Winning a few Oscars and hanging out with Governor Arnold might be enough to get you a place on the Forward 50, but good luck cracking the top five. Thankfully for Rabbi Marvin Hier, however, now there’s another game in town with a preference for Los Angeles-based rabbis.
This week, Newsweek published its own Top 50 list — a survey of America’s most influential rabbis.
The ranking, described briefly in an article titled “Choosing the Chosen” and run in its entirety on the magazine’s Web site, was compiled not by the Newsweek staff, but by three prominent media industry figures: Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment; Gary Ginsberg, an executive with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, and Jay Sanderson, CEO of the Jewish Television Network.
The list, which is topped by Hier, dean and founder of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, draws mainly from pulpit and organizational rabbis affiliated with Judaism’s three primary streams (15 Orthodox, 10 Conservative, 18 Reform) and puts a premium on visibility and media exposure.
Though based on a 100-point scoring system (national/international recognition, 20 points; community leader, 10 points, etc.) the list was described by its compliers as essentially unscientific and subjective — a pet project, a hobby, a lark.
“Instead of talking about who the greatest rock guitarist was, or the greatest first baseman, we’re talking about rabbis,” Sanderson told the Forward.
At the same time, the list assemblers spoke of more serious ambitions.
“We see this as an opportunity to open up a conversation about rabbis, their evolving role and the changing landscape of Judaism,” said Sanderson, who added that Newsweek may be moving on to lists for other religious groups now, as well.
The response from rabbis on the list seemed to mix gratitude with a hint of embarrassment. Many offered a good-natured take on what the list did and did not do.
“I don’t think their criteria included learning,” Hier said. “There are so many outstanding scholars who are not on it. I was certainly shocked to hear that I was number one.”
Coming in at number 33 was Marc Schneier, founding rabbi of two New York-area synagogues and president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. Schneier said he was dismayed to see that he was one of only two rabbis on the list wearing both a congregational and an organizational hat — a deficiency that he attributes to the rabbinate and not to the list’s compilers.
Asked if the exclusion of his father, prominent congregational-organizational rabbi Arthur Schneier, was going to cause any intra-family trouble, Schneier demurred. “As far as I’m concerned, my father should be ranked number one,” he said.
Number six on the list, David Ellenson, who is president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, said he was gratified to see that a mainstream publication like Newsweek had turned its attention to rabbis. At the same time, he was disappointed by the low number of women on the list — five. “This shows that women still need to be advanced into the top echelons of American Jewish institutional life,” he said.
Reaction in the blogosphere was more barbed, with posters to both the Newsweek Web site and Jewish blogs questioning the qualifications of the listers and those of some of the listed. Some argued that an “L.A. bias” accounted for the high placement of Hier, the Kabbalah Centre’s Yehuda Berg (number four) and other West Coast rabbis.
For his part, Lynton, the originator of the idea, was pleased by the response — and would be more than glad to update the list annually, he told the Forward. He was also happy to have gotten it published before Passover. “At our Seder,” he said, “everyone sits around and has debates. We were hopeful that this would be a fun thing for people to talk about.”
And what of the Forward 50, the Forward’s annual list of the Jewish world’s movers and shakers?
“We looked at it, and love it,” Lynton said diplomatically “This is just a different thing.”
The Forward welcomes reader comments in order to promote thoughtful discussion on issues of importance to the Jewish community. In the interest of maintaining a civil forum, the Forward requires that all commenters be appropriately respectful toward our writers, other commenters and the subjects of the articles. Vigorous debate and reasoned critique are welcome; name-calling and personal invective are not. While we generally do not seek to edit or actively moderate comments, the Forward reserves the right to remove comments for any reason.
Why a Rabbi Should Not Marry Outside the Faith
As First Maharats Graduate, Orthodox Women Leap Forward
Barbra Streisand Visits Western Wall After Landing in Israel With Puppy
Montreal's First Jewish Mayor Michael Applebaum Hit With Corruption Charges
Tapping Into Growing Lure of Hidden Jewish Heritage
Copyright © 2013, Forward Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
You've successfully signed up!
THE AUSTRIAN RABINICAL COUNCIL RECENTLY "EXCUMINCATED" AN ULTRA-ORTHODOX ATTENDEE AT THE TEHRAN HOLCAUST DENIERS CONFERENCE. WHY HAS THIS NEVER BEEN DONE IN THE USA TO THOSE WHO HAVE BROUGHT SUCH SHAME TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE. I WONDER WHY AMERICAN RABBIS DO NOT EVEN THINK IS SUCH TERMS? ONE MAY RECALL, THOSE WHO FLAUNTED THEIR JEWISH CONNECTIONS AND BROUGHT SHAME ON OUR PEOPLE - AND ARE NOW SERVING FEDERAL PRISON TERMS. I SEEM TO RECALL A WASHINGTON LOBBIEST; A TOP ENRON EXECUTIVE; A RABBI WHO TOOK ADVANTAGE OF YOUNGSTERS IN HIS CHARGE; (CATHOLICS EXCUMUNICATED SUCH CLERGY); OR FOUR ULTRA-ORTHODOX WHO WERE PARDONED BY CLINTON AND THEN THEIR COMMUNITY VOTED FOR HILLARY, WHILE ALL THE NEIGHBORING ORTHODOX JEWISH COMMUNITIES VOTED FOR HER OPPONENT. WHEN A CONVICTED CRIMINAL WRAPS HIMSELF IN HIS JUDAISM, HE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR SEPARATION FROM OUR PEOPLE. WHY DON'T AMERICAN RABBIS FOLLOW THE LEAD OF THE AUSTRIAN RABBIS? DO OUR RABBIS BELIEVE THAT THOSE ORTHODOX THAT WENT TO THE IRANIAN HOLOCAUST DENIERS CONFERENCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SIMPLY FORGIVEN?
