This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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Life RCA: No Women Rabbis, No Matter What They’re Called
The Rabbinical Council of America, the main umbrella group for centrist Orthodox rabbis, just released its position statements, which were adopted this week at its annual conference. Here’s what the RCA had to say about women’s spiritual and executive leadership within Orthodoxy: The flowering of Torah study and teaching by God-fearing Orthodox women in recent…
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Life Jewish Feminists Take on the RCA
In a bold and passionate move, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) has sent two letters to the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), a leading Orthodox rabbinic organization, in an attempt to advance women’s leadership roles in synagogues and communities. One of the letters reads: As the major rabbinic arm in the Orthodox world, the…
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The Schmooze Iraq Vet Saves Rabbi’s Wife From Choking at Yankee Stadium
This will show you never to eat stadium food. At Yankee Stadium yesterday, the wife of a prominent New York rabbi was saved from choking to death by an Army medic who had served in Iraq. It all started when Toby Weiss, wife of Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, began choking…
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The Schmooze Kashrut 911
SOS. Kashrut emergency. You’ve got a dozen people waiting for dinner, you have just used a milky spoon in a pot of chicken soup, and you want to know if the soup is still kosher. Oh, and you’re Haredi, so you can’t draw on the expertise of Rabbi Google (Haredi leaders have banned the Web)….
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The Schmooze A New Passover Tradition: Desalinated Water
His status in haredi circles is legendary, and for years his kashrut seal has appeared on every kind grocery item. Now, you can get tap water with the seal of Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau, the chief rabbi of Bnei Brak. Though during the year a tiny amount of something non-kosher doesn’t render otherwise kosher food…
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Life Why Sara Hurwitz’s JOFA Speech Was ‘Retrograde’
There was an exciting energy at the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance conference. Speakers in both the plenary and individual sessions, such as emerging star Lisa Schlaff, made far-reaching statements and bold suggestions about issues ranging from marriage and sexuality to halachic ingenuity. Participants responded in kind with creativity and courage, revealing what seems to be…
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Life Who’s To Say Tefillin Barbie Is a Rabbi?
“You know Barbie’s getting a new job,” says my friend Mimi to me. “People can vote for her new career.” I put tefillin on a Mattel Barbie doll in 2006, unwittingly creating the Jewish icon now known as Tefillin Barbie Tefillin Barbie has a religious-girl denim skirt, a T-shirt, the tallit and tefillin more generally…
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Life Rabbi Avi Weiss Backs Down From Ordaining Women
It’s seems like an effort to put the rabba back in the hat. Rabbi Avi Weiss, who is not usually known for backing down from a fight, on Friday announced via a statement from the Rabbinical Council of America that after discussions with officials there, he is rescinding his decision to describe the women who…
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