This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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Fast Forward What Now for Chabad 20 Years After Death of Rebbe?
(JTA) — What does a fervent religious movement do after the death of its singular leader? That was the existential question the Chabad-Lubavitch movement faced 20 years ago this week when its charismatic rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, died with no heir. Amid the grief and turbulence following his 1994 death, many believed Chabad would be…
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Opinion The Perks of Being a Lubavitcher
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, seen here (at left) in 1993 / Getty Images There’s a hidden perk to being a Lubavitcher, one often not talked about but widely experienced: People like to talk to you. I’ve been called out as a Lubavitcher and brought into impromptu conversations everywhere from a small bridge over the Bled…
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Life First Woman in Her Job, Toronto Rabbi Yael Splansky Has Big Plans
Copyright Mark Blinch The Toronto Star headline seemed almost comically anachronistic: “Holy Blossom Temple official appoints a female as senior rabbi”. But that was the news in Toronto last month as Canada’s largest reform temple named Rabbi Yael Splansky, 43, as its spiritual leader — a first for a major congregation in Canada’s largest city….
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Fast Forward Israel Supreme Court Overturns Ruling Forcing Mother to Circumcise Son
Israel’s Supreme Court has overturned a ruling by a court of rabbis that would have forced a mother to have her son circumcised under the terms her divorce. Circumcision is not legally obligatory for Jews in Israel, but a rabbinical court presiding over the woman’s divorce case had ruled she must fulfill her husband’s wish…
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News Rabbis Return to Florida Civil Rights Battleground as Heroes
(JTA) — For Rabbi Richard Levy, it was an emotional return to this historic northeastern Florida city. The first time Levy came to St. Augustine 50 years ago, he and 15 other rabbis and a Reform Jewish leader endured taunts from segregationists armed with broken bottles and bricks. They were jailed along with other civil…
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Fast Forward Poland Chief Rabbi Meets Ex-Leader’s Kin
Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, met with the daughter and other descendants of Poland’s iconic interwar leader Marshal Jozef Pilsudski. During their hourlong conversation Thursday, Jadwiga Jaraczewska, 94, showed Schudrich a famous photograph of Jewish leaders in the town of Deblin greeting her father with bread and salt after the Polish army under his leadership…
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Fast Forward Pluralism Advocates Seek State Funding for Non-Orthodox in Israel
(JTA) — At 3:30 Shavuot morning, more than 100 people are seated on folding chairs singing in Yiddish as men walk around with shots of vodka and cups of coffee. Up front, a man in a black frock coat and black hat is belting out the notes, his eyes closed. Except for the live instruments…
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Fast Forward Krakow Chief Rabbi Irks Many Poles With ‘Don’t Like Jews’ Remark
(JTA) — On the way to his first appearance as Krakow’s new chief rabbi, Eliezer Gurary passed a group of young demonstrators holding signs with messages of affection for Jews. “I [heart] Jews,” one sign read. “Yes to tolerance,” read another. But the demonstration last week outside Krakow’s Old Synagogue was no support rally. Organized…
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News An Israeli restaurant chain said it closed due to boycotts. Protesters are celebrating.
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Opinion Jews are worried about Zohran Mamdani. Here’s why they shouldn’t be
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News Should synagogues remove the Israeli flag from bimahs now? How a New York shul made the decision
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Film & TV What the new season of ‘Nobody Wants This’ gets right — and very wrong — about Judaism
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward British Airways breaks ties with Louis Theroux after interview with ‘Death to the IDF’ artist Bob Vylan
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Fast Forward Prominent Orthodox politician swaps endorsement of Sliwa for Cuomo as NYC mayoral election nears
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Opinion Anyone saying Jews face a simple choice in the NYC mayoral election is not paying attention
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News Who is Jessica Tisch, the Jewish police commissioner both Mamdani and Cuomo want to keep?
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