Eight Lessons in Rabbi Sacks’ Leadership

by Rabbi Benji Levy Chief Executive, Mosaic United

eflecting on the life of Rabbi was a true servant of the L-rd and a Sacks, I would like to share one servant of the people. lesson for each night of Chanu- kah, adding one to his ‘Seven Principles R 1 2. Leadership begins by of Jewish Leadership’ through which taking responsibility his light continues to shine: Weaving this message throughout his 1. Leadership is service teachings, and allowing it to animate the experience of learning Torah and Moshe Rabbeinu’s achievements the journey of prayer through his 3. Leadership is were vast and transformational and Koren commentaries, Rabbi Sacks vision-driven he received many titles throughout seemed obsessed with taking respon- the ages, from the greatest prophet to sibility: “When we see something Influencers usually have a platform the teacher par excellence. Yet Rabbi wrong, we can complain or we can such as heading a large institution, Sacks highlights only one label as his act. Complaining does not change the holding a significant office, leading ‘highest accolade,’ namely: “a servant world. Acting does.” a company or representing an orga- of the L-rd.” Here Rabbi Sacks reveals nization. The greater the platform, the value he sees as most important, His theology was one of practice and the louder the voice. Yet, in the last “a leader does not stand above the he did not shy away from dealing with years of Rabbi Sacks’ life – by far people. He serves the people and issues of the day, openly defending his most influential – he had none serves G-d.” Israel’s right to defend herself and of that. I know of no Jewish leader calling out antisemitism for what today that achieved close to what he I had the honor of accompanying it is, fighting those that hated any did regarding broad authority. Part Rabbi Sacks when he visited Austra- group, broadening his defense of the of what enlivened all he did was his lia and I was surprised when (in more defenseless, and indeed calling on all tremendous vision, his capacity to than one shul) he sat among us rather of humanity to make space for one invite others to share that vision and than in the special area reserved for another. He publicly debated some of of course, to deliver: “Leaders are led the Rabbi. Like Moshe, his humility his greatest philosophical detractors, by their vision of the future, and it is was real. He truly saw himself as a like Richard Dawkins, and took on this that inspires others.” mere messenger of a greater message. those that presented a real danger, like He quoted C.S. Lewis, who defined British Prime Ministerial candidate From our birth as a nation to our humility not as thinking less of your- Jeremy Corbyn. rebirth in our nation-state, our his- self but as thinking of yourself less. toric perspective always beckons Rabbi Sacks was so occupied with In short, Rabbis Sacks’ responsibility us one step further because “His- thinking about others that he thought lay in his ability to respond – some- tory does not give rise to hope; hope of himself less. And through this, he thing he did with distinction. gives rise to history.” Rabbi Sacks was

36 | an agent of hope and the vision he of survivors, after staring eyeball to 7. We are all summoned sketched will take lifetimes to fulfill. eyeball with the angel of death in to the task Auschwitz, would build and rebuild 4. The highest form of our flourishing homeland? History It is this idea that Rabbi Sacks called thus teaches that while it may seem leadership is teaching “probably the deepest Jewish truth illogical to believe in the power of of all.” While exceedingly humble, he Like most of the quotes I have shared, a people – we can and must believe was acutely aware of the task to which Rabbi Sacks could have been talking in our people. As Rabbi Sacks put it, he was summoned. He treated it with about himself when he said, “The “Faith is the defeat of probability by absolute sanctity and it was his guid- great leaders are educators, teach- possibility.” ing principle. His time was precious ing people to understand the mean- With a deep appreciation of the his- and he always stayed on task. ing of their time.” Every encounter tory of the Jewish people, he believed After seeing so many well-known and with Rabbi Sacks was a lesson, every in all of us more than we often believe less known leaders emerge in sharing phrase a teaching, every act a tutorial. in ourselves. He was the ultimate ‘text-person.’ how he inspired them, it is clear he succeeded in elevating others to make My final meaningful encounter with 6. Leaders need a sense this choice. He often said that “Good Rabbi Sacks took place around a year of timing and pace leaders create followers, great leaders ago for a few hours in his home. We create leaders.” began in his study, surrounded by When Moshe asked G-d to choose books, and then moved to his living his successor, he stated that such a room, surrounded by more books. person should “go out before them 8. Every moment And I thought to myself that the true and come in before them, lead them is an opportunity library was in his mind and his capac- out and bring them in.” Rabbi Sacks for leadership ity to catalog, categorize and curate highlighted the apparent repetition the different ideas was part of his as bringing our attention to a funda- Rabbi Sacks argued that “We are all genius. Now his own books adorn the mental truth about leadership. While called on to be leaders within our digital and physical shelves of millions one should lead from the front, one sphere of influence, be it the family, of libraries, homes and websites alike, should not go so far ahead that when the community, at work, among col- one turns around, the people are too continuing to teach us and provide leagues, or in-play among teammates.” far behind. educational companionship. In this sense, he is inviting all of us to Again, he fulfilled his own words: shoulder the responsibility of these 5. A leader must have “Leadership involves a delicate leadership lessons in our own lives in faith in the people balance between impatience and everything we do. he or she leads patience. Go too fast and people resist. Go too slow and they become May the blessings of one of contem- To paraphrase Rabbi Sacks, who complacent. Transformation takes porary Judaism’s greatest leaders stay would have thought that a group of time, often more than a single gener- strong in our memory and may his slaves, escaping from the tyranny ation.” Clearly, his influence has trans- memory be a blessing. of Egypt in the barren desert over formed the Jewish world profoundly, 2,000 years ago, could share a mes- but we are yet to see the true trans- sage that would transform the world’s formation he achieved, something 1 https://rabbisacks.org/seven-prin- ciples-of-jewish-leadership-writ- moral landscape? More recently, who the generations to come can only look ten-for-the-adam-science-foundation-lead- would have thought that a handful forward to. ership-programme/.

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