Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
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Fast Forward Sephardic Chief Rabbi Could Be Charged For Racist ‘Monkey’ Remark
JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israel Justice Ministry official told Israeli media that the government is considering taking criminal action against Sephardic chief rabbi for likening a black child born to white parents to a “monkey” in explaining a point of ritual. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef made the comparison earlier this month during a Saturday evening lecture,…
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News EXCLUSIVE: Rabbis Who Favor Ban On Intermarriage Challenge Conservative Leaders
A group of rabbis who support the Conservative movement’s ban on intermarriage are mounting a highly unusual challenge to colleagues who have been hand-picked to assume the leadership of their professional body, the Rabbinical Assembly. The movement, a liberal denomination that adheres to Jewish law, bans intermarriage, but some of its rabbis bitterly oppose the…
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Fast Forward Chief Rabbi Of Israel Calls Black People ‘Monkeys’
The Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel called black people “monkeys” during his weekly sermon on Saturday evening. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef was addressing Jewish legal aspects of the blessing on seeing fruit trees blossoming, and whether one should bless one tree or at least two. In that context, he mentioned a blessing uttered upon seeing an…
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Fast Forward Chief Rabbinate Refuses To Seat Orthodox Women For Jewish Law Exam
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A group of four Orthodox Jewish women has threatened to take the Chief Rabbinate to Israel’s highest court after their request to take an official rabbinate exam in family purity laws was rejected with no explanation. The exam was held Thursday; the women were not allowed to sit for it. A rabbinate…
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News Modern Orthodox Rabbis Are Struggling — Even As The Community Gets Wealthier
In 2008, Rabbi Josh Yuter got a job as the spiritual leader of a small synagogue on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It was hard work. He gave four talks every Shabbat and two lectures during the week, counseled synagogue members and helped with conversions. At the end of the month, he couldn’t pay for much…
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Community What Is The Debate Over Intermarriage Really About?
About twenty five years ago, I attended my sister-in-law’s marriage to a non-Jew. In other words, I broke a rule of the Rabbinical Assembly, the governing body of Conservative Judaism, thus risking expulsion from the group and professional suicide. A few nights ago, I asked my wife, “Did I know back then that I was…
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News Orthodox Group Won’t Boot Synagogues With Female Clergy — Yet
After nearly a year of deliberation, the leading Modern Orthodox umbrella group decided Tuesday night that it won’t expel its member synagogues that employ female clergy. Instead, the organization, called the Orthodox Union, said it will continue to “urge” the four synagogues to “modify their practices” and will revisit the question in early 2021. The…
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Community Is Modern Rabbinic Judaism Based On A Myth?
The story of Yavneh is dramatic — heroic, even. A famous rabbi is smuggled out of Jerusalem prior to the violent destruction of the Second Temple. He wins Roman assent for his prescient plan: to establish a great yeshiva at Yavneh, to reconstitute the Sanhedrin and to guide a traumatized people. He succeeds. Rabbi Jochanan…
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News Scoop: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors
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Fast Forward Their Pacific Palisades synagogue is standing, but all three rabbis lost their homes
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News ‘Do you have the Torahs?’ Synagogue races LA wildfire to rescue its past and future
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Culture In Peter Yarrow’s legacy, an uneasy blend of Jewish values and personal transgressions
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