Andrew M. Sacks, former Penn Valley rabbi and Jewish leader in Israel, has died at 70

Andrew M. Sacks, 70, formerly of Philadelphia, a onetime energetic rabbi at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley and the Jewish Community Center of Long Beach Island, retired longtime director of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, social justice advocate, teacher, and mentor to many, died Saturday, June 29, of complications from multiple infections and COVID-19 at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.

A fierce and tireless activist for religious pluralism, social justice, and environmental responsibility, Rabbi Sacks spent three decades in Jerusalem defending the rights of non-Orthodox Jews, women, the LGBTQ community, and others he found to be oppressed. He led the Religious Affairs Bureau of the Masorti Movement for years, was Israel’s only non-Orthodox mohel for decades, and encouraged and oversaw conversions to Judaism in Israel, the United States, Africa, South America, and elsewhere around the world.

“One of the most joyful parts of rabbinic work is welcoming Jews by choice into the community,” he said in 2019 on the Masorti Foundation website.

He secretly visited Soviet refuseniks in the 1970s and ‘80s, created egalitarian prayer spaces in Jerusalem, and confronted Orthodox critics at the Western Wall in the 1990s. He compared the Masorti Movement in Israel to the American civil rights movement of the 1960s and told the Daily News in 1997: “We have to walk the fine line. One can strongly support Israel without necessarily supporting everything Israel does.”

An expert on Jewish laws and tradition, he advised the Jewish Agency for Israel, Israeli Ministry of Interior, Chief Rabbinate, and other groups. Former colleagues praised his “passion” for action, noted his “lasting legacy” to progressive causes, and called him “a true hero to so many of us.”

He wrote articles about Jewish life, was active on Facebook and other social media, and posted blogs for the Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel that featured entries such as “Black Jewish lives matter” and “Separating the Torah from government.” The Post noted his “tireless dedication and unwavering commitment to social justice” in a recent story, and Rabbi Menachem Creditor said on Instagram that he “fought with his entire being on behalf of others, calling for us to be our very best selves and to love with all our strength.”

Rabbi Sacks grew up in West Philadelphia and relocated to Israel for good in 1987. He described himself as a liberal Democrat in a social media profile, studied political science at Muhlenberg College, and talked of running for the U.S. Senate. He surprised some family and friends when he graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York after college and served briefly as a rabbi in the 1980s in Long Beach Island and at Beth Am Israel.

He returned to the United States from Israel every year at the High Holidays in the fall to lead services and hold religious seminars and workshops around the country. He was known as the “running rabbi” because he ran marathons and the “radio rabbi” because he called into radio talk shows.

“He loved to fight for those whose voices were not heard,” officials at the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism said in a tribute. “He never forgot that we were once strangers in the land of Egypt.”

Andrew Michael Sacks was born March 23, 1954, in Wynnewood. He grew up in Wynnefield with four brothers — Barry, Steve, David, and Eric — and was competitive, optimistic, and popular.

He was on the fencing team at what is now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Muhlenberg. “He was a leader without being aggressive,” said his brother Barry. “He was smart, and people enjoyed being with him.”

He worked for a time after college as a substitute teacher and high school cross-country coach, and wrote letters to the editors of newspapers about fairness, opportunity, and racism. He traveled to the heart of the old Soviet Union in 1980 to secretly check in with people trying to exit, and he befriended and mentored a Palestinian Muslim teenager in the early 2000s.

Rabbi Sacks was a fan of David Letterman, the 76ers and Phillies, and family and friends said he was outgoing and funny. Former colleagues said they enjoyed his “unique personality” and “characteristic humor.” Longtime friend Rob Charry said in an online tribute: “He was the ultimate rabble-rouser.”

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2021 and had been undergoing treatment. “Andy had no ego,” his brother Barry said. “He did things from the heart. He walked the walk.”

In addition to his brothers, Rabbi Sacks is survived by other relatives.

Services were held on June 30.

Donations in his name may be made to the Rabbi Andrew M. Sacks Fund for Assistance to Jews by Choice, Masorti Foundation, 24 Hebron Rd. JVP Media Quarter, Jerusalem, 91087, Israel.