Rz Weekly

In the most recent episode of RZWeekly we invited Rabbi Dr. Shuki Friedman (Director of the Center for Religion, Nation and State, and faculty member at the Peres Academic Center) to discuss the important question of whether a Chief Rabbi in Israel may speak his conscience. This discussion follows a recent High Court ruling which stated that Tzfat Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu must have a disciplinary trial in response to numerous statements he has made over the years. As Justice Stein explained, as a public servant, a Chief Rabbi may speak freely when speaking of halacha, but he may not speak freely when discussing wider social and political issues. Given this ruling, what does it mean to be a Rabbi, and especially a Chief Rabbi, in Israel today?