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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Fast Forward Hasidic Bus Ad Compares Women To ‘Ignoramuses’
Advertisements for DvarMalchus.org, a weekly Lubavitch publication based out of Kfar Chabad, were spotted on an Israeli bus today that compared women to ignoramuses. The advertisement said that, according to the Baal Shem Tov, a true leader “awakens the spark of Jewishness of each and everyone in Israel, including simple people, ‘am-haaretz’s (literally, ‘people of…
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Life The Sukkah Goes From Deluxe To Ultra-Luxe: Flowers, Lattice, Cashmere — And $10,000 Price-Tag
Sukkot was once the holiday of canvas walls (through which you feel every hint of a breeze), construction-paper chains (pray it won’t rain), and thin bamboo mats for ceilings. But like all things these days, from scented candles to gym clothes, sukkahs are going luxe. From walls made entirely of boxwood, to suspended cage-bird lanterns,…
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Life Return of the Shtiebel: Why Old-School Synagogues Are Making A Comeback
Ridnik. Vorhand. Koshnitz. These names might sound like remote provinces in Ukraine, but they are also the names of Orthodox micro-congregations bustling here on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. They’re referred to as shtieblach (Yiddish for “little houses”), and although many have died out with their congregants, some are making a comeback on the Upper West…
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Opinion Religious Pluralism Would Spell Disaster For Israel
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, recently penned an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Haaretz. The letter was entitled “Netanyahu Refuses to Talk to Us. But We American Jews Won’t Be Silenced”, and it was prompted by Netanyahu telling reporters that the non-Orthodox movements are using the Western…
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News These Orthodox Jews Are Openly Marching Against Trump — Despite Taboo
Donald Trump enjoyed majority support from Orthodox Jews during the election. But a growing number of observant Jews are stepping forward to decry the president — and they are going public with their opposition at this weekend’s nationwide protests against racism. A Facebook group called Torah Trumps Hate, formed days after the election, has mushroomed to…
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Fast Forward Modern Orthodox Jews Are Mostly Observant, Wealthy And Gay-Friendly
NEW YORK (JTA) — The Orthodox Jewish world is even more fragmented than you think. That’s the key takeaway from a study published Thursday of Modern Orthodox Jews in the U.S., a group that adheres to traditional Jewish law while engaging with the secular world. Some of them think women should be rabbis and others…
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Fast Forward Modern Orthodox Evenly Split On Female Rabbis: Survey
Roughly half of Modern Orthodox Jews think that women should have “expanded roles in the clergy,” according to a new survey out yesterday from Nishma Research. The even split is yet another indicator of the stakes of the Orthodox Union’s impending decision on what to do about synagogues that continue to buck its new rule…
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Life Jerusalem On Yom Kippur: When The Fairytales Of Two Nations Collide
The streets of Jerusalem were deserted. The only remnants of life were the echoes of Jewish prayers nearby, solemn echoes heard on this day in this place for millennia. Those chants in minor key reverberated to me like the mourning of memories past. Was it regret I heard? Sadness? Duty? The prayers followed me along…
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Yiddish גרשון ווײַסעס פּאָעטישע חידושיםGershon Weiss’ poetic surprises
אין זײַן בוך לידער פֿאַרטיפֿט זיך דער דיכטער אין פּסיכאָלאָגיע, רוחניות און צווישן־קולטורעלע פֿאַרבינדונגען.
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Fast Forward First-ever empirical study of US rabbinate finds ‘shortage’ is more about fit than numbers
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Fast Forward Trump formally requests pardon in Israeli legal system for Benjamin Netanyahu
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Fast Forward Will Jack Schlossberg’s Jewish roots help him in bid for Nadler’s seat?
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