Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Orthodox Judaism, which aims for a stricter observance of halachic law than Conservative or Reform Judaism. It includes Modern Orthodox Judaism, as well as Haredi (sometimes called ultra-Orthodox) Judaism,…
Orthodox Judaism
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Fast Forward Fourth Man Pleads Guilty in ‘Get’ Extortion Plot Aimed at Orthodox Husbands
Another New York City man has pleaded guilty to being part of a group of men who used violent means in exchange for pay to force Jewish husbands to give their wives religious divorces. Simcha Bulmash, 30, of Brooklyn pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J., to participating in the extortion ring,…
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Opinion Partnership Minyan and the Egalitarian Threat
Mainstream Orthodoxy has been taking pains to publicize its disapproval of partnership minyanim, Orthodox prayer groups where women lead some of the prayers and read from the Torah. Yeshiva University threatened to withhold ordination of a graduating student who held a partnership minyan in his home. Large, leading Orthodox institutions like the Orthodox Union and…
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Fast Forward Peretz Sontag, Missing New York Father of 7, Found Dead in Car
The body of a missing father of seven was found inside his car in a ravine in an upstate New York park. Peretz Sontag, 50, of Pomona in suburban Rockland County, was found dead Sunday by a hiker in Harriman State Park. The cause of death is not known. A funeral was planned for Monday…
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News Uganda’s Century-Old Jewish Community Riven by Sectarian Divide
(JTA) — On Fridays at sundown, the Jewish residents of this village set amid the lush hills of eastern Uganda gather in the synagogue to greet Shabbat. The room is bare, the light is dim and the Conservative prayer books are worn. But the spare surroundings do little to diminish the enthusiasm of the men,…
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News The Father-and-Son Rabbis Who Inspire One Another — and Grandma Too
Aaron Fink likes to tell an anecdote about his oldest son: When Eliyahu Fink was in grade school, he discovered an error in ‘The Little Midrash Says,’ a children’s book about weekly Torah portions. The precocious child sent a handwritten letter to the author, asking him why he apparently confused the dates on which God…
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Life Why Rabbis Must Talk to Orthodox Boys About Masturbation
Thinkstock Orthodox Jews often make poor decisions when talking about sex with young people, particularly regarding discussing (or not discussing) nocturnal emissions and masturbation with boys. I recently attended a question and answer session at an Orthodox institution in which a rabbi was asked how and when, if at all, a Jewish father should talk…
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Fast Forward Shalom Lamm Says ‘Faith in America Is Shaken’ After Bloomingburg Vote Debacle
Shalom Lamm, the Orthodox developer behind a controversial project in the upstate New York village of Bloomingburg, has denounced a local election after his right to vote in the hamlet was challenged along with more than 100 other voters. Incumbent Mayor Mark Berentsen, who backs Lamm’s plans for a 396-home development marketed at Hasidic Jews,…
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Opinion Did Israeli Conversions Just Get a Lot Easier?
Immigrants from the former Soviet Union arrive in Israel. / Getty Images Did you hear about the latest coup for the Reform and Conservative movements in the Knesset? A new piece of legislation that passed the Law Committee today and is ready for voting in a few weeks will apparently bring closer a day when…
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