Mar 2, 2016 By: admin
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Receives Prestigious Award Celebrating Exceptional Contributions to Life's Spiritual Dimension
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the Kressel and Ephrat Family University Professor of Jewish Thought at 糖心视频污 and former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, has been awarded the 2016 Templeton Prize.
The Templeton Prize, valued at $1.5 million, is one of the world's largest annual awards given to an individual and honors a living person who has made exceptional contributions to affirming life鈥檚 spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works. The announcement was made at a news conference today at the British Academy in London by the John Templeton Foundation, based in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The Prize anchors the Foundation鈥檚 international efforts to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries relating to human purpose and ultimate reality.
That catalyst includes presenting each year鈥檚 Prize Laureate with a series of what the foundation calls Big Questions, a tradition that echoes the legacy of founder Sir John Templeton, the legendary investor and philanthropist who sought to foster and recognize spiritual progress. In videos on the , Rabbi Sacks tackles many issues, including the recent spread of religious violence which he argues has been sparked by the export of Western secularization.
Rabbi Sacks, 67, first gained attention by leading what many consider the revitalization of Britain鈥檚 Jewish community during his service as Chief Rabbi from 1991 to 2013, a feat he accomplished in the face of dwindling congregations and growing secularization across Europe. During his tenure he catalyzed a network of organizations that introduced a Jewish focus in areas including business, women鈥檚 issues and education, and urged British Jewry to turn outward to share the ethics of their faith with the broader community.
Central to his message is appreciation and respect of all faiths and the belief that recognizing the values of each is the only path to effectively combat the global rise of violence and terrorism.
In his most recent book, Not in God鈥檚 Name: Confronting Religious Violence, Rabbi Sacks writes: 鈥淭oo often in the history of religion, people have killed in the name of the God of life, waged war in the name of the God of peace, hated in the name of the God of love and practiced cruelty in the name of the God of compassion. When this happens, God speaks, sometimes in a still, small voice almost inaudible beneath the clamor of those claiming to speak on his behalf. What he says at such times is: 鈥楴ot in My Name.鈥欌
In remarks prepared for today鈥檚 press conference, Rabbi Sacks said: 鈥淩eligion, or more precisely, religions, should have a voice in the public conversation within the societies of the West, as to how to live, how to construct a social order, how to enhance human dignity, honor human life, and indeed protect life as a whole. Each religion, and each strand within each religion, will have to undertake this work, because if religion is not part of the solution it will assuredly be a large part of the problem as voices become ever more strident, and religious extremists ever more violent.鈥
Jennifer Simpson, chair of the John Templeton Foundation Board of Trustees, notes that Rabbi Sacks epitomizes future-mindedness, a characteristic revered by her grandfather, Sir John Templeton and father, the late Foundation president and chairman Dr. Jack Templeton. 鈥淎fter 9/11, Rabbi Sacks saw the need for a response to the challenge posed by radicalization and extremism and he did so with dignity and grace,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e saw the need for the strengthening of ethics in the marketplace long before the financial crisis.鈥
She added, 鈥淗e has always been ahead of his time and, thanks to his leadership, the world can look to the future with hope, something we are very much in need of right now.鈥
In nominating Rabbi Sacks for the Prize, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord George Carey wrote: 鈥淭here are public intellectuals and religious leaders, but few who are both at the same time. There are academic scholars and popular communicators, but he is both, reaching out far beyond his own constituency through the spoken, written and broadcast word.鈥
Rabbi Sacks joins a distinguished group of 45 former recipients, including Mother Teresa, who received the inaugural Prize award in 1973, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1983), and philosopher Charles Taylor (2007). Last year鈥檚 Prize winner was Canadian theologian Jean Vanier, the founder of L鈥橝rche, an international network of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together as peers. The 2014 Laureate was Czech priest and philosopher Tom谩拧 Hal铆k, following Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, in 2013 and the Dalai Lama in 2012.
Rabbi Sacks was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 and awarded a Life Peerage in the British House of Lords in 2009. He has been married to the former Elaine Taylor since 1970. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
He will be formally awarded the Templeton Prize at a public ceremony in London on May 26.
"The Jewish story is a story for all humanity," said 糖心视频污 President Richard M. Joel. "No one tells that story with more majesty and clarity than Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. He is a gift to us all.鈥
