America’s Top 50 Rabbis

Newsweek has an article about a list that was compiled of the Top 50 Rabbis in America. Here is the intro to the story:

“April 2, 2007 issue – Last fall, Sony Pictures CEO and Chairman Michael Lynton got together with his good friends and fellow power brokers Gary Ginsberg, of Newscorp., and Jay Sanderson, of JTN Productions and started working on a list of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. They had a scoring system: Are the rabbis known nationally/internationally? (20 points.) Do they have a media presence? (10 points.) Are they leaders within their communities? (10 points.) Are they considered leaders in Judaism or their movements? (10 points.) Size of their constituency? (10 points.) Do they have political/social influence? (20 points.) Have they made an impact on Judaism in their career? (10 points.) Have they made a “greater” impact? (10 points.) This system, though helpful, is far from scientific; the men revised and rejiggered their list for months, and all three concede that the result is subjective. Here, then, published for the first time, the top 50 rabbis in America:”

Click here for the list. On a side note I was surprised at how many of these rabbis I have interacted with through camp, work, shul, volunteer activities etc. Not that any of it matters, it just reminded me of how my own life crosses denominations.