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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Life I Hated Halloween. Until I Became Orthodox.
Growing up in a secular family, I spent many Halloweens of my youth dressed as a Jack-O-Lantern. But that doesn’t mean I liked the holiday. I actually hated how showy people got with single-use costumes, the obsession with spooky things, and the overall lack of meaning in the celebrations. And then, of course, there were…
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Opinion How Knesset Push Will Actually Help Chained Women Worldwide
Israeli lawmakers are considering a law that would help Orthodox women across the world. Jewish law does not permit a woman to divorce her husband without his consent, and in Israel and abroad, a number of women who wish to leave their husbands are unable to do so. These women are known as agunoth –…
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Letters Here’s How the Orthodox Deal With Sexual Assault
The Harvey Weinstein scandal is just the latest case of the misuse and exploitation of power through sexual harassment and abuse by people in influential positions. It has caught everyone’s attention and has empowered victims to come forward, speak out, and be believed. Hopefully it is finally the catalyst for significant cultural change. But sexual…
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Life How Halloween Taught Me Self-Determination After Leaving Orthodoxy
After the weeks of Jewish holidays, the last thing I wanted was another celebration. “Why can’t we trick-or-treat?” my kids wanted to know a few days before Halloween. “It’s not a Jewish holiday,” I answered automatically, the same words that I’d always spoken and that my mother had once spoken to me. Until this year,…
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Life Is The Orthodox Community Really Facing Mental Health Head-On?
When people tell me, again and again, that the Orthodox community has gotten better with regard to mental health issues, I secretly cringe. They point to the Jewish magazines, the organizations, the public talks, the community initiatives, as proof that Orthodox Jews, as a community, are no longer afraid to look mental illness in the…
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Letters Rabbi Shafran’s Mansplaining About Female Clergy Misses the Mark
Dear Editor, I’m admittedly less versed than Avi Shafran in Jewish theology and how it dictates religious administration, but I do take issue with his argument that women should be excluded from religious leadership on the grounds that this desire is borne from “external” influence. Are the considerable number of Jewish women who feel a…
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Life Yeshiva University Democrats Find Their Voice — On Conservative Campus
Until Donald Trump’s election one year ago, less than eight students at Yeshiva University would attend the events organized by the school’s Democrats club. Little did they know that just a couple of months after November 8, the club would grow significantly, reaching its peak of 50 active members this year. Matthew Haller, 20, and…
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Life Mayim Bialik Is Right About Beauty Obsession. My Orthodox Community Can Learn From Her.
When Mayim Bialik wrote about the power of modesty, amid the promiscuous values of Hollywood — as an Orthodox Jew, I was deeply moved. Not only was it empowering to hear a Hollywood actress extol the Jewish ideals of modesty, but it also struck me as an ever-more relevant reminder for my own community. In…
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