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Fast Forward Israel Rabbinate Opposes Western Wall Egalitarian Prayer Plan
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate said it had not agreed to the expanded egalitarian area of the Western Wall on the same day that some 150 male and female Reform rabbis held a prayer service at the site of the expansion. On Thursday afternoon, the Chief Rabbinate Council issued a statement following its monthly meeting demanding the…
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Fast Forward ‘Sauna Rabbi’ Jonathan Rosenblatt Quits Post at Riverdale Jewish Center
The Riverdale Jewish Center’s Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, who has been under fire for having sauna chats with boys from the synagogue, reportedly has resigned from his position at the synagogue. Rosenblatt told the Riverdale Jewish Center on Wednesday that he will step down from his position as Senior Rabbi of the congregation, the Times of…
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Life When Is Internet ‘Get’ Shaming Kosher?
In recent years, the power of social media has been harnessed to shame men who refuse to grant a “get,” or Jewish divorce, to their wives. YouTube, blogs, Facebook and an old-fashioned demonstration helped free last month. Porat, an Israeli woman who had been waiting for a divorce for eight years after her husband had…
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News Meet the Rabbi Who Asked Hillary Clinton a Question — and Got Whole Nation Thinking
Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett became an Internet sensation for a moment, when his Tuesday night question to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton at the CNN town hall event, turned out to produce a rare candid and reflective moment from the former secretary of state. On social media, supporters, and even critics, praised Clinton’s response and Spira-Savett’s question,…
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News One-Man ‘Rabbi for Trump’ Dumps The Donald After Iowa
Donald Trump not only lost Iowa, he also lost his rabbi. Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg, the founder and sole member of the Facebook group named “Rabbi for Trump” announced Tuesday he is closing the group. “Ladies and gentlemen of Facebook: Rabbi For Trump will be closing down,” Rosenberg, a rabbi from Edison, New Jersey, announced. Rosenberg…
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Life Is the Kotel Deal Merely a Fig Leaf For Rabbinic Tyranny?
The historic Kotel Agreement represents laudable progress in Israel’s stormy sea of religion, state and politics. Credit is due to the many partners who labored hard for three years to bring this about. The details have been widely covered, but it remains to be seen whether it will be fully implemented. Considering Israel’s murky political…
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Fast Forward Reconstructionist Synagogue Quits Movement Over Intermarried Rabbis
A Florida synagogue has voted to leave the Reconstructionism over the movement’s decision to allow rabbis to marry outside the Jewish faith. The members of Kol Haneshamah synagogue in Sarasota, Florida, voted by a 63-to-35 margin to end its Reconstructionist affiliation and become an independent congregation not affiliate. Twelve members abstained and 13 votes were…
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Fast Forward Rebbe Schneerson Death Certificate Is Auctioned — Top Bid Just $1,936
The death certificate of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson — the revered Chabad leader often referred to as “the Rebbe” — is on the auction block. The official certificate, issued Aug. 2, 1995, and mailed by the New York Department of Health to Schneerson’s niece in Israel, is being auctioned by Virtual Judaica on its website…
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Fast Forward Elon Musk appears to do Nazi salute at Trump inauguration rally
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Opinion As a new Trump administration begins, I’m looking to this Soviet Jewish dissident for guidance
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Yiddish דאָס לעבן אויף דער איסט־סײַד, 1902 — באַשרײַבונגען פֿון אַ יענקיLife on the Lower East Side in 1902, from the eyes of a Yankee
דער ערשטער פֿון אַ סעריע אַרטיקלען אויף אַ גרינגן ייִדיש, וועגן דער מחברטעס אַנטדעקונגען ווי אַ ייִדיש־סטודענטקע און פֿאָרשערין.
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