This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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News Do’s and Don’ts of Going to Synagogue Only on High Holidays
For every Jew who goes to synagogue on only the High Holy Days, there’s a rabbi keenly aware of that fact. Sometimes even sweating over that fact. “I go through a number of different sermons — lots of paper crumpling, lots of false starts,” admitted Eli Herscher, senior rabbi of Stephen S. Wise Temple, in…
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Fast Forward Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto Will Confess to Bribery
(Haaretz) — Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto is expected to sign a plea bargain by the end of the week, confessing that he attempted to bribe the commander of the Israeli national police fraud unit to receive information about an investigation against him. Barring surprise developments, Pinto is expected to admit to attempting to give hundreds of…
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News Are Ultra-Orthodox Turning Away From Vaccination?
A prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi has drawn criticism for calling vaccines a “hoax,” but his beliefs are not uncommon in Orthodox circles. “I see vaccinations as the problem,” Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky told the Baltimore Jewish Times in a story published in late August. “It’s a hoax. Even the Salk [polio] vaccine is a hoax. It’s just…
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Fast Forward French Chief Rabbi Sees ‘Indifference’ to Anti-Semitism
(Reuters) — France’s government has reacted strongly to a rising tide of anti-Semitic acts this year but French society seems indifferent to the threat they present, the country’s newly elected chief rabbi said on Tuesday. Haim Korsia, who was elected in June, recalled the huge crowds that demonstrated in Paris in 1990 after a Jewish…
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Fast Forward Prominent Orthodox Rabbi Condemns Vaccines as a ‘Hoax’
One of the country’s most prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis has condemned vaccines as a “hoax” in an interview with a local Jewish newspaper. “I see vaccinations as the problem,” Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky told the Baltimore Jewish Times in a story published in late August. “It’s a hoax. Even the Salk [polio] vaccine is a hoax. It’s…
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Fast Forward Israeli Rabbi Fleeing Charges of Sex Crimes Arrested Near Amsterdam
A well-known Israeli rabbi who fled the country after being accused of sex crimes was arrested near Amsterdam. Eliezer Berland, 77, was detained by police at Schiphol Airport, Het Parool daily reported. The founder of the Shuvu Bonim religious seminary in Israel, Berland, a member of the Breslov Hasidic sect, fled to Morocco last year…
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Fast Forward Jewish Groups Launch Fair Trade Network, Support Communal Social Justice Efforts
A new partnership has launched to enable the purchase of kosher “fair trade” coffee, tea and chocolate while supporting Jewish communal efforts on human trafficking and worker justice. The Jewish Fair Trade Partnership allows individuals and Jewish institutions like synagogues to purchase fair trade products at wholesale prices while supporting Equal Exchange, Fair Trade Judaica…
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Fast Forward Russian Officials Order Deportation of Chief Rabbi of Omsk
The chief rabbi of Omsk in southern Siberia, Asher Krichevsky, was ordered deported by Russian officials, according to Russian media reports. Krichevsky, 36, was told Tuesday that he and his family — a wife and six children — have 15 days to leave Russia. The rabbi, who has Israeli citizenship, has worked in Russia as…
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