President Herzog Honours Educational Initiative Inspired by Rabbi Sacks

In a ceremony at the President’s Residence, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog paid tribute to Liheyot Ye’udi, an educational initiative that brings the values and teachings of Rabbi Sacks to tens of thousands of students across Israel.

The event celebrated the participation of more than 67,000 students in the programme this year, many of whom led community projects – from running a football tournament in memory of a fallen soldier, to distributing hot meals to IDF troops, and renovating public shelters in northern Israel.

As part of the ceremony, high school students held a live debate on the topic: “Does social change begin with personal change?” The debate was the culmination of a year-long course in rhetoric taken by over 700 students through the initiative.

President Herzog praised the project, saying: “This is a remarkable phenomenon – how Rabbi Sacks became a household name in all sectors of Israeli society. You are turning his teachings into platforms that speak to the younger generation. This message should be present in every home in Israel, with every citizen, and certainly every Jew. And you, the students, are turning this message into lived experience.”

Liheyot Ye’udi is a partnership between the Rabbi Sacks Legacy in Israel and Sulamot, an experiential education organisation led by Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon. It currently operates in hundreds of schools nationwide.

Alan Sacks, Rabbi Sacks’ brother and a trustee of the Rabbi Sacks Legacy, shared the origins of the initiative: “The initiative began when Henry Koschitzky approached me and said he wanted every Jewish child to know Rabbi Sacks’ books. Together, we built a program with a message to unite society in an era of division. What Rabbi Sacks wanted was to turn love into action.”

Also speaking at the event was former Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Daniel Taub – Chair of the Rabbi Sacks Legacy in Israel – who reflected on Rabbi Sacks’ enduring commitment to Israel and to the next generation. He added: “Rabbi Sacks was pained by the fact that he hadn’t been able to influence Israeli society more – and this project is precisely the way to fulfil what he started.”