The Jewish community has remained tragically silent about domestic abuse - but many faith leaders are committed to ending violence in our homes and in our families. Clergy provide critical support and healing to families experiencing abuse. It is vital that they advocate for public recognition of the issue, increased funding for victims' services, and healthy relationship education for teens.
As marriage officiants, clergy must provide pre-marital counseling that explores possible abuse within the relationship and insist on pre-nuptial agreements that cover that possibility. And as members of rabbinical courts overseeing Jewish divorces, they must understand that a husband’s refusal to give his wife a get (Jewish divorce) is a form of abuse.
Interested in joining the Clergy Task Force? Apply here.
Unboxed: Opening Important Conversations - Shabbat Edition is here!
Download JWI’s Misheberach for those Suffering from Domestic Abuse.
(Read about it in eJewishPhilanthropy.)
Watch JWI’s training webinar on new resources developed by the Clergy Task Force and how clergy can best support victims and survivors of intimate partner violence.
Resources
Interested in joining the Clergy Task Force? Apply here.
Members
(* = co-chair)
Rabbi Joe Black
Temple Emanuel, Denver, CO
Rabbi Marla R. Hornsten*
Temple Israel, West Bloomfield, MI
Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum
Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation, New Hampshire
Rabbi Ari Lorge
Central Synagogue, New York, NY
Rabbi Mike Moskowitz
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, New York, NY
Rabbi Joshua Rabin
Astoria Center of Israel, Queens, NY
Rabbi David M. Rosenberg*
Jewish Child and Family Services, Chicago, IL
Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick
Jewish Family Services, Overland Park, KS
Rabbi Susan Shankman
Washington Hebrew Congregation, Washington, DC
Rabbi Andrea Steinberger
Hillel at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Rabbi Uri Topolosky
Kehilat Pardes, Rockville, MD
Rabbi Mikey Hess Webber
Columbia Jewish Center, Columbia, MD
Former Members Include:
Rabbi Richard Address
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Rachel Ain
New York, NY
Rabbi Amy Ruth Bolton
New York, NY
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
Baltimore, MD
Rabbi Leah Citrin
Raleigh, NC
Rabbi Howard Cohen
Marshfield, MA
Rabbi Mychal Copeland
Stanford, CA
Rabbi Elliot Dorff
Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Mark Dratch
West Hempstead, NY
Rabbi Aderet Okon Drucker
The Den Collective, Bethesda, MD
Rabbi Sean Gorman
Toronto, ON, Canada
Rabbi Ben Greenberg
New York, NY
Rabbi Susan Grossman
Columbia, MD
Rabbi Richard Hirsh
Wynnewood, PA
Cantor Deborah Jacobson
Palm Harbor, FL
Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray
Ridgefield, CT
Rabbi Esther Lederman
Washington, DC
Rabbi Diana Monheit
New York, NY
Rabbi Edythe Mencher, LCSW
New York, NY
Rabbi Ron Muroff
Chisuk Emuna Congregation, Harrisburg, PA
Rabbi Steven Reuben, Ph.D.
Kehillat Israel, Pacific Palisades, CA
Rabbi Nicole K. Roberts
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Rabbi H. David Rose
Potomac, MD
Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen
Baltimore, MD
Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu
New York, NY
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb
Baltimore, MD
Rabbi Seth Winberg
Brandeis Hillel, Waltham, MA
Rabbi Irvin Wise
Cincinnati, OH