Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

1 9 4 8-2 0 2 0 Barry and Rosalind Landy I first met Jonathan in shul. In the light of his career this does not seem odd, but in 1966 he was a young man starting his first year as an undergraduate at Cambridge, so meeting in shul was entirely natural. In the mid 60s we were one of the few Kosher homes in Cambridge that invited Jewish students on Shabbat and our custom then was to have a mass tea event on the first non Yomtov Shabbat of the first term. Usually 20 or 30 students would turn up. Of course I cannot now remember if Jonathan was among them but I am sure he would have come.

Thereafter we had him in our house regularly for Shabbat lunch. Even then he was very good at holding an audience, and at our fairly large lunch table the other diners were often to be found listening to him very attentively. A much-repeated refrain (common to quite a surprisingly large number of students that I remember) was "I am doing no work and am bound to fail my exams". In common with most other students who made that claim, he did not fail, and in fact did very well. It is natural to draw the conclusion that while in fact he was a diligent worker he preferred to hide that fact from his contemporaries. Indeed one obituary referred to his spending time looking out at students playing croquet; that would certainly not have happened in the two winter Terms. Sometime in his three years as an undergraduate he met his future wife Elaine. The story of how that happened differs depending on who is telling the tale, but our version is that having seen this lovely blonde Jewish girl in shul, we naturally also invited her for lunch, and that is where she met Jonathan.

At one time we discussed with Jonathan what he might do postCambridge and were struck by the many possibilities in his mind. At that stage in his life his preferred choice was to become a barrister, at

which I am sure he would have excelled. Interestingly, becoming a Rabbi was nowhere on his list!

When his three years as an undergraduate were up he offered us a treat of our choice. We suggested that he take us all punting, which would cost nothing except his time and savoir faire. Jonathan duly set up the day and hired the punt from his college. He took all five of us along the Backs, and this was an event enjoyed by the whole family, and I dare say by Jonathan as well. It is often the little things in life, fun moments and happiness together, that are remembered and tell a lot about the character of a person. For some two years after they married, Elaine and Jonathan lived in Cambridge (I think Jonathan was doing his MPhil), and we stayed in close contact.

His future career is a matter of public record. Since leaving Cambridge Jonathan has returned many times and was always available when we needed help. He was a frequent visitor to the Jewish Society, for example at the 75th anniversary party, and he also visited the community, most recently to open the Cambridge Mikvah. We were also privileged to attend the dinner to celebrate his retirement, at which Prince Charles spoke so warmly of Jonathan’s achievements. We were always very relaxed in his company and it was always a pleasure to meet him. We, and the whole world, miss him already. Elaine and the family will feel the loss deeply. We celebrate the person we knew and are grateful that we had the opportunity to know him. הכרבל ונורכז היהי: may his memory be for a blessing.