Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
rabbis
The Latest
-
News ‘Alt Right’ Leader Ties White Supremacy to Zionism — Leaves Rabbi Speechless
A prominent leader of the “alt-right” left a Hillel rabbi speechless when he drew a direct parallel between white supremacy and Zionism — igniting debate on social media about whether such a comparison has any validity. Richard Spencer, who leads the white nationalist National Policy Institute, appeared at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas on…
-
The Schmooze WATCH: When 4,000 Rabbis Epically Fail To Stand Still for the #MannequinChallenge
4,000 rabbis attempted the #MannequinChallenge in Brooklyn, NY this week — to varying degrees of success. For those who’ve missed this whole viral phenomenon, the challenge involves a group of people standing frozen in one position while a camera pans across the scene. The rabbis, gathered together for the annual Chabad-Lubavitch conference, stood in a…
-
Fast Forward Rabbi Says Couples Can’t Live Together If Marriage Licenses Destroyed by Wildfires
JERUSALEM — The chief rabbi of an area affected by the wildfires that cut across Israel said couples whose marriage licenses were destroyed in the blazes cannot live together until they draw up a new one. Rabbi Mordechai Abramovski of Zichron Yaakov said in an interview with the haredi Orthodox news website Kikar HaShabbat that…
-
Fast Forward IDF Chief Rabbi Nominee Says He Never Excused Wartime Rape
JERUSALEM — The nominee for chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces said in a deposition that he never believed rape during wartime is acceptable. Rabbi Col. Eyal Karim submitted a deposition on Wednesday to the Supreme Court, which had suspended his appointment and ordered him to clarify comments he had made a decade earlier that…
-
Fast Forward How Are Rabbis Consoling Congregants Following Trump’s Triumph?
How are rabbis communicating with their congregants about an election whose result has left many of them terrified? Based on his campaign statements and conduct, many see Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House not as a disappointment or even a bitter defeat, but as a mortal threat: to constitutional protections; to a society based…
-
Fast Forward Conservative Movement Rabbis Circulate Pre-Election Prayer
— The international association of Conservative rabbis released a prayer “in anticipation of a U.S. election.” The prayer, which calls on readers to consider “all that is at stake in this election,” was written by the Rabbinical Assembly’s executive vice president, Rabbi Julie Schonfeld. “Help us to recognize the gift of our vibrant and open…
-
Opinion Hillel’s Cancellation of Shavit: PR Move, or Return to Jewish Values?
In an uncharacteristic, and laudable move, yesterday Hillel International cancelled Ari Shavit’s book tour of US college campuses after accusations of sexual harassment against Danielle Berrin were made public. Hillel and other major Jewish organizations, have not always been as quick on the draw. In lower profile sexual harassment cases on individual campuses, and organizations…
-
News Chicago and Cleveland Rabbis Place (Very Jewish) Wager on World Series
— Conservative rabbis in Cleveland and Chicago have placed a friendly wager on the World Series. The rabbi in the losing city will travel to the synagogue in the winning city to engage in a debate on the Jewish significance of baseball. Rabbi Stephen Weiss of B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike, Ohio, a Cleveland…
Most Popular
- 1
Music In 1964, when he was just 23, Bob Dylan wrote the prophetic anthem that encapsulates Trump’s America
- 2
Fast Forward It was a historic Jewish night at the Oscars. Why are so many Jews outraged?
- 3
Film & TV Mikey Madison is Jewish — is ‘Anora’?
- 4
Opinion Trump’s treasury secretary is about to make a catastrophically bad move on Israel
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward ICE arrests Palestinian protest leader at Columbia, in sharp escalation of campus actions
-
Books Two middle-aged women defied the Nazis. One ‘wrote’ a book that betrayed the other.
-
Fast Forward What does the election of Mark Carney mean for Canadian Jews and Israel?
-
Culture Why are Jews buried in a plain pine coffin?
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism