Last week two of our local rabbis received national accolades. Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn was mentioned as one of America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis by The Forward and Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz was once again listed by Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of America’s Top 50 Rabbis.
The Forward’s article, “America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis: 36 Rabbis Shaping 21st-Century Judaism,” appeared on Wednesday, March 20. Written by Abigail Jones with additional research by Susan Armitage, Anne Cohen, Maia Efrem, Michelle Gross, the article featured rabbis nominated for the article by Forward readers.
In introducing the list of rabbis, Jane Eisner, The Forward’s editor-in-chief, wrote that when The Forward initiated this project, as it also embarked on a yearlong series examining the embattled American rabbinate, she expected to “hear stories about rabbis in unlikely places.”
“And the lesson from these 36, a special number in our tradition, is that American Jews, regardless of denomination, geography or gender, harbor a deep longing for spiritual leadership — and respond to it not only in synagogue, but in classrooms, Hillels and hospices. They yearn for rabbis who touch the soul and create community,” she wrote.
Rabbi Cukierkorn, the 45-year-old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, leads Temple Israel of Greater Kansas City. He was nominated by 16 Forward readers. Rabbi Cukierkorn devotes a considerable amount of time to helping people learn about Judaism and has helped more than 400 people convert — or in the case of those who were forced to convert to Christianity — return to Judaism, mainly in Latin America but also in Europe and here in the Kansas City area.
He was truly surprised and pleased to be included on the list.
“Above all, it is good to know that my activities are impacting people in Kansas City and abroad. All rabbis inspire and touch the lives of congregants but it is nice to think that some of the people I have touched cared enough to write in to The Forward,” Rabbi Cukierkorn said.
“My hope is to continue my work here and abroad to merit the appreciation shown to me and to enhance Jewish life,” he continued.
The nomination chosen by the paper to honor Rabbi Cukierkorn comes from a man who resides in Costa Rica, Gustavo Ramirez Calderon. His comments follow:
“I met Rabbi Cukierkorn this year, 30 years after discovering my Sephardic Jewish roots. I spent 30 years investigating my surname, searching the archives, hearing stories of family and how we came to Costa Rica and why. That was 30 years of receiving ‘NO’ for an answer every time I tried to get close to the Jewish community in my country, Costa Rica. I have no doubt of who I am. I found Rabbi Cukierkorn with one hand ready to take me to the Path of Abraham our father. Jacques Cukierkorn is my Jewish hero, the kind man who answered the door.”
To read more about the 36 rabbis The Forward featured, visit http://forward.com/specials/americas-most-inspiring-rabbis-2013/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=The%20Forward%20Today%20%28Monday-Friday%29&utm_campaign=Daily_Newsletter_Mon_Thurs%202013-03-20#ixzz2O5qLWYi2.
Rabbi Yanklowitz top 50 rabbi two years running
This is the second year in a row Rabbi Yanklowitz has been listed as one of America’s Top 50 Rabbis by Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Both years he has occupied the No. 40 spot on the list. Rabbi Yanklowitz, affectionately known as Rav Shmuly to many, began serving as Kehilath Israel Synagogue’s senior rabbi last August.
Rabbi Yanklowitz said he is in awe of the thousands of great rabbis and Jewish leaders around the country committing their lives to serving others.
“I feel very humbled and deeply thankful to all my partners that I am blessed to do holy work with every day,” he said upon being named to the list for the second consecutive year.
This year’s article featuring the top 50 rabbis, the seventh year for such a list, was published Thursday, March 21.
“Just in time for Passover, we rank the religious leaders who bring ideas, innovations, and inspiration to large numbers of American Jews,” is the way the article is introduced.
“This list comprises rabbinic leaders from across the denominational spectrum and those who don’t affiliate with a movement. It includes pulpit rabbis, educators, organizational leaders, activists, and scholars. It includes clergy working in Dallas, Minneapolis, Memphis, and Columbus, Ohio, but like American Jews themselves, the rabbis on this list are clustered on the coasts — particularly in New York and Los Angeles.”
Key players who compiled the list included Gary Ginsberg, Time Warner’s executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications, and Michael Lynton, the CEO of Sony Entertainment, who started the list back in 2007. Abigail Pogrebin, an author and former “60 Minutes” contributor, also helped guide the process. Pogrebin wrote the list in 2011 and 2012. Her first book, “Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish,” is currently being adapted into a musical produced by Daryl Roth.
The profile the magazine published about Rabbi Yanklowitz is as follows:
“At 31, Shumuly Yankowitz is Orthodoxy’s most prominent voice on social justice and has a resume longer than many rabbinic leaders twice his age. He is founder and president of Uri L’Tzedek, an organization ‘guided by Torah values and dedicated to combating suffering and oppression.’ The group recently launched campaigns on prison reform and business ethics. He also leads Kehilath Israel, a 500-family synagogue in Overland Park, Kansas; serves as CEO of the Jewish animal welfare organization Shamayim V’Aretz, which he started with actress Mayim Bialik and hip hop artist Matisyahu; and is a rabbinic representative at the Word Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Yanklowitz somehow found time this past year to earn his doctorate in ‘moral development and epistemology’ at Columbia University and to complete his second book, ‘The Soul of Jewish Social Justice.’ ”
Rabbi Yanklowitz added that, “We are working to make the Kansas City Jewish community one of the most vibrant cities for Jewish life in America.”
“We have a lot of work to do and it will require that we embrace innovation, change and big vision,” he said.
To read the entire America’s Top 50 Rabbis story, go to http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2013/03/21/america-s-top-50-rabbis-for-2013-photos.html#d52f2223-c31d-45dd-bf27-e1accbd78923.