This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
The Latest
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The Schmooze Israeli Rabbis Get a Raise
Being a young rabbi in Israel just got a whole lot more lucrative. Starting salaries for Jewish clergy will rise by up to 250 percent in the coming years, according to a new set of raises approved today by Israel’s treasury. Because the salaries will be paid by the government — Israel doesn’t separate synagogue…
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The Schmooze Rabbi and Father of 11 on Trial for Molesting IDF Officer
Editor’s Note: Yesterday Bidany was found guilty of the charge of molesting a female Israeli Army officer. A female IDF officer is not taking an alleged case of misdemeanor sexual contact sitting down — especially not while sitting on an airplane. The NY Daily News reported that the 23-year-old officer, who commands a missile defense…
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Life Newsweek List Takes a Page From ‘The Sisterhood 50’
Newsweek magazine, this year in conjunction with its sister publication The Daily Beast, has just published its annual list of America’s 50 “most influential” rabbis. It’s Newsweek’s fifth such list but the first time that a woman — writer Abigail Pogrebin — has been directly involved in the selection, which no doubt explains why the…
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The Schmooze Montreal Cabbie Can Display Religious Objects in his Cab
Is a rabbi’s picture dangerous? That’s what Montreal police seemed to imply by fining and ticketing cabbie Arieh Perecowicz, who’d racked up more than $1,000 in fines “for having pictures of his daughter and a rabbi in his cab, along with a Canadian flag, two small religious symbols and a Remembrance Day poppy,” according to…
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The Schmooze Peeling Back The Forbidden Strawberry
It’s the forbidden fruit… unless peeled. The strawberry has been the cause of much rabbinical consternation in recent years. The reason is that many rabbis believe strawberries to be a favorite hangout for insects, and eating an insect is actually more problematic in Jewish law than eating pork. Now one of Israel’s most prolific Haredi…
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The Schmooze Sacha Baron Cohen To Be Britain’s New Chief Rabbi?
As discussed in last week’s Forward, Britain’s chief rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, has announced that he will retire in 2013, and speculation has begun about potential successors. Sure, it’s fascinating to those of us who keep abreast of developments in the world’s Jewish communities, but did you know it’s also of interest to…. bookmakers. Believe it…
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Books Forward Fives: 2010 in Non-Fiction
In this, the second annual Forward Fives selection, we celebrate the year’s cultural output with a series of deliberately eclectic choices in film, music, theater, exhibitions and books. Here we present five of the most important Jewish non-fiction books of 2010. Feel free to argue with and add to our selections in the comments. As…
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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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