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
The Latest
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Fast Forward Meet Israeli Bureaucrat Who Decides If You Can Get Married — or Not
(JTA) — To be married in Israel, immigrants must prove their Jewish ancestry to the country’s Chief Rabbinate. Couples can solicit a letter from their hometown rabbis or present their parents’ Jewish marriage contracts. Sometimes they even bring a Yiddish-speaking grandmother before a rabbinical court. In the end, every claim has to pass through one…
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Opinion Orthodox Rabbis Stand by Avi Weiss — Sort Of
(JTA) — The Rabbinical Council of America is standing behind Rabbi Avi Weiss of Riverdale, N.Y., in his dispute with Israel’s Chief Rabbinate — sort of. Last week, the Rabbinate for the first time offered its reasons for deciding several months ago that Weiss, an Orthodox rabbi and RCA member, wasn’t kosher enough to affirm…
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Life ‘Lean In,’ Orthodox Style
Editor’s note: This post is the third in a three part series answering the question, “How should Jewish feminism change in 2014 to be more effective?” Read the first post here and the second post here. It’s no secret that women have a hard time supporting one another. Sure, we’ll bring each other lasagnas and…
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Opinion Real Story of My Spiritual Journey to Reform Judaism
(JTA) — Over the past two weeks I’ve been both heartened and horrified by the spectrum of response to what, I felt, was a spontaneous and sincere statement of unity and joy — my proclamation of “aliyah” to Reform Judaism, made at the biennial conference of the Union for Reform Judaism. I’m honored that the…
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Fast Forward Beit Shemesh Vote Voided as Showdown Looms
A Jerusalem court voided the results of municipal elections in Beit Shemesh over fraud accusations, paving the way for a rematch between a secular challenger and the haredi Orthodox incumbent. The Jerusalem District Court’s decision on Thursday came after the results of the Oct. 22 election were challenged by Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and…
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Fast Forward Boston Funeral Home Trades Orthodox Burial Society for Nondenominational Group
A new nondenominational Jewish burial society has replaced an Orthodox one at a Boston-area Jewish funeral home. Community Hevra Kadisha of Greater Boston, which launched this fall and is part of a growing movement of Jewish burial societies that include non-Orthodox volunteers, began performing tahara – the ritual preparation of bodies for burial – at…
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News British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Brings Message of Openness to Limmud
In the decades since a bunch of British Jews created Limmud, its model of volunteer experts offering a pluralistic smorgasbord of Jewish teachings, arts offerings and performances has turned into a worldwide movement. But through all these years, the chief rabbi of the United Kingdom has never attended Limmud in the country where it all…
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Fast Forward Ex-Wife of Congressman Aid Receives Religious Divorce After High Profile Battle
The ex-wife of an aide to a U.S. congressman has received a religious writ of divorce after fighting a high-profile battle for years, an organization for agunot said. The announcement of the religious divorce, or get, for Tamar Epstein came from the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, or ORA, on Thursday. Epstein, who lives…
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