Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
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Life Why I’m OK Staying Out of The ‘Orthodox Boys’ Club’
This week I read Rachel Rosenthal’s open letter to Rabbi Willig expressing her frustration and anger about his views on women learning Talmud. I have sympathy for Ms. Rosenthal’s frustration and agree with her that it is in everyone’s best interest to have smart, educated observant Jewish women. But Rabbi Willig’s main point was that…
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Fast Forward 340 Rabbis Back Iran Deal in Letter to Congress
In a letter to Congress, 340 U.S. rabbis from the major streams of Judaism expressed support for the Iran nuclear deal. The letter sent Monday urges the House of Representatives and Senate to endorse the agreement, in which sanctions are lifted in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. Noting that “we are deeply concerned…
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Israel News Orthodox Conversion Rebels Challenge Rabbinate on Marriage
In the latest challenge to Israel’s supreme religious authority, several Orthodox rabbis have begun to perform weddings for converts who are not recognized by the Chief Rabbinate. In recent months, Haaretz has learned, these rabbis officiated at three such weddings involving Israelis converted by a new alternative rabbinical court. Their names cannot be published, however,…
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Fast Forward Detroit JCC Camp Counselor Charged With Filming Boys in Shower
A counselor at a JCC day camp in suburban Detroit was charged with producing child pornography after allegedly filming prepubescent boys in the JCC locker room and sharing the photos online. Matthew David Kuppe, 21, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, was arraigned in federal court Thursday and charged with production, distribution, receipt and possession of child…
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Fast Forward Israeli Rabbi Charged With Abusing 13 Women
A Safed rabbi was indicted on 13 counts of grave sexual crimes against women who had turned to him with religious questions. Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg, 46, was charged Monday in the Nazareth District Court, Israel Radio reported. The charges include rape, indecent assault, sexual harassment, fraud and obstructing an investigation, Ynet reported. The prosecution asked…
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News Reconstructionists Open Door to Rabbis With Non-Jewish Partners — But at What Cost?
Reconstructionist congregations say they’re ready for their movement’s seminary to become the first rabbinical school to accept students with non-Jewish partners, yet the fallout from the expected change could still fracture the troubled denomination. The new policy, which will face a final vote among members of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College’s faculty at the end of…
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Opinion Conversion Committee Helps Steer Path for Orthodoxy
I have a confession: I am a convert regarding conversions. That’s the stark realization I reached as chairman of the Rabbinical Council of America’s recent conversion review committee. The committee was established last fall to review the RCA’s Geirus Policies and Standards system, the network of regional Orthodox conversion courts operating under the aegis of…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Rabbis Plan Conversion Reform After Barry Freundel Scandal
(JTA) — After facing criticism for its handling of inappropriate behavior by a convert-supervising rabbi who turned out to be a mikvah-peeping voyeur, the country’s main centrist Orthodox rabbinical group has released key guidelines aimed at preventing abuses during the conversion process. The Rabbinical Council of America is recommending that would-be converts be given a…
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