Morris Allen

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Rabbi Morris Allen has been our rabbi for nearly 30 years. He has overseen the growth of our synagogue from about 50 families to nearly 400 families. Our members are very committed, with about 250 people regularly attending Shabbat morning services. But Rabbi Allen’s real impact has been on our lives. He has shown us an authentic, traditional, egalitarian approach to Judaism and our community, empowering us to “own” our Judaism. Through his many initiatives, he has enabled us to learn to daven and lead services, read Torah, and study and keep kashrut. Personally, Rabbi Allen has made me a better person. He has enriched me, my family, our shul, and the larger Twin Cities Jewish community, teaching us how relevant Jewish practice and observance is for today’s world.
— Stuart Bear + 5 other nominations
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
