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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News The Ultra-Orthodox Threat; A Classic Williamsburg Hat Store; 125 Years of Katz’s Deli
In this week’s Reporters Roundtable podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Forward contributor Jay Michaelson to talk about his recent, controversial piece on Jewish fundamentalism and the ultra-Orthodox. Then, Nate Lavey drops by to discuss his video on a classic Brooklyn hat store and their century-old equipment. Finally, Susan Armitage gives a brief history…
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Life Q&A With A Modern Day Matchmaker
Rachel Garfinkle, 29, an ultra-Orthodox stay-at-home mom in Cleveland, Ohio, was married to her husband Michael in 2003. Her cousin, who also happened to be Michael’s best friend, set them up. As the norm goes in her community, they were married after five dates. Since then, Garfinkle has looked for opportunities to make matches for…
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Opinion A Woman’s Place is at Prayer — at Kotel or Upper West Side
Nearly 20 years ago I was living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a haven for observant Conservative Jews. I had my choice of multiple minyanim to attend; even the crowded weekend city streets had an air of the Sabbath, and kosher food abounded. There were so many Conservative and egalitarian options that I rarely ventured…
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News Fast-Growing Chabad Asks: Who Will Be Leader for Next Generation?
The top echelons of the Chabad movement are on the verge of a once-in-a-generation leadership transition. The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement never replaced its spiritual leader, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, after he died in 1994 at the age of 92. Yet a coterie of gray-bearded rabbis picked by Schneerson continues to run the movement from its headquarters…
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Israel News Israel Chips Away at Orthodox Monopoly on Marriage
The Israeli government has taken a major step in its effort to weaken Haredi control over marriages within the country’s mainstream population. Under a landmark reform, announced by the Ministry of Religious Services on May 19, local marriage registrars affiliated with the government-sponsored Chief Rabbinate will no longer have an exclusive monopoly over registering the…
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News Talmudic ‘Development’; Orthodox Cinema; Chabad Power Struggle?; Top Kosher Dogs
In this week’s Reporters Roundtable podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by deputy arts editor Ezra Glinter to discuss the new season of Arrested Development and its ‘talmudic’ qualities. Then, Ezra fills us in on the emergent ultra-orthodox cinema in Israel. Next, assistant news editor Larry Cohler-Esses drops by to discuss a possible reshuffling of…
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Opinion Balkanization of Western Wall Prayer ls Threat to Jewish Unity
I really must avoid spicy foods — even my wife’s scrumptious jalapeno pepper-laced cornbread — before retiring at night. The recipe’s great, but for someone approaching 60, it’s also a recipe for indigestion-fueled nightmares. The scene of my latest bad dream: the Kotel, or Western Wall, in Jerusalem. The time: some future point, may it…
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News The Mirror in the Mikveh
Ellie Goldenberg and Emily Blum are getting ready to immerse for the first time in the mikveh, or Jewish ritual bath. One might assume that Ellie and Emily are soon-to-be brides; in traditional communities, women immerse in the mikveh for the first time before they are wed. But they’re not — Ellie is an 11-year-old…
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