Episode 128: Dr. Tanya White "The Legacy of Rabbi Sacks"

In this thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation, we sit down with Tanya White—educator, lecturer, and creator of the Books & Beyond podcast series—to discuss the enduring legacy of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and how his ideas continue to shape Jewish thought today. Tanya shares the inspiration behind the podcast and the personal and intellectual journey that led her to focus on four of Rabbi Sacks’s most influential books: To Heal a Fractured World, Future Tense, The Dignity of Difference, and Not in God’s Name. She offers insight into her process selecting guests—leading thinkers, scholars, and educators who engage deeply with Rabbi Sacks’s vision—and how these conversations helped her grow as both a scholar and a person of faith. As someone profoundly influenced by Rabbi Sacks and a fellow of the Sacks Scholars program, Tanya reflects on what it means to carry forward his mission in a world where his voice is sorely missed. We explore Rabbi Sacks’s prophetic warnings about antisemitism, populism, and moral relativism—challenges that have only intensified since his passing—and ask what kind of moral clarity and leadership is needed today. Tanya shares what she believes Rabbi Sacks would be urging us to do now and what responsibilities we bear in his absence, not just as Jews but as members of a broader moral community. Finally, we delve into the power of dialogue across generations. Tanya discusses how Books & Beyond is designed to keep Rabbi Sacks’s voice alive in the hearts and minds of young listeners, inviting them not only to learn from the past but to shape the future. For anyone seeking wisdom, depth, and a call to moral courage, this episode is a rich and inspiring listen.

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*This episode is dedicated to the refua shelema of Sarah Miriam bat Tamar, Binyamin ben Zilpa, and our dear friend Yaakov ben Haya Sarah Malakh

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• Bio: Tanya White writes, teaches and lectures on Tanach and Jewish Philosophy in Israel and abroad. She is a senior lecturer at the Matan Women's Institute for Torah Studies and LSJS and a lecturer in Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. The combination of an endearing personality, academic excellence and a love of Torah narrative makes Tanya’s content unique, inspiring and intellectually stimulating for audiences of all genres and levels. Her lectures leave every attendee enthused and challenged to dig deeper and hear more. As the creative director, founder, and host of the groundbreaking podcast series Books & Beyond: The Rabbi Sacks Podcast, Tanya curates thoughtful dialogues that extend Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’s teachings into the twenty-first century, focusing on his most pivotal works and their relevance today. Across the series, she brings together an impressive array of guests, including Dr. Erica Brown, Sivan Rahav Meir, Natan Sharansky, Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, Dr. Mijal Bitton, Dara Horn, Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Rabbi Dr. Raphael Zarum, Gila and Alan Sacks, Daniel Lubetzky, Yoav Heller, Rabbi Dr. Samuel Lebens, Jonathan Haidt, and Dan Sacker—each offering their unique voice to illuminate Rabbi Sacks’s moral, philosophical, and theological legacy.

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• Tune in to her podcast here: https://rabbisacks.org/books-and-beyond-podcast/

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