This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
The Latest
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Israel News Israeli Jews Who Aren’t Jewish in Eyes of Rabbis Face Kafkaesque Conversion Plight
They live as part of Jewish society in the Jewish state, but the state itself does not consider them Jewish. For Israel, some 330,000 immigrants, mostly from the former Soviet Union, represent a big assimilation problem and a big political problem, made worse by the fact that the only solution for this largely non-religious group…
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Fast Forward Rabbis Raise Nearly $600,000 in Shave-a-Thon for ‘Superman Sam’
(JTA) — This week, 73 North American rabbis will be missing something when they go to Shabbat services: their hair. As part of a campaign that raised more than $570,000 for pediatric cancer research, approximately 60 male and female rabbis voluntarily shaved their heads on Tuesday night at the the Reform movement’s Central Conference of American…
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Fast Forward Diaspora Rabbis Urge Jerusalem Mayor To Withdraw Support From Anti-Arab Cleric
More than 1,000 Diaspora rabbis called on Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to withdraw his support for Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, known for his anti-Arab stances, as chief rabbi of the city. The rabbis, including the leaders of the major non-Orthodox Jewish movements and the head of the New Israel Fund, sent the letter to Barkat on…
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Fast Forward Rabbi Frequent Flyer Binyomin Ginsberg Loses Supreme Court Appeal on Miles
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Minnesota rabbi who claimed he was cut from an airline’s frequent flier program for earning too many miles. The court issued its unanimous ruling on Wednesday. Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg was one of Northwest Airlines’ top fliers when he was cut from its program in 2008. Northwest has since…
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Fast Forward Iran Chief Rabbi Yosef Hamadani Cohen Dies at 98
The chief rabbi of Iran, Rabbi Yosef Hamadani Cohen, has died. The rabbi died over the weekend and was buried in Iran on Sunday, the Hebrew-language website Kikar Shabbat reported, citing the rabbi’s nephew bearing the same name, who lives in Israel. The rabbi’s death was announced by the representative of the Iranian Jews in…
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Fast Forward 49% of Israelis Say Accept Reform, Conservative
Nearly half of Israelis surveyed said Israel’s Chief Rabbinate should officially recognize Reform and Conservative Judaism. In the survey of 500 adults, 49 percent “strongly feel that the Chief Rabbinate should officially recognize the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism,” Walla.com reported, because this “will in turn strengthen the connection with American Jews.” The poll,…
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Fast Forward Danish Zoo Killings Denounced by Rabbi as Hypocritical Amid Slaughter Ban
A Danish zoo’s slaying of healthy animals proves that animal welfare concerns are a false justification for Denmark’s recent ban on ritual slaughter, a prominent European rabbi charged. Citing the need to make room for new animals and prevent inbreeding, the Copenhagen Zoo killed four healthy lions earlier this week and a healthy giraffe last…
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Israel News Do Orthodox Rabbi Groups Hold Too Much Sway Over Conversion — in Israel and U.S.?
(JTA) — Even if you converted to Judaism under Orthodox auspices, your conversion may be called into question by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and the Rabbinical Council of America, the main centrist Orthodox rabbinical group in the United States. If you live in Israel, this means your ability to marry a Jew is in jeopardy….
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