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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Culture Uniting Gay and Straight at School
When ninth-grader Shulamit Izen fought to establish a group uniting gay and straight students at her Boston-area Jewish high school in 2001, the effort seemed remarkable enough to inspire a film. “Hineini,” the 2005 documentary chronicling the young lesbian’s struggle, became a touchstone for a nascent movement encouraging openness and support for teenagers grappling with…
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Life Losing My Appetite for Orthodoxy
Two warring factions, my head and heart, have tussled for decades over the inequality and hurt on the women’s side of the mechitzah. Always, if sometimes reluctantly, my heart wins, and I cling to the curtain folds of observant Judaism. But events in Israel these last few months — segregated buses, ultra-Orthodox extremists jeering at…
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The Schmooze Underwear Ads Irk North London Orthodox
While some Haredim in Jerusalem have succeeded in getting images of women removed from public advertising there, the Orthodox community in North London has had less luck on that front. In London, it is not all women’s images they find offensive, but rather those of Calvin Klein models wearing nothing but their skimpy underwear on…
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News What Does Schechter Decline Mean?
Long considered a crown jewel of the Conservative movement, the Schechter Day School Network is fast contracting — its enrollment dwindling and its schools being closed, consolidated and, increasingly, transformed into nondenominational community day schools. Since the late 1990s, the network has lost about a third of its schools, a handful of which haven’t closed,…
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Opinion Ready for Separation of Synagogue, State
In an earlier phase of the argument between Israel’s Orthodox sector and the rest of society, the issues that were most heatedly debated involved the status of Reform and Conservative Judaism and of their rabbis. The battles were over inequities in the support provided Reform and Conservative Judaism as compared to the lavish support provided…
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News Reporters’ Roundtable: Orthodox and Gay
In this week’s podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Orthodox rabbi, Steve Greenberg, who recently wrote for the Forward about his decision to conduct a same-sex commitment ceremony. Then Josh talks with Nathan Guttman, the Forward’s Washington correspondent, to discuss how the US and Israel are trying to handle Iran. Finally, Forward editor Jane…
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News Kars4Kids Charity Loses Big on Real Estate
A multimillion dollar nationwide advertising campaign featuring an inescapable radio jingle and a freckle-faced boy in a convertible has brought the Orthodox Jewish charity known as Kars4Kids more than 60,000 donated vehicles a year. Those gifts, worth $29 million, support Orthodox outreach to non-Orthodox Jews, including a fancy summer camp for Jewish children. But Kars4Kids…
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Opinion Jack Lew and the Power of Shabbat
I hold two truths to be self-evident: First, the Jewish people and the world need Shabbat like never before. Second, the Torah intends for Jews — especially observant ones — to be visible, engaged in society and capable of taking on responsibility for others as opposed to just looking out for their parochial interests. In…
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