Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Rabbis
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Fast Forward Conservatives Blast Rabbi on Pro-Obama List
Two conservative groups called on the Obama campaign to sever ties with a “radical” on its newly-released list of more than 600 rabbis who support the president’s reelection. The campaign rejected the demand. The Republican Jewish Coalition on Thursday “expressed profound outrage” that Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, a Renewal rabbi from California that the RJC described…
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News $20K Plot To Blackmail Rabbi With Sex Photos
Two Israeli men were indicted for plotting to send women to seduce a New York City rabbi and blackmail him with photos of the encounter. The men, in their mid-30s from central Israel, were charged Monday in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court with conspiracy to commit a crime and attempted extortion under threat. The Jerusalem…
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Culture A (Kosher) Can of Worms
From the hulking Willamette meteorite to the sparkling Star of India sapphire, visitors to the American Museum of Natural History in New York are used to seeing unusual sights. But museum-goers last year were likely unprepared for the sight — and smell — of Rabbi Chaim Loike, as he walked past the ticket booths carrying…
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Opinion Anonymous Pamphlets Underline Haredi Splits
The monochromatic ocean of Haredim at the funeral of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv last month concealed a deeper undercurrent of dissent. Elyashiv, the acknowledged leader of the Ultra-Orthodox Lithuanian community, had roped together two competing factions among a group usually seen as monolithic. There are the conservatives, led by Shmuel Auerbach of Jerusalem, as well…
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Israel News Rabbi’s Death Could Splinter Ultra-Orthodox
When Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Israel’s most revered rabbi, died on July 18 at the age of 102, he left his community at a crossroads. Elyashiv, broadly accepted as the leader of the “Lithuanian” Haredi community — meaning all Ashkenazi Haredim who aren’t members of a Hasidic sect — took this important post from another consensus…
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Fast Forward Meir Soloveichik on British Chief Rabbi Short List
Three U.S. rabbis are among those being considered to become Britain’s chief rabbi. Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University and associate rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, is expected in London in a few days for meetings with British Jewish leaders, the Times of Israel…
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Opinion Separate Synagogue and State
They didn’t exactly turn handsprings, but their cheering was unmistakable. “This is a historic day for Israelis and Jews around the world,” proclaimed Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly. The head of Israel’s Reform movement, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, declared that the decision is “an important breakthrough in the effort to…
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Opinion Rabbis Aren’t Always the Enemy
All competent rabbinic authorities are in agreement that cases of sexual abuse should be reported to law enforcement. Agudath Israel of America nevertheless requires parents to obtain rabbinic permission before reporting abuse to authorities. Although in the overwhelming majority of cases, abuse allegations turn out to be accurate, there has been a minority of cases…
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