This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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News ‘Christmas Tree Rabbis’ Take Place in Faith as Intermarriage Grows
(JTA) — When Eric Woodward started rabbinical school at the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary, he assumed he would be be the only student who grew up celebrating Christmas along with Hanukkah. But midway through his training, when Woodward started a discussion group for students of interfaith families, more than 20 people showed up. Not all…
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Fast Forward Italian Chief Rabbi Vows To Fight Firing
A rabbi has threatened to sue the Jewish community in the northeast Italian city of Trieste for firing him as the community’s chief rabbi. Rabbi Itzhak David Margalit, 64, has hired a lawyer and was flying to Israel this week to consult with the chief rabbinate there, according to a front page article Wednesday in…
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Fast Forward Europe Council Vows No Ban on Circumcision
The Council of Europe will not ban Jewish ritual circumcision of boys, Council Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland assured members of the Conference of European Rabbis. Jagland said Monday in Berlin that he wanted to make it “absolutely clear… that in no way does the Council of Europe want to ban the circumcision of boys. It…
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The Schmooze Rabbi Finds $98K in Desk — and Gives It Back
Talk about bang for your buck. Noach Muroff, a high school teacher at Yeshiva of New Haven, bought a desk on Craigslist for less than $200. What he didn’t know was that there was $98,000 hidden inside. Muroff bought the desk in September. When it wouldn’t fit through the door, he and his wife had…
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Israel News Israel’s Richest Rabbi on Forbes List Is $367M Man
The rabbinate is not known as a path to riches. But for several Israeli rabbis, it is just that. The ten wealthiest Israeli rabbis own a combined fortune of over $620 million, according to a recent ranking by Forbes Israel. Rabbi Pinchas Abuhatzeira is Israel’s richest rabbi by a long shot, with an estimated net…
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Fast Forward Does Israel Rabbinate Have ‘Good Rabbi’ List?
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate says it does not have a list of Diaspora rabbis whose testimony it accepts, despite turning down the testimony of the rabbis of immigrants wishing to clarify their Jewish and marital status. The Tzohar organization, a group of rabbis that works to make rabbinic services more user friendly for all Israelis, asked…
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Fast Forward Israeli Rabbis and Couples Could Head To Jail for Disobeying Chief Rabbinate
Advocates for religious pluralism in Israel thought they scored a minor victory last month with the passage of a law aimed at loosing the regulations surrounding marriage in the Jewish state. For the first time, couples could choose an Orthodox rabbi from anywhere in Israel to marry them, not just one from their hometowns. But…
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Fast Forward Israel Chief Rabbi Marks Kristallnacht Anniversary in Berlin
Israel’s chief Ashkenazi rabbi marked the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht with a visit to a Jewish kindergarten in Berlin. “Connecting Jews in Germany to their roots is the worthiest retort to the darkness that prevailed here 75 years ago,” Rabbi David Lau said during his first official visit to Berlin, where he went to the…
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