In reference to the article listing the 50 most influential rabbi's in America I feel that many who are much more influential and important are missing from this list. I am sure many others will respond in kind. One such omission is Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, the undisputed leader of The Modern Orthodox Community in this country.He is the rabbi of one of the largest and most visible orthodox synagogues in America, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun of NYC and the head of The Ramaz School which is the model for all other modern hebrew day schools in this country. He was the founder and a leading advocate for "The Struggle for Soviet Jewry. He is a promoter of numerous worthy causes both in America and Israel, an author, and advisor to national leaders, presidents, ministers and a whole host of national and local charities. When a Rabbi of such note is missing from a list such as this, it greatly diminishes the value of the entire list.
This is actually a pretty good list, although it might have been smarter to list alphabetically rather than rank. One notable omission is Rabbi Peter Knobel of Beth Emet in Evanston IL, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and probably the pre-eminent liturgist in the Reform pulpit.
I'd propose the addition of the noted scholars Rabbi Dr. Mark Washofsky and Rabbi Dr. Michael J. Cook of HUC-JIR Cincinnati.
It is shameful that Rabbi Marvin Hier and his family [wife + sons] earn a million dollars a year from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. This is an exhorbitant and excessive amount from a non-profit charity institution dedicated to preserving the memory of the holocaust. How many people donating their hard earned money are aware of this?
Fortunately, for the truly pious, humble and holy, the faithful needed not to be counted among their number. With Chas V’Shalom (G-d Forbid), no intended aspersions being direction against Rabbi Hier,or any other faithful shepherd, who as a consequence both of their own actions, the specific determinants, of which are beyond the abilities of finite human, or even corporate or cybernetic group thinks to comprehend, and the Will of the Almighty, for purposes beyond individuals an even specific Gilgulim (incarnations) to be included with the aforementioned long-distance urination contest. They get their celebrity along with individuals included in the group, whose self defined declarations of enlightenment and of piety, and even giving them as individuals, the benefit of the doubt, based on their very genuine belief in the righteousness of their understandings and consequent behavioral choices as "rabbis" and the endorsement of their congregational and meta-congregational affiliate group bodies, for which they maintain either financially contracted relationships to syndicated organizations, which for tax purposes are deemed non-profit, based on their status as religious institutions; or as franchisees or as representing executive committees of the franchise owners, or in some cases the outright proprietary owners of their religions, all of which claim a basis in Judaism, the human potential for self-rationalizing, self (and for that matter societal) deluding and denying, social constructors of reality, new cease to amaze me. There are individuals of greater or lesser personal influence, whose names I will not besmirch by placing them before the readers of this fine publication, which if I was myself truly a Baal Teshuvah consistently, I would have distanced myself from adequately and for enough time, such that I might have even forgotten how to access it, let alone having had such easy entrée to it. Beauty contests like the one herein described, as it was honest enough to openly state, to its greatest credit assigns to teachers of religion as well as those hired to perform acts of repetition of either established liturgical rituals or newly composed ones, or as my perception of the situation deems their work vicarious ritual functionaries for hire, almost all the non-Orthodox, knowing where their bread is buttered, namely the Board of Directors or at least the wealthiest few, provided that they do not either wish to have their appointments cancelled, regardless of their so-called being tenured or not will rationalize as many deviations in the transmission of the messages of meaning from antiquity, as either are felt to be necessary to insure their personal survival or the survival of their congregation or movement. One of the more ultimately truthful rationalizations for the degree of their own self-rationalized conscious act of message transmission corruption, either by word or sanctioned deed, is that there at least those designated fanatical few, who due to their intellectual, educational, emotional limitations rigidly, stubbornly refuse to surrender either their integrity, nor the integrity of their ancestors, their teachers or their trans-rational faith systems. This is because the Orthodox, and especially by Haredi, generally referred to, by the non-Orthodox with a designation as pejorative in intent, on the part of its users, no less than as the "N" word is, when propelled as a disparaging declaration of inferiority against African-Americans by a Caucasian or an Asian. The term "The Ultra-Orthodox" (or even Ultra-Ultra-Orthodox ) is prompted by those for whom the Ultimate Reality of G-d, Torah and the terms of the worldview, which flows from them. Thankfully, the Hareidim too know where their bread is buttered. The influence of Hashem Yisborach Shemo on the course of moment-to-moment events is such that in His beauty contest, He is the only competitor.
I think it's time to include the Reconstructionist movement as the fourth stream of Judaism and include rabbis from it. With Judaism rejouvenating over the long term it's time we realize its' contribution. While I associate with the Reform movement I also recognize reality. Many have been reluctant to do so beause of its' break with the Conservative movement 40 to 50 years ago. But its' contributions have been many and should not be ignored.
The list is offensive. The list was determined purely on the opinion of 3 media figures. Having money and power within media is suddenly an appropriate criteria for determining great rabbi's? I would prefer if they asked people at the Spertus Museum, Holocaust Museum in D.C., various Yeshiva's and Jewish charities. I'm not saying the list doesn't have some deserving people, but having any real authority...no. Someone entioned Rabbi Peter Knobel. I used to be a member of his Shul and have great respect for him. However, having a title doesn't make you influential. With the exception of Cong. Schakowsky his influence is very limited. Considering all the anti-Israel friends Schakowsky has, I must question what his influence actually is.