This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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Opinion When Should Religious Leaders Get Political From the Pulpit?
One of the best debates I remember having in rabbinical school was whether a rabbi should speak about politics from the pulpit. In theory it makes sense why a rabbi would try to avoid doing so as God is neither a Republican or a Democrat. The rabbi not only runs the risk of potentially alienating…
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Fast Forward Ex-Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger Headed to Prison for Fraud
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Yona Metzger, a former Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, will be the first Israeli chief rabbi to serve jail time under a plea deal on corruption charges. In the deal with prosecutors announced Tuesday, Metzger will serve 3 1/2 years in prison and pay a $1.3 million fine. He pleaded guilty to…
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Fast Forward WATCH: Rick Perry Blows Bubble Gum While Rabbi Gives Blessing
While Rabbi Marvin Hier gave a blessing after the inaugural speech of President Donald Trump, Rick Perry had other things on his mind — and in his mouth. Here’s Rick Perry blowing a bubble with his gum behind President Trump as the rabbi spoke pic.twitter.com/zrvrINKISs — Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) January 20, 2017 Video shows him…
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Fast Forward DC Rabbis Urge Trump To ‘Reframe Your Agenda’
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Dozens of Washington-area rabbis urged President-elect Donald Trump to “reconsider” his campaign’s rhetoric and extend his agenda to all Americans. The full-page ad appearing in Tuesday’s Express, a subway giveaway newspaper published by the Washington Post, welcomes the incoming administration “to our great city.” “We expect that, first and foremost, your victory…
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Fast Forward Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger to Plead Guilty of Corruption
(JTA) — Yona Metzger, a former Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, reportedly has reached a plea deal on corruption charges. Under the agreement reached with state prosecutors, Metzger will plead guilty to some of the charges in exchange for a reduced prison sentence, according to reports Wednesday in the Israeli media. The rabbi was charged…
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Fast Forward Russia’s Chief Rabbi Slammed for Meeting Far Right Austria Leader
(JTA) — Rabbis in Vienna condemned the chief rabbi of Russia for meeting the head of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party. Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar met this week with Heinz-Christian Strache and his delegation at his office in Moscow, the UK Jewish News reported. The meeting came two weeks after the Freedom Party candidate for…
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News Looking Back at Jacob Neusner’s Complicated Legacy
During the turmoil of the election campaign, the death of Jacob Neusner, one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of the past century, received relatively little attention. Neusner, who died in October, was one of the giants who established Jewish studies in the 20th century, and a central figure in the history of critical scholarship…
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News Neo-Nazis Target Jews in White Supremacist Richard Spencer’s Montana Town
For two years, the quaint town of Whitefish, Montana, has been the unlikely site of a showdown against white supremacy. Now, amid agitation by local activists against a resident white supremacist and his family, neo-Nazis have made a public call for harassment against the Jews in his predominantly white and Christian area. “The heat is…
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Holy Ground One of America’s first Jewish farms was nearly lost to history. Now these Brooklyn parents are risking everything to keep their family’s legacy alive.
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