lost a leader whose wisdom, scholarship and humanity were without equal,” he said.

“His immense learning spanned the sacred and the secular, and his prophetic voice spoke to our greatest challenges with unfailing insight and boundless compassion. His wise counsel was sought and appreciated by those of all faiths and none, and he will be missed more than words can say.

“Although Rabbi Lord Sacks’ death is a cause of the greatest possible sadness, we give thanks for the immeasurable contribution which, in the tradition of the most revered teachers of the Jewish people, he made to all our lives.”

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said that the world had lost a Torah luminary and intellectual giant who had a transformative global impact.

“Rabbi Lord Sacks was an extraordinary ambassador for Judaism, helping many to understand and be proud of their heritage,” he noted. “He will be deeply missed, not just within the Jewish world, which benefited immeasurably from his teachings, but far more widely, by all those whose lives he enlightened with his wisdom, profundity and inspiration. 

“Our hearts go out to Lady Elaine, Joshua, Dina, Gila and the entire family. May they be comforted by the knowledge that his remarkable legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of the countless people he inspired.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson commented, “His leadership had a profound impact on our whole country and across the world.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer said Lord Sacks was “a towering intellect whose eloquence, insights and kindness reached well beyond the Jewish community.”

“I have no doubt that his legacy will live on for many generations,” he added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his “insights on the heritage of the Jewish people and on anti-Semitism will live on, for our generation and future generations”.

Israel President, Reuven Rivlin, added, “We will always remember his warning against violence in the name of God and his belief that we can heal a fractured world.”

Israel’s leader of the opposition, Yesh Atid party MK Yair Lapid, noted, “Today the world lost a Rabbi, a Lord, a wonderful philosopher.”

Yamina Chairman Naftali Bennett said whole world had lost a great light. 

Rabbi Sacks will be “remembered and always celebrated as one of the greatest Jewish thinkers and teachers,” he said.

Board of Deputies President, Marie van der Zyl, commented, “We are distraught at the news of the passing of Rabbi Lord Sacks. Rabbi Sacks was a giant of both the Jewish community and wider society. His astounding intellect and courageous moral voice were a blessing to all who encountered him in person, in writing or in broadcast. His outstanding tenure as Chief Rabbi led to a revolution in Jewish life and learning which has ensured his legacy will pass not just through his own beloved family, but through generations of our community’s young people too.”

Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, Conference of European Rabbis president, added, “Rabbi Sacks was a giant of World Jewry and will be truly missed. His scholarship and oratory skill were without parallel and he has been an inspiration to an entire generation, no matter their faith.”