Who Are America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis? Tell Us!

Writer-at-Large Jane Eisner February 6, 2014

“Adventure Rabbi” Jamie Korngold leads a Passover seminar in Moab, Utah. Photo by Jeff Finkelstein

Last year, this project began with a hunch and a hope. The hunch was that amidst the depressing reports of the decline in organizational Judaism, synagogues struggling to stay afloat, rabbinical seminaries trying to stay relevant, and young Jews turning away, there were rabbis across America who, every day, without fanfare and often without recognition, taught and lead and touched and inspired.

The hope was that our readers would help us find them.

You did. After sifting through hundreds of heartfelt nominations from congregants, students, and even other rabbis, we selected 36 rabbis and shared their stories with you. America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis was one of our most well-read projects in all of 2013, proving that there is a hunger for stories about spiritual leadership in the modern age.

So it is with great pleasure and anticipation that we renew the call for 2014. Using the form below, please tell us about a rabbi who did something remarkable, in a day or over a lifetime, from the pulpit or the classroom, the Hillel or the hospice. We mean to cast a wide net here, because we recognize that profound spiritual leadership can come in many forms and sometimes in the most unlikeliest of places.

Help us tell these stories.

This survey is now closed. Sign up for our free e-newsletters to get the latest updates on these results and more!

Jane Eisner was editor-in-chief of the Forward from 2008 to 2019.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

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