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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Community These Four Conflicting Visions Will Determine Israel’s Future
Israel is a success story on many levels — social, economic, scientific, and in terms of protecting its security. Nevertheless, many of its citizens see the country as treading water. What is the source of this dissonance? In Israel’s cultural war, one community’s dream is another community’s nightmare. But if we are capable of pushing…
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Opinion I Was Pushed To The Back Of A Protest Because I’m A Zionist. Here’s What It Taught Me About Tribalism And Jews
One evening in November, I found myself standing at the back of a crowd of protesters. It was a protest organized by IfNotNow, the Jewish anti-occupation group, to protest the Zionist Organization of America’s hosting of Steve Bannon at their annual gala. IfNotNow does “not take a unified stance on BDS, Zionism or the question…
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Fast Forward Soon-To-Be-Married Orthodox Couple Killed In Fiery Car Crash Near JFK
A recently engaged Orthodox couple were among the victims of a fiery car crash near New York’s JFK airport that injured seven other people Wednesday night, the New York Daily News reported. Yisroel Levin, 21, of Brooklyn, and Elisheva Kaplan, 20, of Queens, were driving on a foggy road when their sedan was caught in…
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Culture Maya Angelou’s Message For The Orthodox
People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014) To me, this beautiful quote from the late, great Maya Angelou, encapsulates so much of the tension in Orthodox Judaism today. Generally, people in my community are…
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News Some Jews Do Love To Shoot — Just Not On Shabbat
On Saturday, the March for Our Lives, a gun protest march organized in part by teenage survivors of the shooting in Parkland, Florida, will take place in cities across the country. Plenty of Jews will be in attendance — some of Parkland’s strongest voices since the shooting have been Jewish survivors and parents of those…
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Community How Living In A Muslim Country Made Me Lose My Faith In Orthodox Judaism
A version of this article originally appeared in Plus 61J, an Australian Jewish publication. I had my greatest revelation about Judaism while studying Arabic in Cairo. I was in the middle of my master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies at St Antony’s College, Oxford. Part of the course requirement was spending the summer learning a…
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Community The Chief Rabbinate’s Monopoly Is Crumbling In Israel — And That’s A Great Thing
Recently Tzohar, a Zionist-Orthodox rabbinic organization, announced their establishment of a private entity to oversee kosher dietary regulations —kashrut— in Israel. The move is another nail in the coffin of the Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly over religious life, and another important milestone on the way to the separation of religion and state in Israel. The establishment…
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Opinion Having Daughters Forced Me To Face The Orthodox World’s Misogyny
When you have children, you must face your own beliefs. It’s one thing to buy into an ideology or a community on your own. If that ideology should later prove harmful, the only one you hurt was yourself. But to sacrifice your child for that illusion? Harm your children on the alter of a false…
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Culture At Eurovision, Israel’s near triumph shows the limits of tolerance
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Opinion The profound internal contradiction that could spell doom for Hillel
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Sports An op-ed compared an NBA team to Israel as underdog success stories. Then the threats poured in.
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Fast Forward Talarico won’t campaign with Democratic House candidate who wants to open ‘a prison for American Zionists’
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