This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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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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News Trailblazing Orthodox Rabbi Lila Kagedan Stands on ‘Shoulders of Giants’
(JTA) — When Rabbi Lila Kagedan spends her first Shabbat at the Mount Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph, New Jersey, later this month, she will be making history. A recent graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, Kagedan, 35, is the first person ordained at the Orthodox women’s clergy training institute in New York to adopt the title…
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Fast Forward New Jersey Synagogue Reveals It Hired First Orthodox Woman ‘Rabbi’
An Orthodox synagogue in New Jersey has hired Lila Kagedan, the first Yeshivat Maharat graduate to go by the title “rabbi.” Mount Freedom Jewish Center, in Randolph, New Jersey, announced in a news release Monday that Kagedan is joining its “spiritual leadership team.” The news release did not use the word “rabbi,” instead referring to…
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Culture Why do Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas?
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Politics This politician refused to say ‘Happy Hanukkah,’ then blamed ‘political correctness’ for the backlash
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Fast Forward Jewish groups defend European media monitors banned for what State Dept. calls ‘censorship’
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