Cambridge launches ‘The Sacks Seminars’

On Monday 12 May, Rabbi Dr Reuven Leigh delivered a lecture to launch The Sacks Seminars, a new collaborative initiative between Gonville & Caius College and The Rabbi Sacks Legacy. The opening lecture, titled ‘Responsibility for the Other in the Thought of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks,’ explored Rabbi Sacks’ profound vision of covenantal responsibility, drawing a diverse audience of scholars, students, and community members.

The Sacks Seminars will officially begin in autumn 2025 and are designed to ensure that Rabbi Sacks’ ideas continue to enrich the intellectual and moral life of Cambridge. Open to students across the University of Cambridge, the four-part series will examine the late Chief Rabbi’s thought through multiple lenses: political philosophy, ethical philosophy, and Jewish mystical thought. Rabbi Leigh’s opening lecture framed this exploration by focusing on mutual responsibility as the foundation of collective moral conscience. Rabbi Leigh is a Sacks Scholar from cohort two, soon to complete his first year with The Rabbi Sacks Legacy.

Highlighting Rabbi Sacks' ability to bridge Jewish thought with modern political philosophy, Rabbi Leigh contrasted Sacks’ conception of covenantal responsibility with thinkers like John Rawls and Isaiah Berlin, sparking a lively discussion among attendees.

Reflecting on the launch of The Sacks Seminars, Rabbi Leigh commented that “through this series, we aim to bring Rabbi Sacks' moral vision into dialogue with the broader intellectual landscape of Cambridge. His ideas challenge us to rethink community, responsibility, and moral imagination - not as isolated values, but as shared commitments that bind us together.”

Dr Andrew Spencer, Senior Tutor at Gonville & Caius College, expressed the college's enthusiasm for the collaboration. “We are delighted to partner with The Rabbi Sacks Legacy on The Sacks Seminars,” said Dr Spencer. “Rabbi Sacks, an alumnus of our college, was a towering intellectual figure whose ideas continue to resonate deeply. This series not only honours his legacy but also enriches the academic life of Cambridge by inviting students and scholars to engage with his profound insights on moral responsibility and communal ethics.”

Listen to the first lecture, or read the transcript here >

Before passing away in November 2020, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was an Honorary Fellow of Caius. He graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Philosophy in 1969.