Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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The Schmooze Jimmy Kimmel Sued for Mixing Up Rabbis
Maybe Jimmy Kimmel thought all rabbis look alike. Reuters reported last week that ABC’s late-night funnyman has been hit with a lawsuit by a Brooklyn Jew whose likeness Kimmel featured in a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” parody video. In a sketch that aired in August, Kimmel spoofed a visit that basketball superstar LeBron James had made…
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Opinion Joint Ban by 300 Israeli Rabbis on Renting Homes to Arabs Draws Several Press Releases in Protest
The conflict between the Jewish state and the democratic state is growing apace. The rabbis’ letter forbidding Jews to rent homes to non-Jews (meaning, mostly, Arabs) is attracting a steadily growing list of signatories. As of Thursday night it had about 300 rabbis signed on, according to a report on Israel National News, the English…
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The Schmooze Don’t Donate to “Charlatans and Extremists,” Kristof Warns
Solicitations from Jewish non-profit organizations may peak during the High Holy Days, but mailboxes at American homes are now filling up with mail from every manner of charitable organization. Those groups are trying to tap into the “season of giving” spirit and nudge people to send in their tax-deductible donations before the end of the…
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Life Is Eshet Chayil a Hypocritical Prayer?
At Shabbat dinner in traditional Jewish homes the hymn “Eshet Chayil,” meaning “Woman of Valor,” is sung to the woman who runs the household. It concludes with the line “Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” According to the mysterious group Jewish Women Watching, —…
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The Schmooze Do We Agree With Slate’s Assessment of the State of Jewish America?
On September 7, the online magazine Slate published an article titled “Will the Great American Rabbi Please Stand Up?” which argued that, in the words of its author, Shmuel Rosner, “great American rabbis seem to be a thing of the past.” Indeed, the article surmises that “Jewish America seems to have lost its chance to…
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The Schmooze These Breslov Tunes Were Saved by Rock ‘n’ Roll
My musically sophisticated Orthodox friends often tell me that they are not interested in Jewish music. It’s not hard to see why. If you take the material produced by the Orthodox pop industry, it’s often just the frum equivalent of Justin Timberlake, or over-produced boys choirs backed up by obnoxious electronics and phony string arrangements….
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The Schmooze Washington’s Marijuana Rabbi
“What would it be like to smoke pot with my rabbi?” It’s a question that’s surely crossed the minds of many daydreaming Hebrew school students. But what if it’s the rabbi who’s selling the weed? The Washington City Paper reports this week that Jeffrey Kahn, a 58-year-old D.C.-area rabbi, hopes to become the proprietor of…
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The Schmooze 14-Year-Old Rabbinical Prodigy Denied Ordination
Just a year removed from his bar mitzvah, Netanya teenager Moshe Raziel Sharify is ready to become a rabbi. Thing is, Israel’s Chief Rabbinate won’t let him. At 14, Sharify has been hailed as a rabbinical prodigy, garnering the approval of at least 10 “well-respected” rabbis, including Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, the Jerusalem Post…
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