Rabbi Naftali Harcsztark
![](https://images.forwardcdn.com/image/970x/center/images/cropped/naftaliharcsztarkgiladmorrabbisjpg-1423639065.jpg)
A founder of the innovative SAR High School in New York City and a powerful advocate for open and engaged Orthodox Judaism, Rabbi Naftali Harcsztark has taken a risk in allowing women students to wear tefillin. He has not only created a first-rate school, but one that embodies what is best about Orthodoxy, without being pulled to the religious right and without compromising principles. He recognizes that Judaism can be committed both to religious observance and engagement with the present. That lesson is a source of inspiration when so many run away from such beliefs.
— Samuel Heilman
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
![](https://forward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jodi-Headshot.jpg)
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief