By COLlive reporter
The Associated Press news agency ran an article about the “Religious leaders worldwide, across faiths who died in 2020” written by its National Writer David Crary.
It paid tribute to “religious leaders — some admired worldwide, others beloved only locally — who died in 2020,” and included 4 rabbis with the following description:
Rabbi Yisroel Friedman, 84, a scholar of the Talmud, the ancient text that forms the foundation of Jewish law. Born in the Soviet Union, he came to the United States in 1956 and spent more than 50 years as the top academic at the Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah in Brooklyn. He was also a member of the Central Committee of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbis.
Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, 89, president of Agudath Israel of America, an advocacy organization for ultra-Orthodox Jews. He also was leader of the Novominsker Hasidic dynasty, which was founded in Poland by his grandfather and later relocated to Brooklyn. Perlow died in April of complications arising from COVID-19, shortly after urging Orthodox Jews to follow social distancing guidelines.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, 72, the former chief rabbi in Britain, who reached beyond the Jewish community with his regular radio broadcasts. Sacks was leader of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth for 22 years, stepping down in 2013.
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, 83, a Jewish scholar who spent 45 years compiling a ground-breaking translation of the Talmud. Steinsaltz, who established a network of schools in Israel and the former Soviet Union, wrote more than 200 books on subjects ranging from zoology to theology, but the Talmud was his greatest passion.
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For a full list of individuals who passed away in the year 5781, visit Yizkor: The Souls We Lost During Coronavirus
