This is 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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Opinion Why I Am Making ‘Aliyah’ to Reform Jewry
(JTA) — I grew up Jewish. Simply Jewish. My late father, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, raised us in an observant Orthodox household. Our lives were filled with beautiful ritual and we celebrated the wonder of a familial spiritual connection. That said, we also danced along the fine line of progressive Judaism. My father’s Torah was an…
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News Israeli Sex Educator Teaches Secular and Orthodox To Enjoy Intimacy
(Haaretz) — As a certified sex educator who runs a side business out of her home selling dilators and vibrators to the ultra-Orthodox and secular alike, Beverley Damelin was certain she had seen and heard it all. That includes the case of an elderly ultra-Orthodox woman who recently summoned Damelin to Bnei Brak so she…
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News Sex-Therapist Advocates Masturbation For Orthodox Women Despite Taboo
(JTA) — When Max Grunberg wants to know more about the sex lives of the couples he treats, he asks the women to describe what happens after they return from the mikvah. Grunberg, a Dutch-born couples therapist specializing in the Orthodox Jewish community, needs to ease clients into talking about sex, an activity many religious…
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Fast Forward Independent Rabbinical Court Addressing Agunot To Be Launched Next Year
A new independent rabbinical court to address the issue of agunot, so-called “chained women” whose husbands refuse to give them a religious writ of divorce, will be launched next year. The announcement of the court, or beit din, was made Sunday at the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance conference in New York. Rabbi Simcha Krauss of…
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Life The Rise of Ultra-Orthodox Beauty Salons
According to the BBC, a quiet revolution is taking place among ultra-Orthodox women in Jerusalem. They have discovered the power of mascara. There are, of course, numerous strict restrictions on these women when it comes to their appearance. They must wear modest clothes — no elbows, no collar bones — cover their heads, and many…
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Fast Forward Haredim Protest Jailing of Yeshiva Student Refusing IDF Draft
Hundreds of haredi Orthodox protesters took part in a second day of demonstrations against the jailing of a yeshiva student who refused to present himself at an IDF enlistment center. The yeshiva student was imprisoned on Sunday for two weeks. During Thursday’s demonstrations in Kikar HaShabbat in Jerusalem, protesters set trash bins alight and threw…
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Fast Forward Israel Chief Rabbinate Extends Time For Couples to Register Intention to Marry
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate extended the time within which a couple can register its intention to marry from three months to one year. The rabbinate came to the decision on Monday, Rabbi Nachman Rosenberg, executive vice president of the Tzohar rabbinical organization, told JTA. Rosenberg said the added time is a boon to couples who were…
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Fast Forward British Orthodox Body Condems Shul For Allowing Women to Hold Torah
Britain’s umbrella body of Orthodox communities is condemning a London Orthodox synagogue that allows women to hold Torah scrolls. Earlier this year, Golders Green United Synagogue began giving women an opportunity to handle the Torah scroll on Shabbat mornings and festivals, and the change has been well received by members of the community, according to…
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