Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Tzvi (Jonathan) Sacks (8 March 1948 – 7 November 2020), prominent scholar and prolific author, notably served as the Chief Rabbi of Britain (1991-2013). Rabbi Sacks first encountered the Rebbe in 1968 as an undergraduate student at Cambridge; at which time the Rebbe encouraged him to draw other students closer to Yiddishkeit. About a decade later, after receiving his Semicha, Rabbi Sacks again visited the Rebbe, seeking advice about his future. The Rebbe advised him to become a congregational Rabbi and to train Rabbis in Jews' College. Rabbi Sacks then accepted his first Rabbinic position at the Golders Green Synagogue in London (1978-1982), afterward he was the Rabbi of Marble Arch Synagogue also in London (1983-1990). When the position of chief rabbinate was on the table he again consulted the Rebbe if he should accept the position and the Rebbe indicated that he should (Jonathan Sacks A Story in Three Acts: How the Lubavitcher Rebbe Changed My Life).
