This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
The Latest
-
Fast Forward Suspect in Dagestan Chabad Rabbi Shooting Killed by Russia in Firefight
The alleged shooter of a rabbi in southern Russia was killed in a raid by Russian security forces. Sherif Akhmedov was one of five suspected extremists killed last week in Derbent, in the predominantly Muslim Republic of Dagestan near Chechnya, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said in a statement issued Friday, according to international news agencies….
-
Fast Forward Who Will Replace Ailing 93-Year-Old Shas Leader Ovadia Yosef?
The seriously ailing Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has broken off ties with his former protege for the second time since the summer, bringing their brief reconciliation to an end as the question of who will replace the 93-year-old Yosef as the Shas party’s spiritual leader remains unanswered. Yosef’s daughter-in-law and the strongwoman of Shas, Yehudit Yosef,…
-
Fast Forward Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s New Chief Rabbi, Will Attend Limmud
Great Britain’s new chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, announced on Monday that he would be attending Limmud, Britain’s largest and oldest festival of Jewish learning and culture. Rabbi Mirvis’ announcement may have been expected, but it is still significant for the future of Britain’s rapidly fracturing Jewish community. Mirvis’ predecessor, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, had been an…
-
News Russian Chief Rabbi Tells Jews To Back Off on Criticizing Vladimir Putin
When Vladimir Putin offers you a gift — you accept it. That’s according to Berel Lazar, Russia’s chief rabbi, who said he had to accept Putin’s offer to move a contested Jewish library to a new Jewish museum in Moscow controlled by Chabad in Russia. The Schneerson Library, a collection amassed by the early rabbinic…
-
Fast Forward Western Wall Rabbi Condemns Muslims for Riot on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
The rabbi of the Western Wall called on the world to condemn riots by Muslims on the Temple Mount during Rosh Hashanah. Palestinians threw rocks at police and at Jewish worshipers on Friday on the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Jews, following Muslim prayer services at the Al-Aksa Mosque there, as well as at…
-
Fast Forward Chief Rabbi Urges Better Treatment for Kapparot Chickens
Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi, David Lau, called for better treatment of the chickens used in the pre-Yom Kippur kapparot ritual. Lau in a letter addressed to ritual organizers and participants wrote that causing the chickens to suffer before and during kapparot would be a “mitzvah through a transgression,” which he said “was not the intention…
-
Fast Forward Barack Obama Holds Rosh Hashanah Conference Call With Rabbis
President Obama reflected on the High Holidays and offered New Year’s greetings in a conference call with nearly 1,000 rabbis. Obama in the call on Friday afternoon extended the greetings on behalf of himself and the first lady for a sweet, happy and healthy New Year. He noted that the Jewish High Holidays provide an…
-
Fast Forward Ephraim Mirvis Takes Reins as British Chief Rabbi
Britain’s new chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, who has vowed to remain traditional by barring women rabbis and same-sex marriage, was sworn in on Sunday to face the challenge of uniting the nation’s polarised Jewish community. About 1,400 guests, including Britain’s heir apparent Prince Charles, attended a ceremony at a north London synagogue as Mirvis replaced…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Culture RFK Jr.’s poems to Olivia Nuzzi are peak cringe — so were King Solomon’s
- 2
Film & TV For ill and for good, this ‘Wicked’ song has become ubiquitous
- 3
News DNA test kits spark a surge of online conversions to Judaism in the U.S.
- 4
News As young Jews move away from Israel, Jewish leaders are reluctant to change their approach
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture The gift Tom Stoppard gave to me — and to all who adore him
-
Opinion How would Jews fleeing Europe have fared under Trump’s anti-immigration policies?
-
Fast Forward Most American Jews believe Zohran Mamdani will make NYC Jews less safe, Israeli poll finds
-
Fast Forward Palestinian restaurant opening near Columbia names its location to honor girl killed in Gaza, campus protesters
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
