This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
The Latest
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Fast Forward Medical Marijuana Gets Blessing of Orthodox Rabbi — But Don’t Get High
An Israeli Orthodox rabbi ruled that distributing and smoking medicinal marijuana are kosher, but using weed for fun was “forbidden.” Efraim Zalmanovich, the rabbi of Mazkeret Batia, a town south of Tel Aviv, made the distinction in a recent halakhic ruling, NRG, the news site of the Maariv daily reported on Friday. Leading rabbis frequently…
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Opinion Jonathan Sacks and the Twin Danger Facing Jews
Jonathan Sacks, the outgoing British chief rabbi, is warning of a twin threat to Judaism from assimilation on the one hand and ultra-Orthodoxy on the other. At his retirement dinner, he said that “those who embrace the world and reject Judaism, and those who embrace Judaism and reject the world” represent a “global danger” to…
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Life Female Rabbis Should Have Male Friends
Does a woman need to give up friendships with members of the opposite sex when she marries a man? For Rabbi Rachel Miller Solomin, the answer is yes. In a piece for Tablet, she writes about the decision to write a friend — a Catholic priest with whom she said explicitly she would never have…
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Fast Forward Chief Israeli Rabbi Suspends Himself After Arrest on Corruption Charges
Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yona Metzger, has suspended himself from some of his duties following his arrest on corruption charges. Metzger said he will suspend himself from his position as president of the Chief Rabbinate Council and will not attend its meetings, and from, his position as a Rabbinical High Court judge. Metzger made the…
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Fast Forward Chief Rabbi Placed on House Arrest for Graft
Police placed Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yona Metzger, under house arrest following a 10-hour interrogation on corruption allegations. According to The Jerusalem Post, police ordered Metzger not to leave his home for five days at the end of his interrogation Thursday. Investigators from the National Fraud Squad raided his home and offices as part of…
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Opinion Maharats Win Support of Jewish Women
The first class of maharats may be controversial among the Orthodox. But the graduates enjoy overwhelming support from Jewish women from other denominations, who see the battle for recognition as part and parcel of the struggles they faced — and won. “It’s an affirmation of everything that has led to this moment, as well as…
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Fast Forward David Stav Gets Support From Rabbinical Council of America After ‘Wicked Man’ Attack
The Rabbinical Council of America offered its support to Israeli chief rabbi candidate David Stav after he was harassed at a wedding and labeled “a wicked man” by Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. In its letter backing Stav, the head of the Tzohar organization in Israel for Modern Orthodox rabbis, the RCA wrote in…
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Food A Boureka Nightmare
Lovers of bourekas, one of Israel’s national foods, had better brush up on their geometry. The Chief Rabbinate has issued new guidelines on the shapes of the pastry pockets — and no, we’re not kidding. Until now, consumers have relied on signage by storeowners or package labels to discern among meat, dairy and pareve bourekas,…
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News DNA test kits spark a surge of online conversions to Judaism in the U.S.
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News As young Jews move away from Israel, Jewish leaders are reluctant to change their approach
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