Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
rabbis
The Latest
-
News Why Swing State Rabbis Are Avoiding Politics Over High Holy Days
(JTA) — When Rosh Hashanah came around last year, Rabbi Aaron Gaber wanted to grapple with an issue roiling the country. So he decided to focus his sermon on racism. But several members of Brothers of Israel, a 120-family Conservative synagogue in suburban Philadelphia, weren’t pleased. “Some of the feedback from some of my congregants…
-
News One Woman Wants To Make It Way Easier To Find a Rabbi
Rebecca W. Sirbu wants to help you find a better rabbi. And she wants to help rabbis of all stripes find gigs — whether at a congregation or somewhere else. Her answer: RabbiCareers.com. “Need someone with strong analytic skills, the ability to work well with a variety of people, and knows how to speak passionately…
-
Life The Disturbing Sexist Trend in Interfaith Work
I was at the gym this morning, when an ad came on the TV with a powerful image. It was three men: a minister, an imam, and a rabbi talking to and hugging each other. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but it looked heartwarming — the kind of feel-good image you might find…
-
Fast Forward Rabbis’ Human Rights Group Criticizes Black Lives Matter For Israel ‘Genocide’ Accusation
NEW YORK — A rabbinic human rights group has criticized the platform of the Black Lives Matter movement for accusing Israel of genocide against the Palestinians. The platform, published Monday by a coalition of more than 50 organizations called the Movement for Black Lives, includes a section criticizing United States aid to Israel, as well…
-
Fast Forward New Age Institute Defends Accused Molester, Former Rabbi Marc Gafni To Teach Tantric Sex
— A New Age institute defended its decision to employ Marc Gafni, a former rabbi accused of sexual misconduct, as a “wisdom teacher.” The Center for Integral Wisdom is a think tank founded by Gafni. It is affiliated with the Institute for Integral Evolutionary Tantra, which recently announced that Gafni would teach a year-long course on New Age…
-
Life Can These Newly Ordained Rabbis Upend the Status Quo in Israel?
Bitya Rozen-Goldberg had no idea she wanted to be a rabbi when she immigrated to Israel from France 11 years ago. In the years since settling in Jerusalem, the 33-year-old tour guide studied Talmud in numerous female settings. But as “female rabbi” has long been an oxymoron in the Orthodox world, she never thought she…
-
Opinion After Orthodox-Only Mikveh Law, Time To Rein In the Israeli Rabbinate
As a woman who underwent Orthodox conversion, I was livid when I read about the controversial Israeli bill that was formally passed into law July 25. The bill allows local Orthodox rabbinates to ban non-Orthodox conversions in publicly funded mikvehs. The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Party may have introduced this piece of legislation, but in…
-
Fast Forward 88-Year-Old Rabbi Injured at Coast Guard Ceremony Can Sue Government
A federal court ruling will allow an 88-year-old New York rabbi to proceed with a negligence lawsuit against the U.S. government. Judge Margo Brodie of the Brooklyn District Court struck down the federal government’s request for summary judgment in the case of Rabbi William Kloner, who was seriously injured at a 2010 Coast Guard retirement…
Most Popular
- 1
Music 50 years later, Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood on the Tracks’ remains the standard by which all albums are measured
- 2
Opinion Why is Netanyahu poised to OK a ceasefire that’s favorable to Hamas? One word: Trump
- 3
Opinion Here’s why I’ll gladly give Trump all the credit for the hostage deal
- 4
Music In lawsuit, Drake accuses Kendrick Lamar of picking on ‘Jewish heritage’
In Case You Missed It
-
News Joe Biden entered the White House pledging to fight antisemitism. He leaves with it at historic levels.
-
Fast Forward In Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Hamas looms large even as tension turns to celebration
-
Music 50 years later, Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood on the Tracks’ remains the standard by which all albums are measured
-
Fast Forward Trump, hailing release of hostages, signals that he is committed to ceasefire
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism