Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
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News For the Conservative movement, an audit of ethics policies might be overdue
When the Conservative movement censured an upstate New York rabbi in 2019 for a problematic relationship with a woman who had received his rabbinic guidance and attended services, there was no public written record of the offense or the punishment. There was no announcement to the congregation, Temple Beth-El in Poughkeepsie, indicating any problem with…
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Community The letter some of my rabbinical students wrote shows a lack of empathy—with Jews
This is an open letter from the dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Rabbi Bradley S. Artson. It comes in response to a letter signed by scores of rabbinic and cantorial students at Ziegler and other schools, which the Forward published on May 13. Dear Hevrei,…
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News A non-Jewish Iranian opposition group reaches out to American Jews
The grassroots Iranian opposition group that posted an anti-regime billboard in Times Square is now turning to the American Jewish community for help. “The American Jewish community has had a proud history of supporting social justice and human rights causes,” said Ali Ebrahimzadeh, a Muslim-born opposition activist to the Iranian regime. “We are now asking…
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News ‘A lot of work to do’: A Black female rabbi on the anti-racist progress the Jewish community has, and hasn’t, made
Rav Tiferet Berenbaum is a busy woman these days, but she will absolutely and happily find time to slot you in for a phone call while she runs out to get coffee for herself and her fellow rabbis. The pandemic has not slowed her duties: in addition to her usual work as a clergy member…
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Community After the Boulder shooting, I ask the Four Questions
Yesterday afternoon, I learned of an active shooter at Kings Soopers Supermarket from a 9 year-old. Yes — a 9 year-old boy who had been on his mom’s iPad playing games when the Huff Post alert crossed the screen. Later in the afternoon when talking with a parent, she said her child seemed less shocked…
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News Meet the rabbinic breakout star on the Clubhouse app
In the pre-pandemic era, rabbis would worry about finding a matching tie or an appropriate outfit before rushing out of the door to the next class they were teaching. These preparations were shelved during the pandemic as Zoom calls took the place of in-person gatherings and interactions, but they came with new logistical headaches: proper…
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News A rabbi moves Holocaust survivors to front of vaccination line
The COVID-19 vaccination clinic for Holocaust survivors in a local synagogue started out a bit ominously: A police cruiser was stationed outside and a bomb-sniffing German Shepherd was deployed inside, zealously looking for explosives. “Unfortunately, it’s because we’re Jewish,” said Rabbi Danielle Eskow, who organized the clinic Thursday at Congregation Kehillath Israel, a conservative synagogue…
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News As more American Jews intermarry, seminaries face calls to ordain intermarried rabbis
Lex Rofeberg was a junior in college and thinking about becoming a rabbi when he hit a roadblock: he was dating a non-Jew. A representative from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the Reform movement’s seminary, visited Brown University to talk to prospective students, and was questioned by a fellow student about a policy Rofeberg…
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Opinion Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go
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News What a Mayor Mamdani would mean for New York Jews
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Fast Forward Mamdani tells Colbert — and a national audience — why NYC Jews shouldn’t fear him as mayor
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Opinion Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement
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