The chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, Lord Sacks, “gained attention for comments he made in the presence of the Queen of the Commonwealth realms in which he criticized companies like Apple for contributing to a consumer society,” AppleInsider reports. “But the rabbi felt his comments were misinterpreted, and a spokesman for the Office of the Chief Rabbi reached out to AppleInsider on Monday to offer a clarification.”
AppleInsider reports, “‘The Chief Rabbi meant no criticism of either Steve Jobs personally or the contribution Apple has made to the development of technology in the 21st century,’ the office’s official statement reads. ‘He admires both and indeed uses both an iPhone and an iPad on a daily basis. The Chief Rabbi was simply pointing out the potential dangers of consumerism when taken too far.'”
Read more in the full article here.
Related article:
UK’s Chief Rabbi ludicrously blames Apple’s Steve Jobs for helping create selfish society – November 19, 2011
If we didn’t consume, we’d all starve to death. Take that back to the Rabbinical Council.
One should be making a beeping noise when one backs up like that…
Damage is done rabbi! You are now known as a jack@$$!
I’m amazed at the vitriol poured onto this poor chap. He was merely commenting on the shallowness of a society that links it’s values to the things, and not to the people in our lives.
And if you don’t think that advertising sells crap to us everyday, you need to rethink your position. Nothing other than advertising could explain the plethora of hair products! 🙂
Like all important leaders, the rabbi (also the archbishop of Canterbury, the catholic Pope, the Grand Lama, most presidents of countries, the general secretary of the UN) means well but he doesn’t live in the real world.
No, he used Jobs and Apple as an example. A poor and stupid example. And now he’s trying to backtrack and weasel-word his statements. Jerk.
Not knowing exactly what Sacks said, I had to rely on the controversial excerpts making the rounds. I found those comments ill advised, and surprising coming from someone of Rabbi/Lord Sacks’ stature.
I had the privilege of briefly meeting him in London some years ago, heard him speak there and more recently in DC. He’s one of the most impressive public speakers I’ve ever heard. I also have one of his books, and his erudition really shows through. It’s too bad those comments brought ridicule on himself and the tradition he represents.
Just in time foe the Holidays, one Rabbi, giftwrathed!
LOL
Somebody should explain to him that the “i” infront of the iPhone/iPad/iMac/iPod means internet.
It originally did, with the iMac. It stopped being so with the first iPod–no Internet capabilities until the touch came out (six years later), and the iTunes music store (to legally download music off the internet) was a year and a half away. And while Steve Jobs was iCEO, the “i” of course meant interim.
Lacking official explanation from Apple for the last decade, the “i” became open to interpretation, and indicating a personal device or service is a valid interpretation. It’s just too bad the rabbi misused it for his own agenda.
Hypocrite!
Mr. Big-Wig: Mr. Jones is scum; he should be ashamed of himself.
[ But I mean that in the nicest way, of course, and no offense is intended; please do not misconstrue my words, but recognize the broader application of my intent and not the specific example that I so prominently highlighted. Thank you. Mr. Big-Wig ]
“He admires both and indeed uses both an iPhone and an iPad on a daily basis”
He singles out Steve Jobs and Apple’s products as fostering a self-centered materialistic society, yet he uses an iPhone and iPad on a daily basis?
Assuming that’s true and not just some made-up damage control penned by hired PR monkeys, he is one hypocritical piece of trash. “I condemn Apple for making people think they need these iPads and iPhones, and – whoa, I totally need these.”
“I meant no disrespect, I meant no disrespect… ”
Ha. Classic. Yeah, it’s probably best not to speak ill of the dead…Oops, i guess its a little late for that.
And why do I think Lord Sacks, who kept referring to iTunes as iTune… doesn’t actually use these devices all the time?
Oh I am so relieved that the Rabbi is backing off on his opinion
Dang, he got his target wrong. In fact he should know who is the king of advertisement: Google. Google sponsors the freetard society which is greedy and irritably irresponsible. This group of people thinks that they can get free lunches for no effort. They think that others should work and give away the fruits of their labor to them for free. This group of people are also overtly idealistic and quixotically utopian. They seems to believe that the world populated with bleeding hearts and starry-eyed individuals will solve all mankind’s problems. They take their religion of “free” to ridiculous height and inveigh successful people for being responsible for their deficiency and inadequacy. I can equate such people as grasshoppers who do not work but play in summer and die in winter, as against the ants who labor the whole year long.
The rabbi get off his small-minded, blinkered approach and see who is the real culprit in the make-believe world of crass consumerism.
Were you talking about the Occupiers?
‘Lord’ Sacks sucks – in a ‘Lordly’ fashion.
I’m not saying there are no ills to consumerism. There are certainly some shallow people out there and they can be pretty easy to identify (they tend to attract other shallow people).
But “consumerism” is a driving force behind not just our current economy but also the overall advancement of the species ever since food, clothing and shelter became ubiquitous. Personally, I like to own the latest “gadget” not because of what it says about me in some shallow manner but because I champion human achievement. I’m proud of my iPhone, even though I did not create it. My species did.
It’s absurd to think I’d put my wife or kids, parents or siblings, friends or close associates over my tech toys. And I don’t appreciate the “you’re a shallow consumerist” lecture every time I work my ass off and then partake of humanity’s latest grand achievement.
God is a concept by which we measure our pain.
J. Lennon
Total moronic hypocrite, perhaps if he took more time in what he was saying than who he was trying to impress with the careless words he wouldn’t be in this position.
Such a backpedal he’s making!
Rabbi Sack is still a nut.
So you are saying that when he walks down the street, people say “There goes the Nut Sack”?
Look. If you push the clergy with enough questions, you will eventually get them to admit that time not spent working, eating and screwing (missionary position for procreation only) is time you should be spending groveling to the murderous poltergeist in the sky. All in the name of a proposition that has never once provided evidence to counter the null hypothesis.
Rabbi,
Apology accepted.
Ahhhh, the hypocrisy of the fervently religious never fails to amaze.
What a jackass
Backtracking hypocrite.
He slimed over a dead man, so now his PR weevils try and get him off the hook of his own creation.
being from a home where we had 1 radio, and one telephone while i was growing up, (50’s and 60’s) I can relate to the consumer rush to get the next great thing. I had a color television set for over 16 years, and passed it on to my son. He used it another 6. Now a days we need to transform our living rooms with 3d, 5:1 dolby, 1080p, and we still need more. commercials tell us we need more. Look at 4g; less than 33 percent of the US population can get it, but EVERYBODY has the best or largest or strongest network, and we all need it! Sorry, but the Rabbi does have a point. I also have 3 iMacs, an iPhone 4, iPad, and 4 iPods. Guilty as charged in some manners.
Tis a shame when a leader of one religion is seen as bashing the leader of another one.