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 What Every Prospective Convert to Judaism Deserves To Know
When you go to a doctor, you initially have to complete and sign a plethora of forms. There are the checkboxes for all imaginable ailments and diseases, and you begin to realize “Yikes! There are so many things in me that can go wrong, it’s a miracle that I even can read this thing and…
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Life There’s No Such Thing As ‘Half-Jewish.’ It’s Simply ‘Jewish.’
As a child growing up in Philadelphia, when adults would ask me about my religion, I would answer, with a smile, “I’m nothing!” This resulted in a polite smile mixed with pity and bafflement. My Ukrainian Greek Catholic mother married a Jewish man, as did two of her four sisters. My mom may have married…
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Fast Forward Women Are ‘Weak-Minded’ And ‘Just Babble,’ Israeli Rabbi Tells Yeshiva Students
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A rabbi who teaches at a pre-military yeshiva in the West Bank told students that women are “weak minded” and “just babble.” Rabbi Yosef Kelner also said women have a “limited capacity” for spirituality in the footage broadcast Tuesday by Hadashot news taken at a class on marriage and family. The class…
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Opinion Anti-Orthodox Is The New Anti-Semitism
I’ve recently come to a shocking realization about American society. Over the past few years, it has become increasingly clear that it’s okay to hate Jews. I’m not talking about the abhorrent anti-Semitism of the “alt-right,” where wannabe politicians stoke the flames of bigotry just so that they can get the fleeting feeling of relevance….
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Fast Forward Haredi Orthodox Rabbis Issue Ruling Forbidding Smartwatches
Prominent Haredi Orthodox rabbis have issued a ruling forbidding the use of smartwatches, the Israeli newspaper Kikar Hashabbat reported. “The severity of the destruction brought about by smartphones is already known…and the great rabbis of our generation have already warned us about the magnitude of the issue,” the rabbis wrote in their ruling, according to…
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Opinion White Nationalism Is Spreading In The Orthodox Community
Something disturbing has been happening in the Orthodox world. White Nationalist language is infiltrating our public spaces. It’s happening in our synagogues, in our communities, in our schools and, of course, online. And those of us who see it are looking on in increasing horror. There was always some racism in our communities, of course;…
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Community Is It Easier To Keep Shabbat Than It Is To Keep Kosher?
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. Just as God works in mysterious ways, so, it seems, do human beings grow in mysterious ways. Each Jewish person decides on a particular course, as well as to the degree in which they plan on committing and investing themselves in the observance…
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Life Orthodox Magazine Erases Women From Image Of Auschwitz
This past week, the popular ultra-Orthodox weekly Mishpacha published a pixelated image of women during the liberation from Auschwitz, in compliance with its graphics policy which forbids pictures of women: The image ran in the magazine’s cover story, “Twin Fates”, written by Aharon Granot, profiling one of the last-surviving Mengele twins: Irene and Rene Guttmann….
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Culture At Eurovision, Israel’s near triumph shows the limits of tolerance
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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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Opinion The profound internal contradiction that could spell doom for Hillel
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News Mamdani’s first Jewish Heritage event reveals a narrowed circle
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