Sefaria and the Rabbi Sacks Legacy Examine the Future of Books

The Rabbi Sacks Legacy and Koren Jerusalem recently worked with Sefaria to open up access to the written works of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks to millions of learners worldwide. Launched in 2024 with the support of the William Davidson Foundation, a new online collection of his books and other writings became available on the Sefaria website, as a permanent, online archive which will continue to grow over the coming years. Rabbi Sacks was one of Sefaria’s earliest champions and is remembered globally as a teacher of Torah, a moral voice, and a leader of leaders.

On 14 January 2025, a panel event was held at Thrive Capital, in New York City. Titled “The Future of Books”, it was created by collaborators Sefaria and The Rabbi Sacks Legacy. Questions such as ‘How will future generations relate to books?’ and ‘What is the role of AI in publishing books?’ were explored in a fascinating conversation between Sefaria Co-Founder Joshua Foer and Sacks Scholars Daniel Bonner (Paul E. Singer Foundation), Aryeh Grossman (Koren Jerusalem), Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich (The Jewish Publication Society), and Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner (Yeshiva University). Together, the panel celebrated the growing Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Collection on Sefaria, and examined the direction that books and education is moving towards.