This is the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
The Latest
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News Orthodox Woman Picked To Lead L.A. Rabbinic School
In what may be a worldwide first, a rabbinical school has hired an Orthodox woman as its top official. The Academy for Jewish Religion, California, a small non-denominational Jewish seminary in Los Angeles, selected Tamar Frankiel as its new president effective this month. Frankiel, who is Orthodox, was previously the school’s provost. Orthodox communities don’t…
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Culture Jonathan Sacks Offers Strident Defense of Faith
The Great Partnership: Science, Religion, and the Search for Meaning By Jonathan Sacks Doubleday, 384 pages, $28.95 Jonathan Sacks, whose long tenure as chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth expires in March, when he turns 65, has for decades been an inspiration to many Modern Orthodox Jews, who…
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Culture It’s Not Easy Being a ‘Rabbi’s Daughter’
When we think of children who carry the burden of having famous parents, we often think of the offspring of movie stars or politicians. But in the Religious Zionist sector of Israeli society, being the child of a prominent rabbi comes with some very heavy baggage. Filmmaker Racheli Wasserman, herself the daughter of such a…
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Israel News Rabbis for Human Rights Splits From Israel Group
Rabbis for Human Rights North America, which began as a support group for the Israel-based Rabbis for Human Rights, is parting ways with its Israeli counterpart. In a January 15 press release, the North American group announced it will now be known as T’ruah: The Rabbinical Call for Human Rights, thereby ending organizational and fundraising…
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Fast Forward Ovadia Yosef, Sephardic Leader, Suffers Minor Stroke
An Israeli rabbi who is the spiritual head of a powerful ultra-Orthodox political party was taken to hospital with a suspected minor stroke on Saturday, 10 days before a general election. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who has largely set the terms under which his Shas party has agreed to join a succession of governments, was taken…
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Fast Forward Hollande Meets With Chief Rabbi on Gay Marriage
French President Francois Hollande met with local religious leaders, including the country’s chief rabbi, Gilles Bernheim, to hear their views on same-sex marriages. Tuesday’s meeting at the Elysee Palace, the official presidential residence, was held days before a planned demonstration against a draft law unveiled in November by France’s Socialist government that would allow gay…
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News Nechemya Weberman’s Unique Band of Relatives
You think your family has issues? Consider the Weberman clan. Nechemya Weberman was convicted December 10 for child sexual abuse in a landmark case that underlined the massive support he enjoyed in the Satmar Hasidic community. But it turns out that he is just one high-profile member of a sprawling brood, whose diverse activities have…
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Fast Forward Former Chief Rabbi of Israel Is Charged With Fraud
Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron was charged with fraud for his alleged involvement in a scam that issued false rabbinic credentials to civil servants. It reportedly is the first time a chief rabbi has been charged with fraud. Other charged levied against him on Monday include attempted fraud and breach of trust. He is…
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Culture RFK Jr.’s poems to Olivia Nuzzi are peak cringe — so were King Solomon’s
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News DNA test kits spark a surge of online conversions to Judaism in the U.S.
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Film & TV For ill and for good, this ‘Wicked’ song has become ubiquitous
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News As young Jews move away from Israel, Jewish leaders are reluctant to change their approach
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