This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
The Latest
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News Israeli Rabbinical Court Rejects Rabbi Who Converted Ivanka Trump
An Israeli rabbinical court did not accept a conversion by an Orthodox rabbi who also helped Ivanka Trump become Jewish. In the latest case exemplifying the tension between Israel’s rabbinate and Orthodox groups in the Diaspora, a religious court prevented the marriage of an Israeli man and an American woman, who converted under a well-respected…
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News 5 Must-Know Facts About New York Police Rabbi Alvin Kass
An unknown assailant attacked Rabbi Alvin Kass, the respected chief chaplain of the New York City Police Department, yesterday while the rabbi was on his morning power walk along Riverside Boulevard. Though the attacker knocked him to the ground, Kass, who is in his eighties, suffered no serious injuries. The Post has reported that Kass…
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Life The Black Lesbian Vegan Who Wants To Change Everything You Ever Thought About Rabbis
(JTA) — Sandra Lawson didn’t expect to perform a public benediction at her local pub in Philadelphia’s Roxborough neighborhood. But when her friend Jay, who was entering firefighter training, asked her for a blessing earlier this year, she stood with him in the middle of the room and put her rabbinical school training into action….
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Fast Forward Conservative Rabbi Ousted From Florida Synagogue After Protesting Donald Trump
(JTA) — A Florida rabbi must leave his pulpit after his protest of Donald Trump’s speech at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference riled congregants. David Paskin, who serves as rabbi of the Conservative Temple Beth David synagogue in the south Florida city of Palm Beach Gardens, will leave his position in July. In…
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The Schmooze Chabad’s ‘Six-Minute Rabbi’ Competes With Priest, Nun and Monk on Food Network’s ‘Chopped’
When Chabad Rabbi Hanoch Hecht announced that he would compete in an upcoming Chopped episode, his congregation thought it was a joke. And yet Hecht, who lives in the town of Rhinebeck in the Hudson Valley, will face off for the title of best chef against a priest, a pastor and a nun-in-training in a…
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Fast Forward Conservative Rabbis Group Backs Transgender Rights
— The international association of Conservative rabbis passed a resolution declaring its embrace of transgender people, and called on Jewish institutions and government agencies to ensure their full equality. The Rabbinical Assembly resolution passed last week expresses “the full welcome, acceptance, and inclusion of people of all gender identities in Jewish life and general society.” The group…
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Life Reform Women Rabbis Celebrate Getting Exact Same Title as Men — After 44 Years
JTA — Since 1972, when the Reform movement ordained its first female rabbi, more than 700 others have joined her ranks in that denomination alone. But a surprise awaited them, though few seemed to notice: The language on their ordination certificates was markedly different than that of their male colleagues. Men were referred to by…
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Culture One Tenacious Family, Two Inspiring Rabbis
Cooking for Shabbat dinner, Michael and his daughter Ruth sound like any other father and daughter fortunate enough to spend time in the kitchen together. The conversation was punctuated with the gentle clinking of pots and pans, and Ruth’s occasional kind reminders not to let the salmon burn. But their casual and frank demeanor masks…
Most Popular
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Culture RFK Jr.’s poems to Olivia Nuzzi are peak cringe — so were King Solomon’s
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News DNA test kits spark a surge of online conversions to Judaism in the U.S.
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Film & TV For ill and for good, this ‘Wicked’ song has become ubiquitous
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News As young Jews move away from Israel, Jewish leaders are reluctant to change their approach
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Fast Forward After drawing BDS backlash, progressive Jewish writer Peter Beinart apologizes for speaking at Tel Aviv U
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Culture The gift Tom Stoppard gave to me — and to all who adore him
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Opinion How would Jews fleeing Europe have fared under Trump’s anti-immigration policies?
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Fast Forward Most American Jews believe Zohran Mamdani will make NYC Jews less safe, Israeli poll finds
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