Rabbi Sacks' legacy centers on Jewish education as top charity

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks believed that funding Jewish education for children was the highest priority for communal charity, a view grounded in centuries of legal precedent. His argument, articulated in his 1994 book "Will We Have Jewish Grandchildren?" and reaffirmed in a new analysis released for his sixth yahrzeit, challenges the standard approach to communal funding in the diaspora.

Sacks took office as the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth in 1991. At that time, the primary concern for the diaspora Jewish community was continuity. High rates of intermarriage, late marriage, and low fertility rates threatened the population. Sacks observed that while the Orthodox community focused on education and raising disciples, the broader community invested in Holocaust museums, academic chairs, and periodicals. He noted that a generation of young Jews raised in the 1970s and 1980s, heavily exposed to Holocaust literature, was choosing to marry out of Judaism at a rate of one in two.

In 1993, Sacks faced a scheduling conflict that illustrated his priorities. He received invitations for a lunch with the Prime Minister at Chequers and an opening ceremony for a new Jewish school in London. Both events occurred on the same day at roughly the same time. Sacks declined the Prime Minister's invitation and opened the school. He stated that he regretfully missed the lunch but prioritized the education of the next generation.

A new article published in the Jewish Link of NJ on October 29, 2026, supports Sacks' position by examining responsa, or legal rulings, from 16th and 17th-century rabbis. In mid-16th-century Turkey, a wealthy man died without specifying how to distribute his charity funds. His sons wanted to inherit the money, but local rabbis gave some to his poor brother. The question was sent to Rav Shmuel Di Medina of Salonica, known as the Maharshdam.

The Maharshdam ruled that when a donor's intent is unknown, the money must go to the highest level of charity. He cited the Gemara in Shabbos 119b, which states that the world survives because of the Torah study of children. Because children are free from the burden of sin, their study holds greater merit. The Maharshdam concluded that the funds should go to a large elementary school rather than to adult study halls or other institutions.

Rav Ephraim Navon, an 18th-century rabbi in Turkey, reached a similar conclusion. A donor established a part-time kollel for 10 men but could not find enough students. The donor wished to redirect the funds to hire a full-time elementary school teacher. Rav Navon permitted this change, noting that the study of children sustains the world, making it a higher purpose than the original endowment.

Rav Raphael Yosef Chazzan, a 19th-century rabbi in Turkey and Israel, challenged this view. He cited the Gemara in Berachos 8a, which states that God only has the four cubits of halacha in the modern era. He argued that this passage prioritizes high-level study of Jewish law over other forms of study. This interpretation aligns with the ruling by Rambam in Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Tefillah 8:3, which states it is better to pray in a study hall than a synagogue.

Rav Chaim Palaggi, another 19th-century rabbi, supported Rav Chazzan's interpretation but struggled with the majority of authorities who sided with the Maharshdam. He adopted a middle position that gave weight to both views. The new analysis suggests a reconciliation based on Rambam's commentary on the Mishna. Rambam viewed the reference to the four cubits of halacha as a declaration about loyalty to the spirit of the law. An elementary school that teaches character traits and internalizes Jewish values serves the same function as a high-level kollel.

Sacks' emphasis on education extended beyond teaching facts. He viewed Jewish schools as essential for forming a generation whose knowledge shapes its conduct. The new analysis positions his argument as a traditional solution to a modern problem. Sacks died in 2020, and his sixth yahrzeit falls on 20 Cheshvan 5787, which corresponds to Shabbos Parashas Vayera in the Hebrew calendar.