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 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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Opinion The OU Is Right: Orthodox Women Shouldn’t Be Rabbis
Most of a rabbi’s roles can be halachically and effectively assumed by women, and have been for many years. A rabbi must be learned in Jewish texts and the practical laws pertaining to daily Jewish life — and Orthodox women’s seminaries teach thousands of young Jewish women those laws, and do a top-notch job of…
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Opinion No, modesty won’t protect you from the Harvey Weinsteins. But this might.
When I was in high school, we had a teacher, a long-bearded rabbi, who spent weeks of class time focusing on the intricacies of yichud, the Jewish laws forbidding an unrelated man and woman to be in seclusion together. Every configuration, every scenario in which a man and a woman might find themselves alone, was…
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Life Do Orthodox Jews Need Their Own Eating Disorder Programs?
“Airplane food. That’s what they gave me to eat while I was trying to recover from an eating disorder — airplane food. For 10 weeks! Everyone else had these normal-looking meals, and I had prepackaged stuff that looked exactly like you’d get it on a plane.” Sitting in a busy kosher cafe in midtown Manhattan…
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Life Am I Wrong To Drive On Shabbos To Visit My Orthodox Family?
“Do not drive here on Shabbos,” my father said, using his Brooklyn, Ashkenazi-style of pronouncing the Sabbath, which I now call Shabbat lest my secular Israeli husband make fun of me for my old ghetto ways. I was planning on driving from Manhattan to his house to see my relatives, who were in for Sukkot….
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Opinion It’s Time To Dispense With The Vanity Spending In Orthodox Communities
This time of year you might spy me in the supermarket smiling in the direction of the guy stocking the produce bins. If you do, know that I’m imagining what he would think if he knew that a fruit not terribly unlike the 50-cent lemons he’s handling recently commanded up to a couple hundred dollars…
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Opinion Orthodox Women Are Dissatisfied And ‘Checking Out.’ Here’s Why.
Across the spectrum of Orthodoxy, some women are “checking out.” Whatever the baseline of a given community, from the most conservative to the most “open,” there are some women who want more: For some, this might mean that they wish their education had enabled them to help their young sons with Torah homework, while others…
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Life We Prayed On Yom Kippur And Marched For Racial Justice The Next Day
When the March for Racial Justice announced its sister marches on the day following Yom Kippur, several Orthodox Jewish social justice activists decided it was time to speak up, too. Approximately 400 people showed up for the march on Sunday, with a large percentage visibly from Jewish groups including T’ruah, Hitoreri, Zioness Movement, and American…
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