Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
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Fast Forward Ted Cruz Says A Rabbi Predicted His Beard Would ‘Promote Middle East Peace’
Senator Ted Cruz got a “pretty cool” comment about his beard from a rabbi. Cruz tweeted on Wednesday that his friend in Israel, who is studying at a yeshiva, told him that his rabbi had some strong words to say about his facial hair. “’It gives Cruz a Talmudic & Rabbinic look & presence that…
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News For Rabbis, Whichever Days They Get Off Are The Sacred Ones
“Everybody’s working for the weekend,” as the song goes. Except rabbis. They work on the weekend. Friday nights are for evening services and hosting guests at home. On Saturdays, the rabbi is at synagogue by 8 or 8:30 a.m. for the main event of his or her week: Shabbat services, with Torah reading. Sunday morning…
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Fast Forward New Jersey Rabbi Who Gave His Kidney To A Stranger Donates Part Of Liver
(JTA) — A New Jersey rabbi who a decade ago donated a kidney altruistically, has donated part of his liver. Rabbi Ephraim Simon, a 50-year-old father of 9 who co-directs Chabad of Bergen County in Teaneck, New Jersey, traveled to the Cleveland Clinic in mid-December to give part of his liver to Adam Levitz, a…
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News Baltimore Rabbi Expelled By Reform Rabbinic Group Amid Sex Misconduct Probe
The former senior rabbi of a historic Reform synagogue in Baltimore has been expelled by the movement’s rabbinical association two months after being fired by the board for over unspecified allegations of the movement’s ethical code, Rabbi Steven Fink was fired in October after the members of Temple Oheb Shalom, a large, 165-year-old community, voted…
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News Conservative Rabbis Can Get Kicked Out For Breaking These Four Rules
Once you’re a rabbi, you’re good for life — unlike a law or medical license, no central professional body can take the title away. And while you can get the title from a Jewish seminary, such as Hebrew Union College (Reform), Yeshiva University (Orthodox) or the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative), there are thousands of rabbis…
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News When A Retired Rabbi Is The Elephant In The Synagogue
Some retired rabbis just can’t let go. There’s the rabbi who wants to marry the kid he bat mitzvah-ed, or the rabbi who thinks he could give a better Yom Kippur sermon than the next guy. Some may simply feel that the buck should still stop with them, even when they’re no longer officially in…
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Community An Outspoken Orthodox Rabbi Is Breaking The Rabbinate’s Monopoly On Marriage
A version of this article originally appeared in Plus61J, an Australian-Jewish publication. Israelis love complaining about the overbearing power of the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate. Few, however, have done more to challenge the Rabbinate’s monopoly over Jewish life choices than Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz of Jerusalem. After completing his struggle to introduce alternative kosher certificates to restaurants…
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News A Tax Break For Rabbis Might Be Unconstitutional. Can They Make Ends Meet Without It?
What does Rabbi Aviad Bodner, leader of Manhattan’s historic Stanton Street Shul, which seats 400, have in common with televangelist mega-preachers whose sermons reach millions of people around the world? All get a tax break on their housing costs — despite the fact that Bodner rents a two-bedroom in Manhattan’s East Village with his wife…
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Fast Forward Trump allies target Jewish judge — and his wife — after ruling on Palestinian activist
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Fast Forward The judge who blocked Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil’s deportation is an observant Jew
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