Following Rabbi Sacks: Torah Meirah
Torah Meirah is a movement in Israel inspired by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: serious engagement with ideas, careful thought and deep faith. How we follow his path, and how to join.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l (1948–2020), Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013, taught a generation that a Jew does not have to choose between deep faith and serious thought. He read the Torah as a living conversation with the world: about responsibility, the dignity of every human being, science, ethics and what it means to build a good society.
Torah Meirah is a Jewish movement, founded in Israel, that tries to walk in that path. We are not his successors and we do not speak for him. His books, his weekly Covenant & Conversation and his example simply shaped how we learn, and we want more people, in Israel and around the world, to learn this way.
What "following Rabbi Sacks" means for us
- Serious engagement. We take the text and the hard questions seriously. A good question is a mitzvah, not a threat.
- Thought and faith together. Careful reasoning and wholehearted faith in Torah from Heaven belong together. The great sages never saw a contradiction to resolve.
- Faithful to halacha. We stand within the tradition of our ancestors, and learn it with pride.
- A Judaism engaged with the world. Proud of our heritage, responsible for the world around us: at home, at work and in society.
- In Hebrew, in Israel. Rabbi Sacks wrote mostly in English. We bring this approach to Hebrew readers first, alongside the Sephardic tradition of Rav Uziel and the sages of the Golden Age of Spain, and Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.
What we do
- One idea from the Torah each week on the parasha, as an essay and a short video: the weekly parasha.
- A reading club and a list of what we are reading, including Rabbi Sacks' books.
- Evenings of learning and gatherings, such as the Rabbi Sacks yahrzeit evening.
- A WhatsApp group, Following Rabbi Sacks, for a quote or a chapter each week and a question to talk about.
Join the movement
If Rabbi Sacks' Torah speaks to you, you are in the right place. Join Torah Meirah: the weekly idea by email or WhatsApp, and invitations to learn together.
Torah Meirah (torahmeirah.com) is a learning movement. It is not related to the "Torah Me'irah" Chumash edition.