3/29/2007

A List of 50 Top American Rabbis

Newsweek posted a list of the 50 Top American Rabbis

While I was under no delusion that I would be listed, the Jewish blog world has lit up with questions and comments about who is included (and excluded from the list).
I (and others) have noted a generational bias and a disproportionate amount of Orthodox rabbis. There is also a bias towards activism over scholarship. Both of these are caused in part by the creators of this list (media powerbrokers) and their methodology.

The list also demonstrates the complex nature of the American Jewish community. While there are a number of Rabbis with YU/REITS Smicha (only Rabbi Norman Lamm is actively affiliated there). This is telling for a school that has produced more rabbis than any other and has a large, well known faculty. Similarly for my alma mater, JTS. The rise of alternative centers in Orthodoxy (Chabad, Chovevei Torah) and Conservative Judaism (UJ soon to be known as the American Jewish University) and non-movement based organizations (National Jewish Outreach Program, CLAL, Panim, Shalom Center, etc.) is changing the known faces of Judaism.

Good luck Kashering for Pesach,
Rabbi Bruce

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