BRIARCLIFF MANOR -- The Conservative rabbi who was charged with having 27 grams of marijuana in his car and convicted of impaired driving won a vote of confidence for a new contract from his board yesterday -- an indication that the respected spiritual leader has been forgiven, even if his crime has not been completely forgotten.

In an e-mail sent to members of Congregation Sons of Israel yesterday, the president of its board of trustees said the 550-member synagogue would eventually vote on a new one-year contract once it was negotiated with the rabbi, Steven Kane, a 50-year-old father of three.

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