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
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Fast Forward Councilmen Vow To Join Suit on Circumcision Rite
Two New York City councilmen have announced that they would be active participants in any lawsuit against the city of New York, after the board of health yesterday approved a measure that required parents to sign a consent form before allowing a mohel to perform a controversial circumcision ritual. Councilmen David Greenfield and Lewis Fidler…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Plan To Sue Over Circumcision Rite
Agudath Israel of America reportedly is planning to sue the city of New York if its health department passes a law requiring parental consent for the circumcision ritual known as metzitzah b’peh. The New York Jewish Week reported the development based on an email forwarded to the news outlet sent originally from the account of…
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Opinion Reporter Watches Bris — And It Ain’t Pretty
While I was researching my Forward story about circumcision and pain, I realized that I didn’t know what a circumcision actually looks like. I’ve only attended one bris — apart from my own — and there I didn’t have a good line of sight to the baby. I was particularly interested to know more about…
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Fast Forward German Muslims and Jews Rally for Circumcision
Jews and Muslims in Berlin demonstrated for the right to carry out ritual circumcisions, a right that has been endangered in Germany. Under the slogan “On Knife’s Edge: Religious Freedom,” some 300 demonstrators rallied Saturday at Bebelplatz, the site of the 1933 Nazi book burnings, to protest the May ruling in a Cologne court that…
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News Weighing Pain of Circumcision for Baby
Isaac is cradled in his grandfather’s arms. In the space of a few minutes, the Orthodox ritual circumciser, or mohel, separates the foreskin from the head of Isaac’s penis, pulls the skin forward and inserts a metal shield that protects his penis while his foreskin is cut off. No anesthetic is used. Meanwhile, Joseph is…
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News Asher Lopatin Seeks To Secure YCT’s Place
When Rabbi Asher Lopatin takes over the helm of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah next summer, he may try to pull off something of a football move at the Modern Orthodox rabbinical school: Look left while going right. In the 12 years since Rabbi Avi Weiss founded the school as a more liberal, pulpit-focused alternative to Yeshiva…
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News The Sun Is a Star
On a Tuesday in July 2007, I learned that the sun is a star. A friend of mine, formerly Hasidic, told me the secret. She informed me that the heavens look nothing like we think. I said, “Huh?” “Look,” she said reasonably, “I swear. It explains it here, in this incredible astronomy book. The sun…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Flap Rages Over Tefillin Straps
Several recent rabbinic rulings that have invalidated certain kinds of tefillin straps as unfit for use are causing an uproar in the Orthodox community. A number of rabbis in Jerusalem, Chicago, Brooklyn and Lakewood, N.J., have issued rulings prohibiting the use of tefillin straps (retzuot in Hebrew) that peel, and so-called leatherboard straps, according to…
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