Jewish rabbi gets heat for National Prayer Service role
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein participated in the National Prayer Service, an interfaith prayer service held Jan. 21 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Now a rabbinical council says he broke Jewish law by being a part of the service, which is was a traditional service held after the presidential inauguration.
The Religion News Service reports that the Rabbinical Council of America is saying that Lookstein, an Orthodox rabbi based in New York, broke Jewish law by participating in a prayer service held in the sanctuary of a church.
The RNS reports that Rabbi Basil Herring, the council’s executive vice president, said he does not expect Lookstein to be punished for his role in the service.
“We simply wanted to make the point that he was not going there on behalf of the rabbinical council, and that whatever he did, he did in his own capacity,” Herring told the RNS.
Lookstein was one of three rabbis who participated in the service, which helped conclude the presidential inauguration activities for Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, a RNS story reported that Lookstein told the Jewish news service JTA that “after consultation with people who are absolutely committed to halacha (Jewish law), I … decided to do it because I felt it was a civic duty to honor the new president of the United States.”
“Had I pulled out, it would have been something of an insult from the Orthodox community,” Lookstein said.
Herring told the RNS that the criticism of Lookstein was not politically motivated, and noted that the RCA praised Obama’s “qualities of mind and leadership” and called his election a “cause for joy.”
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
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