Rabbis 2014
On a recent Shabbat afternoon, in the shadow of disappointment surrounding the thwarted gun reform legislation, a group of concerned locals gathered on Red Bud Avenue, a street in St. Louis notorious for gun violence. They stood together by the middle school and the corner grocery and somberly named each of the 46 children who…
I met Rabbi Klatzko about four years ago in Phoenix, Arizona, when he was in town giving a class on Judaism to a bunch of us college kids. Before he left, he had us all write down our email so he could create accounts for us on his new website, called Shabbat.com. I never bothered…
I was completely unaffiliated, with no Jewish education. I became interested in Judaism when my wife became pregnant with our first child, but did not feel comfortable in shul, due to my lack of knowledge. I did not know how to daven, and could not read Hebrew. Rabbi Elie Weinstock’s Jewish outreach program provided a…
She inspires my 12-year-old to sign on each week via Skype to learn Hebrew, even when I am not home from work yet, or have not reminded her! My daughter sings her blessing in the shower with a special Shabbat soap, even when we miss Shabbat dinner! — K.T. Whaley and four others
For decades, he has been a pioneer in keeping interfaith families connected to Judaism. I never expected to have a rabbi again after I intermarried, but now I have Rabbi White. He provides our community with intellectual rigor, compassion and thirst for social justice. He transmits the stories of his own teachers — Heschel, Buber,…
Rabbi Benay Lappe has provided her students and the entire Jewish community with the opportunity to see that Judaism is smarter, more radical and sexier than we ever imagined. She has modeled, taught and demonstrated that — particularly to those of us who have not been the receivers of a Judaism that speaks to us…
I am a Christian pastor who worked in a leadership position during the Minnesota campaign for marriage equality in 2012–2013. I helped organize the multi-faith service held the night before the Minnesota House voted on the marriage equality bill. With over 800 people in attendance, Rabbi Latz brought a group of folks to the service…
This month marks the 70th anniversary of the German occupation of Budapest, which began on March 19, 1944. In 2006, my husband and I went to Budapest to see as much as possible that related to Jewish life during that horrendous time. Sixty-two years had passed since my second cousins, Eva and Alice Eismann, had…
Ruth Willig thought she was done moving homes. The 90-year-old moved into Prospect Park Residence, a Brooklyn assisted living facility, four years ago, and expected to remain there until her death. But last week, the management of the predominantly Jewish residence made an unpleasant announcement: everyone must leave within 90 days. “I was devastated. I…
He may lack the cachet and recognition of the Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman, but in the federal government’s sprawling bureaucracy, Ira Forman is the only official tasked with identifying and addressing anti-Semitism worldwide on behalf of the United States. Now, suddenly, with Ukraine in crisis, Forman’s usually low-profile brief is front and center, as he…
Sam Lewis was my friend, my boss and my teacher through some tough and turbulent times, and taught me more about diplomacy than almost anyone. Sam, who died in his home in Virginia on March 10 at 83, was not just another career diplomat, especially when it came to Israel. After serving eight years as…
