Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
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Fast Forward N.J. Rabbi David Wax Pleads Guilty in $100K Orthodox Agunot ‘Get’ Extortion
New Jersey Rabbi David Wax pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges as part of a scheme to force an Israeli man to give his wife a get. The rabbi admitted to being paid $100,000 to compel the man — identified by the Associated Press as Yisrael Briskman — to grant his wife a religious writ of…
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Fast Forward How Orthodox Divorce Puts Israel Women on Black List
(JTA) — When she decided to split up from her husband, she went before an Orthodox rabbinical court and, after two perfunctory hearings and little discussion, received a religious writ of divorce. It was only months later that the woman learned that the court had flagged her as an adulteress and placed her on a…
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News J Street Backed By Major Groups, But Will It Get Into Presidents Conference?
Several large, mainstream Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, have to decided to vote in favor of admitting the dovish Israel lobby J Street into organized Jewry’s primary umbrella group on Israel. Others, like the Jewish Federations of North America, are leaning towards voting that way, according to informed…
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Fast Forward Aaron Landes, Philadelphia Rabbi and Navy Chaplain, Dies at 84
Rabbi Aaron Landes, a Philadelphia congregational rabbi for decades and the longtime director of U.S. Naval Reserve chaplains, has died. Landes died on April 19 following a battle with leukemia. He was 84. He managed some 700 chaplains as head of the chaplains corps until retiring in 1989, according to the Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia….
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Opinion Virtues of the Marathon Rabbi
Even before my first day on the job, 44 years ago, as I was stocking up at a supermarket for my new residence, a soon-to-be congregant approached me in the parking lot. “You won’t last one year in Congregation Neve Shalom,” the congregant said. Your predecessor was too beloved, and you’ll never fill his shoes.”…
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Fast Forward South Africa Chief Rabbi Warns Not To Shelter Accused Molester
South Africa’s chief rabbi called on the Jewish community not to shelter or support Rabbi Eliezer Berland, who fled Israel after accusations of sexual assault. Rabbi Warren Goldstein in a letter dated April 11 wrote to rabbis throughout South Africa about Berland, who reportedly fled to South Africa after being ordered deported last week from…
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Life Rabbis Gone Wild — About Modesty and (Gasp!) Zumba
Thinkstock // One Orthodox Rabbi has strongly condemned Zumba classes. In recent years, a slew of savvy Orthodox rabbis have taken to condemning women for everything they do. Their brilliant speeches can be found on YouTube and other websites, and have made their rounds on social media. The topics of their impassioned speeches run the…
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Opinion New Generation of Rabbis Sees and Speaks Israel
Breaking the Silence Despite the concept of the occupation being an oddly contested one in some American political circles of late, there is much to decry about Israel’s military rule over the Palestinians in the West Bank. And while some security-minded observers focus on the need for an IDF military presence to widen Israel’s narrow…
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News No Jews allowed: White supremacists are building a segregated community in Arkansas, but is it legal?
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Opinion Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go
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News Zohran Mamdani has represented Astoria’s Jews for 4 years. What do they think of him?
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News What a Mayor Mamdani would mean for New York Jews
In Case You Missed It
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Opinion A Trumpian farce to make the ghosts of Jefferson, Madison and Vichy France’s victims weep
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Yiddish World VIDEO: High energy and Jewish pride at Central Park’s Yiddish singalong
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Fast Forward A Manhattan pol’s endorsement of Zohran Mamdani sparks a Facebook fracas
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Fast Forward Gaza ceasefire deal gaining momentum, U.S. and third parties signal
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