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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Opinion Maharats Win Support of Jewish Women
The first class of maharats may be controversial among the Orthodox. But the graduates enjoy overwhelming support from Jewish women from other denominations, who see the battle for recognition as part and parcel of the struggles they faced — and won. “It’s an affirmation of everything that has led to this moment, as well as…
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Fast Forward Barbra Streisand Lashes Out at Orthodox Over Treatment of Women in Israel
Iconic Jewish entertainer Barbra Streisand on Monday took a swipe at Orthodox Jews in Israel who compel women to sit in the back of buses and assault them for following religious rituals traditionally reserved for men. “It’s distressing to read about women in Israel being forced to sit in the back of a bus or……
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News Offering a Lifeline for Growing Number of Jewish Hungry and Poor
This story first appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. It was translated into English by Frimet Goldberger. According to a study by the UJA Federation of New York, the poverty rate of the greater New York Jewish population grew exponentially as of late. More than 560,000 people — 20% of all the Jewish households in the…
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Life Dressing Modestly — and My Black Jewish Hair
When people ask what kind of a Jew I am, I tend to answer, “just Jewish.” It’s easier than explaining the Refoconservadox-style of Judaism I practice, and by that I mean that I pray in Conservative synagogue, keep what some would call eco-kosher (which does not abide by any halachic standard for kashrut) and wear…
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Opinion The Maharat Movement
A telling sign that the first-ever graduation ceremony for Yeshivat Maharat was going to be different from other rabbinical ordinations came in an email message sent several weeks before the June 16 event. “We will be offering child care during the ceremony!” it read. This was clearly a ceremony created by women for women, reflecting…
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Fast Forward 7% of Israeli Jews Are Reform or Conservative
Some 7.1 percent of Israeli Jews define themselves as Reform or Conservative, according to the soon-to-be-released Israeli Democracy Index for 2013. This figure might sound surprisingly high, considering that there are only 110 Reform and Conservative synagogues in Israel. But it is actually slightly less than the figure found by a different survey published last…
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Life Going Home Early
For my birthday, Jeremy very sweetly planned a surprise dinner with friends for me in the city. After the dinner we headed over to a local dive bar to continue the party with alcohol-infused Scrabble. It was the perfect evening. And, by the time the clock struck 12:30, Jeremy and I were home and getting…
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Life The End of Travel as Self-Discovery?
My older brother just left on a trip to Europe. When I say Europe, I don’t mean one or two European countries. I mean he bought a one-way ticket to London with a bus ticket the next day to Belgium and he doesn’t plan to stop traveling until he runs out of money or fun….
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Culture On the northwest side of Chicago, my old Jewish neighborhood may soon live on in infamy
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