This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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Fast Forward Dutch Chief Rabbi Decries Planned Euthanasia Laws For Healthy People
AMSTERDAM — Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs urged his country’s government to drop plans to legalize assisted suicide for healthy individuals. Jacobs was reacting to a statement made earlier this week in the Tweede Kamer, the Dutch lower house, by the country’s health minister announcing planned legislation designed to broaden existing laws on assisted suicide…
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Community WATCH: In Israel, Civil Marriage Is Only a Cruise Away
Eight years ago I got married in the little town of Wagoner, Oklahoma. It was my first time in the US. My wife Katie and I were living in Israel at the time, young and in love, and were ready to tie the knot. There was one problem – I am Jewish and she isn’t….
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News Will French Chief Rabbi’s Death Heal Split Over Gays?
Joseph Sitruk, the former chief rabbi of France who died in September, was a towering figure to his country’s Jewish community. Serving for two decades — between 1987 and 2008 — in the top clerical post, the Tunisian-born Sitruk gained a reputation for his charisma, friendliness to Orthodox and Sephardic teachings and engagement with the…
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Fast Forward Israel Chief Rabbi Pushes for Acceptance of American Rabbi’s Conversions
— Israeli Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau sent a letter urging a midlevel bureaucrat in the Chief Rabbinate to accept conversions certified by the head of a prominent American Orthodox rabbinical court. Lau “asked me to clarify to you once more that his position is to recognize the certifications given from the Beth Din of America and signed…
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News Wearing Hot Pink as Bad as Eating Pork, British Rabbi Says
Joseph wore a coat of many colors, but his mother Rachel shouldn’t have done the same. That’s according to London’s Rabbi Eliyahu Falk, who sent out a letter to ultra-Orthodox congregants likening women’s wearing of bright colors to downing non-kosher food. “It is truly loathsome to dress in such an inadequate manner… no less forbidden…
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Fast Forward 43 Texas Rabbis Demand State Stays in Refugee Program
— A letter signed by 43 rabbis in Texas called on the state’s Gov. Greg Abbott to remain in the United States refugee resettlement program. “At this moment, with the number of refugees and displaced persons at its highest in recorded history, it is more important than ever for Texas to protect and welcome refugees,”…
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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…
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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…
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Fast Forward Tucker Carlson calls for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army
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Looking Forward A handcrafted Torah ark perished in the L.A. wildfires. Another was seeking a new home.
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Opinion This German word explains Trump’s authoritarian impulses — and Hitler’s rise to power
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Opinion I’m a Zionist Democrat. Mamdani has me asking if I must choose between my ideals and identity
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