In 2012, Lord Sacks wrote one of his most famous short pieces, the “Seven Principles of Jewish Leadership”, which encapsulate the fundamental nature of communal leadership. Since then, we have used this precious resource in our Maccabi GB Leadership training programmes, framing the seven principles within the scope of our organisation; today, we want to celebrate the immense legacy of Lord Sacks by providing our modern interpretation to his teachings.

Principle 1 – Leadership begins with taking responsibility.

This first, fundamental aspect of leadership is ever-more important in these troubled times; the example of modern leaders is so often one which relinquishes accountability at the expense of others. Empowering young people to take responsibility for their actions is an essential aspect of growing up; becoming responsible for others (such as through charity participation) is a key skill and one which builds confidence and self-awareness.  

When we consider our relationship with wider society, responsibility is necessarily associated with good citizenship; acting for the well-being of others, promoting respect, and fighting injustices are all values we want our youth to be embodying.

Principle 2 – No one can lead alone.

Beyond the indisputable role of “teamsmanship” in leadership, Lord Sacks delves into the different characteristics biblical leaders encompass and how these are necessary as “No one person can lead the Jewish People”.

In the British Jewish community, we choose to lead and engage through the prism of sport, health and wellbeing; we believe that by training our young leaders in these practical skills, we will create a generation of communal leadership which is attentive to the benefits of physical activity and how this directly affects our mental health and wellbeing.

Our young leaders learn and practice together within our events, but are also encouraged to become active in their own schools and youth movements, providing specialised, qualified skills which enhance summer camps and schemes through our organisational mission. 

Principle 3 – Leadership is about the future.

Maccabi GB’s vision is to ensure the future wellbeing of our community. With an established role and unique position in the community, our Leadership programmes are at the heart of our strategy for the future. Training and inspiring young people to take charge of their own actions and volunteer for the benefit of others is the central aspect of our educational programmes.

This year we were honoured to support the ‘Five ways to Wellbeing and Judaism’ Good Thinking campaign; it is a proven scientific fact that exercise improves our mental health, and through our work, we want to ensure a continuous, cross-denominational, inter-generational future provision of sports health and wellbeing activities for the Jewish community.

Principle 4 – Leaders learn.

Our Leadership participants are always involved in our communal events; they volunteer at the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run, facilitate sessions for our partner organisations and distribute Yellow Candles before Yom HaShoah. Our young leaders always go above and beyond their participation in the programme’s residential weekends, and continuously inspire our professional team with their enthusiasm and dedication.

It has become clear, particularly during the pandemic, that informal education plays an essential role in supporting our youth’s developmental needs; once enough qualitative investment is placed in training and developing them, young people never fail to provide a return which far outweighs any effort we put in.

Principle 5 – Leadership means believing in the people you lead.

Lord Sacks says: “Judaism prefers the leadership of influence to the leadership of power”. It is for this reason that all our programmes are inherently based on partnerships. We believe that our contribution to the Jewish community is unique and that by creating connections with schools, youth movements and communal charities, we are able to provide services which enhance Jewish life through inclusive participation.

Principle 6 – Leadership involves a sense of timing and pace.

How could we envisage a more important time to re-engage with our young people and our community? The entire world has experienced the fastest forced transformation of the modern era; we do not yet know what changes will be permanent and which will disappear with time. We are, however, absolutely certain that it will take exceptional leadership, with clear vision and sheer dedication, to drive our community out of this pandemic. We must invest now in the leaders of tomorrow.

Principle 7 – Leadership is stressful and emotionally demanding.

This is possibly the most inspiring part of Lord Sacks’ writing; why should anyone take on the responsibility of leadership, when it is often so difficult and challenging? It is because leaders understand that “there is work to do, there are people in need, there is injustice to be fought, there are wrongs to be righted, there are problems to solved and challenges ahead”.

When we think of our young people in today’s world, with all the pressures and difficulties they face, what better remedy than focusing one’s energy on learning to help others, finding one’s direction and purpose through our passion for sport and inspiring our future generations by taking responsibility for our communal wellbeing.

Just one month before publishing his Seven Principles, in May 2012, while attending our Maccabi GB Community Fun Run, he said “In Judaism we like to do things that are both good for the body and good for the soul. The Community Fun Run is certainly one of those events that caters for both! Kol hakavod to all those who organised”.

We are honoured to continue educating young people through the inspirational leadership of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l.

Nathan Servi is head of education, Maccabi GB. Leadership by Streetwise is a sports leadership programme delivered by Streetwise and Maccabi GB and accredited by Sports Leaders UK.

More details at maccabigb.org/leadership.