Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of rabbis, the spiritual leaders of Jewish congregations.
rabbis
The Latest
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Yiddish World Yiddish Jokes with Ruth Kohn: “The Eulogy” (with English subtitles)
It’s widely known that Eastern European Jews have a traditional, ironic brand of humor. You can hear it clearly in this anecdote told by Ruth Kohn, a professional Yiddish translator and interpreter, at a talent show held at the annual “Yiddish Vokh” in Copake, NY:
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Yiddish World The Yiddish professor and female Orthodox rabbi sharing Yiddish children’s literature with the world
Read this article in Yiddish A jack of many trades is sometimes a master of them all Speaking with Miriam Udel, the Yiddish professor at Emory University in Atlanta who is reacquainting the world with Yiddish children’s literature, you quickly notice something remarkable. In one moment she sounds like a literary scholar and in the…
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News For the Conservative movement, an audit of ethics policies might be overdue
When the Conservative movement censured an upstate New York rabbi in 2019 for a problematic relationship with a woman who had received his rabbinic guidance and attended services, there was no public written record of the offense or the punishment. There was no announcement to the congregation, Temple Beth-El in Poughkeepsie, indicating any problem with…
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Community The letter some of my rabbinical students wrote shows a lack of empathy—with Jews
This is an open letter from the dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Rabbi Bradley S. Artson. It comes in response to a letter signed by scores of rabbinic and cantorial students at Ziegler and other schools, which the Forward published on May 13. Dear Hevrei,…
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News A non-Jewish Iranian opposition group reaches out to American Jews
The grassroots Iranian opposition group that posted an anti-regime billboard in Times Square is now turning to the American Jewish community for help. “The American Jewish community has had a proud history of supporting social justice and human rights causes,” said Ali Ebrahimzadeh, a Muslim-born opposition activist to the Iranian regime. “We are now asking…
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News ‘A lot of work to do’: A Black female rabbi on the anti-racist progress the Jewish community has, and hasn’t, made
Rav Tiferet Berenbaum is a busy woman these days, but she will absolutely and happily find time to slot you in for a phone call while she runs out to get coffee for herself and her fellow rabbis. The pandemic has not slowed her duties: in addition to her usual work as a clergy member…
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Community After the Boulder shooting, I ask the Four Questions
Yesterday afternoon, I learned of an active shooter at Kings Soopers Supermarket from a 9 year-old. Yes — a 9 year-old boy who had been on his mom’s iPad playing games when the Huff Post alert crossed the screen. Later in the afternoon when talking with a parent, she said her child seemed less shocked…
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News Meet the rabbinic breakout star on the Clubhouse app
In the pre-pandemic era, rabbis would worry about finding a matching tie or an appropriate outfit before rushing out of the door to the next class they were teaching. These preparations were shelved during the pandemic as Zoom calls took the place of in-person gatherings and interactions, but they came with new logistical headaches: proper…
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Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
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Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
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Opinion Just about every interpretation of Trump’s narrow election victory is wrong
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News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Rep. Ritchie Torres, outspoken pro-Israel advocate, is dropping hints that he could run for NY governor
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Fast Forward Ursula Haverbeck, infamous German Holocaust denier known as ‘Nazi grandma,’ dies at 96
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Fast Forward A Jewish museum in Tulsa held a funeral for remains of Holocaust victims it kept for years
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Sports Texas A&M’s Sam Salz cherishes his first taste of DI college football — and the opportunity to inspire fellow Orthodox Jews
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