Ephraim Mirvis Quotes

The rabbi is often the regular preacher in the synagogue, the man whose sermons offer his community more general theological and moral guidance.

A traditional rabbi is the man to whom the community and its members turn to rule on what Jewish law requires of them, particularly in cases of doubt.

Judaism lives not in an abstract creed, but in its institutions.

I went to Hebrew school but opted out of a bar mitzvah.

My brothers were rabbis. My grandfather was a rabbi.

I will decide who is a Jew!

You are not practicing Judaism if you celebrate Christmas.

In terms of my religious preference, if a year goes by and I don't have a Seder or I don't light the menorah, I feel a loss.

Jews seek to cleave to the will of God as set forth in the Bible and, particularly, the Pentateuch, with its rabbinic commentaries, the Mishnah and Talmud.

In terms of worship, I think we ought to have the right people leading.

I was raised in an observant Jewish household, so for me, Hebrew prayers - the sounds, the sunlight streaming in from the stained-glass windows of a synagogue - bring my father back to me as surely as if he were sitting next to me, my head pressed against his shoulder.

I was a Jewish rabbinical student for 12 years, and studied the Bible all the time.

I want to be just a pure spiritual leader.

The Jewish tradition presents itself as the greatest revelation of God's truth that can be known in the world. That is why we call ourselves 'the chosen people.' It is not that we choose ourselves. It means that we have been elected by God and given the Torah.

I am humbled and deeply honored to have been asked to serve the congregants of Shearith Israel, a congregation with an incomparable history, where some of America's most distinguished rabbis have pastored and preached.

The Church is presided over personally by Jesus Christ.

Judaism has always been a strong interest of mine. My two sons speak Hebrew and are familiar with the scriptures and with rabbinic literature. This is the way we live.

[Referring to Judaism:] ... a gutter religion.

You are more noble in your wisdom. You are more awe inspiring in the dignity of your kingdom. The well-being of the churches of Christ rests on you alone.

If you want to be Jewish, welcome, but convert via the Halacha.

I'm Jewish, and so religion, to me, is a kind of moral code and a kind of history.

I went to bar mitzvahs as a kid. I had a lot of classmates who are Jewish.

Judaism is absolutely incompatible with the abandonment of the Torah.

To have knowledge of Judaism and to be a religious Jew or an interested Jew, is to have a doorway into a worldview that is entirely alien to the rest of the world's worldview.

I cannot accept concepts such as Gulenism or Gulenist. I was only a writer and an official preacher among people. I can have no direct influence on any person or activity. It is inconceivable that I can exert pressure on anybody.