A rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Rabbinic Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as semikha—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.
Agudath Israel of America is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to meet the needs of the Haredi community, advocates for its religious and civil rights, and services its constituents through charitable, educational, and social service projects across North America.
The Orthodox Union is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for the disabled, localized religious study programs, and international units with locations in Israel and formerly in Ukraine. The OU maintains a kosher certification service, whose circled-U hechsher symbol, U+24CAⓊ, is found on the labels of many kosher commercial and consumer food products.
The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel, is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was founded in 1912, in its earliest form, by a group of 15 young Jews on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Their goal was to make Orthodox Judaism more relevant to young Americanized Jews at a time when a significant Jewish education was rare, and most Orthodox institutions were Yiddish-speaking and oriented to an older, European Jewish demographic.
The Hebrew Free Burial Association (HFBA) was established in 1888 as a free burial society serving the residents of Manhattan's Lower East Side. It was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the name of Chebra Agudas Achim Chesed Shel Emeth on January 25, 1889. As the need grew in adjacent Jewish communities, HFBA also grew to serve the broader metropolitan area of New York City. HFBA is currently the largest free burial society outside of Israel. In 1965, it changed its official name to Chebra Agudas Achim Chesed Shel Emeth Hebrew Free Burial Association, Inc.
Congregation Shaare Zedek is a Conservative synagogue located on West 93rd Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, in the United States.
Congregation Shomrei Emunah is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the Greenspring neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Rabbi Binyamin Marwick is the synagogue's rabbi.
Old Broadway Synagogue, officially Chevra Talmud Torah Anshei Marovi, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 15 Old Broadway, in the Manhattanville neighborhood of Harlem, Manhattan, in New York City, New York, in the United States. The congregation practises in the Ashkenazi rite.
Ramath Orah is an Modern Orthodox synagogue located on West 110th Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, in the United States. Located close to Columbia University the synagogue occupies a neo-Georgian building that was built in 1921 as the first stage of a large West Side Unitarian Church.
Congregation Beth Israel, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 10 Dexter Street in Malden, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was founded in 1904 by Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.
Congregation Beth Israel, commonly referred to as the West Side Jewish Center or, in more recent years, the Hudson Yards Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 347 West 34th Street, in the Garment District of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, in the United States. Established in 1890, the congregation completed its current building near Penn Station in 1925.
Orthodox Jewish feminism is a movement in Orthodox Judaism which seeks to further the cause of a more egalitarian approach to Jewish practice within the bounds of Jewish Law. The major organizations of this movement is the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) in North America, and Women of the Wall (WOW) and its affiliates in Israel and internationally, known as The International Committee for Women of the Wall (ICWOW). In Israel, the leading Orthodox feminist organization is Kolech, founded by Dr. Chana Kehat. In Australia, there is one Orthodox partnership minyan, Shira Hadasha, in Melbourne.
The Jewish Center is a Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 131 West 86th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, in the United States.
The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School is an Orthodox Jewish day school located in Staten Island, New York that serves students from nursery through twelfth grade, with another branch in Edison, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1903 by Rabbi Shmuel Yitzchok Andron and named in honor of Rabbi Jacob Joseph, chief rabbi of New York City's Association of American Orthodox Hebrew Congregations.
An independent minyan is a lay-led Jewish worship and study community that has developed independently of established denominational and synagogue structures within the organized Jewish community. Some began in the late 1990s and most since the year 2000, though some are several decades older. These new groups often combine a commitment to halakha/Jewish law with egalitarianism, and strive to create worship services where traditional prayer can become "spiritual experiences".
Steven Blane is an American rabbi, cantor and recording singer-songwriter.
Hadar is an educational institution on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The institute offers various programs to support the development of traditional egalitarian Judaism. A major component of the institute is Yeshivat Hadar, which offers both summer and year-long fellowships for students to learn full-time in the yeshiva setting. Prominent rabbis associated with the Yeshiva include co-founders Rabbi Shai Held, Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, and Rabbi Ethan Tucker.
Sam Benjamin "Shir Yaakov" Feinstein-Feit is an American rabbi, composer, liturgist, singer-songwriter, and graphic designer. As a musician, he has recorded several albums both solo and with the groups Darshan and The Epichorus. In his spiritual career, Feit is a figure in the Jewish Renewal movement, having served the congregations Kol Hai, Kol Zimrah, and Romemu and served as ritual consultant at Eden Village Camp and visiting faculty at the Academy for Jewish Religion and the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is also a member of the Zen Peacemaker order.
The Jewish Emergent Network is a network of seven independent Jewish congregations in the United States. Founded in January 2016, the network shares a "devotion to revitalizing the field of Jewish engagement, a commitment to approaches both traditionally rooted and creative, and a demonstrated success in attracting unaffiliated and disengaged Jews to a rich and meaningful Jewish practice."
Lab/Shul is a non-denominational Jewish congregation located in New York City, New York, in the United States. The congregation was founded by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, when he was a rabbinical student, in 2012 as an experimental, pop-up synagogue with support from the UJA-Federation, Jewish foundations, and private donors. The intent of the congregation is to experiment with various forms of Jewish practice, hence "Lab" in its name. It now has approximately 300 families as members.
