Rabbis for Religious Freedom and Equality in Israel
A trans-denominational rabbinical network
Special Statement Response to the tragedy at Tree of Life Synagogue Ruach Hiddush Executive Committee Rabbi Prof. Michael Chernick (Chair), Rabbi Les Bronstein, Rabbi Pam Frydman, Rabbi Elliott Kleinman, Rabbi Mark Levin, Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Rabbi Gordon Tucker, Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, Rabbi Uri Regev (Hiddush President and CEO) Ruach Hiddush, the rabbinic and cantorial association …
Continue reading “Response to the tragedy at Tree of Life synagogue”
I believe it is unfair to claim that Jews of the Diaspora have developed an obsession for the Kotel, the Western Wall, as Peter Joseph stated in his article in The Forward. Love of the Kotel has been a carefully cultivated interest and passion fostered by Jewish leaders for centuries in order to keep our people …
Continue reading “In defense of the right to care – by Rabbi Pam Frydman*”
When one reads about the way in which Bibi backtracked on the Kotel agreement and the disgraceful manner in which the Women of the Wall are treated by the police and security personnel, one could be mistaken for believing that Reform Judaism is having a bad time of it in Israel. If you add to …
Continue reading “Reform Judaism in Israel: an amazing success story, by Rabbi Micky Boyden”
A recent detailed interview with Rabbi Shlomo Riskin appeared in the original Hebrew in Makor Rishon earlier this month, with select paragraphs translated into English below. Partial translation of Rabbi Riskin’s interview “If I could ask God one thing, I would ask: How is it possible that the Talmud is the most pluralistic piece …
Continue reading “Comprehensive interview with Rabbi Shlomo Riskin in Israeli media”
Featuring: Rabbi Michael Chernick Responses by: Rabbi Elliot Dorff Rabba Sara Hurwitz Rabbi Daniel Siegel Rabbi Mark Washofsky Rabbi Deborah Waxman By Rabbi Deborah Waxman President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College / Jewish Reconstructionist Communities The ongoing existence of agunot in the aftermath of World War I and the inadequate responses of modern rabbinical authorities to the …
After decades in which soldiers could only be laid to rest in Orthodox religious ceremonies, the IDF now allows soldiers or their next of kin to choose whether to have a religious or secular service and whether to be buried in a military cemetery or a regular one. The IDF has changed its orders allowing …
Continue reading “New IDF order allows non-religious funeral for fallen soldiers”
Criticism of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate is nothing new. It has often been voiced in the RRFEI newsletter and resources, as well as in Hiddush’s materials. It covers a myriad of issues, which in recent years include its delegitimization of Modern Orthodox attempts at addressing the Rabbinate’s failures in the areas of conversion and kashrut …
Continue reading “The Chief Rabbinate vs. The State of Israel and the Jewish People”
Featuring: Rabbi Michael Chernick Responses by: Rabbi Elliot Dorff Rabba Sara Hurwitz Rabbi Daniel Siegel Rabbi Mark Washofsky Rabbi Deborah Waxman By Rabbi Michael Chernick Professor Emeritus of Rabbinic Literature HUC-JIR/New York Background In its discussion of divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-2 the Torah frames the entire procedure in the masculine form. The Sages of …
Featuring: Rabbi Michael Chernick Responses by: Rabbi Elliot Dorff Rabba Sara Hurwitz Rabbi Daniel Siegel Rabbi Mark Washofsky Rabbi Deborah Waxman By Rabbi Mark Washofsky Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Jewish Law and Practice HUC-JIR/Cincinnati Rabbi Michael Chernick, my colleague at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, has offered a comprehensive and thorough summary of …
Featuring: Rabbi Michael Chernick Responses by: Rabbi Elliot Dorff Rabba Sara Hurwitz Rabbi Daniel Siegel Rabbi Mark Washofsky Rabbi Deborah Waxman By Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Chair Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards Rabbi Chernick has done a masterful job in describing the prenuptial agreement now in use in some segments of the …
Continue reading “A Conservative Response to the Orthodox Prenuptial Agreement”