This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
The Latest
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Fast Forward Lost Tefillin Owner Identified as Israeli Man Whose Bags Were Misplaced
The owner of the last of seven pairs of tefillin discovered by a Florida rabbi at a store that sells the contents of unclaimed airline baggage has been located. The religious item belongs to an Israeli man who was traveling last December between Mexico and Denver when his suitcase went missing, the news website Vos…
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The Schmooze Why Is Tom Hanks Singing ‘This is How We Do It’ Dressed Like a Rabbi?
Presented for your humble viewing: A video of Tom Hanks, dressed as a rabbi, singing “This Is How We Do It,” courtesy of Justin Bieber. Caption: “Haha Tom Hanks singing “This Is How we do it” dressed like a Rabbi lol #thatdancetho” SO MANY questions: Why is Tom Hanks dressed like a rabbi? Why is…
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Fast Forward Rabbi Finds 7 Tefillin Sets in Lost-Luggage Store
A Florida rabbi discovered seven pairs of tefillin at a store that sells the contents of unclaimed airline baggage. Rabbi Uri Pilichowski was on vacation with his family when he visited the store in Scottsboro, Ala., looking for cheap cell phones, the New York Daily News reported. The rabbi bought the religious items, worth hundreds…
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Life When Reb Zalman Met the Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama speaks during a visit to Germany. / Getty Images It was, and will always remain, one of the most mysteriously significant experiences of my life. In 1990, eight of us travelled to Dharmsala, India at the invitation of his Holiness the Dalai Lama under the auspices of the Nathan Cummings Foundation. The…
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News Reb Zalman Married Counter Culture to Hasidic Judaism
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, one of the important Jewish innovators in postwar America, inspiration to a generation and ecumenical spiritualist, died on July 3 aged 89. A tireless organizer and spiritual architect, Schachter-Shalomi single-handedly created a new form of Jewish practice and spirituality known as Jewish Renewal, founded on the idea of Gaia consciousness: the notion…
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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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Culture RFK Jr.’s poems to Olivia Nuzzi are peak cringe — so were King Solomon’s
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News As young Jews move away from Israel, Jewish leaders are reluctant to change their approach
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Film & TV For ill and for good, this ‘Wicked’ song has become ubiquitous
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News DNA test kits spark a surge of online conversions to Judaism in the U.S.
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Fast Forward Most American Jews believe Zohran Mamdani will make NYC Jews less safe, Israeli poll finds
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Fast Forward Palestinian restaurant opening near Columbia names its location to honor girl killed in Gaza, campus protesters
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Fast Forward NC activists claimed ‘victory’ in their Israel-divestment push. The state treasury says they’re wrong.
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