This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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Fast Forward Meet Israeli Bureaucrat Who Decides If You Can Get Married — or Not
(JTA) — To be married in Israel, immigrants must prove their Jewish ancestry to the country’s Chief Rabbinate. Couples can solicit a letter from their hometown rabbis or present their parents’ Jewish marriage contracts. Sometimes they even bring a Yiddish-speaking grandmother before a rabbinical court. In the end, every claim has to pass through one…
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Israel News Israeli Rabbis Seek To Learn From American Model of Jewish Community
A group of rabbis studying public speaking, psychology and counseling in New York or London would hardly raise an eyebrow. But here in Israel, the group of 19 rabbis gathered in a seminar room and doing just this is breaking new ground. The rabbis who have been studying these topics in Modi’in want desperately to…
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Fast Forward Portuguese Priest Prompts Protest With Plan To Open Jewish Museum
The rabbi of Porto urged the Catholic Church of Portugal to block a local priest’s plan to open a museum commemorating Jewish presence in the city. Rabbi Daniel Litvak made the appeal in a letter this week to the Patriarchate of Lisbon against a plan promoted by Father Agostinho Jardim Moreira to open The Center…
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Fast Forward Israel Pays 4 Reform Rabbis for First Time
Israeli government money was transferred for the first time to the Reform Movement in Israel to pay the salaries of four community Reform rabbis. The transfer of the more than $86,000 on Wednesday comes 18 months after Israel’s Supreme Court approved an arrangement to enable non-Orthodox rabbis who lead congregations to receive state salaries like…
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Fast Forward Mark Winer Is First American Rabbi Honored by Queen Elizabeth
An American-born rabbi was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Rabbi Mark Winer, a British subject and a U.S. citizen, is believed to be the first American rabbi to be so honored. The awards, including knighthoods, were announced on Monday. Winer, 71, received the honor for services…
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News British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Brings Message of Openness to Limmud
In the decades since a bunch of British Jews created Limmud, its model of volunteer experts offering a pluralistic smorgasbord of Jewish teachings, arts offerings and performances has turned into a worldwide movement. But through all these years, the chief rabbi of the United Kingdom has never attended Limmud in the country where it all…
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Fast Forward Pittsburgh Rabbi Accused of Botching Circumcision
A Pittsburgh-area rabbi who performed a bris is being sued for causing what the parents claim are “catastrophic and life-changing injury” to their baby. The parents in their lawsuit filed Tuesday said Rabbi Mordechai Rosenberg acted “with a total disregard” for their son, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. The suit, which identifies the parents and the…
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Fast Forward British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Slams Orthodox Shuls for Letting Women Lead Services
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called on Orthodox synagogues to ban partnership minyan services, where women can lead services and read from the Torah. Mirvis said in a message sent to rabbinic leaders Wednesday that the services were “not something that can take place within our synagogues,” the Jewish Chronicle reported. “I know that you…
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Holy Ground A Millennial rabbi built a synagogue where others have closed. Her maverick ideas are becoming a model.
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