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 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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Fast Forward Orthodox Union Protests Non-Kosher NYC Free Lunch Program
The Orthodox Union is urging New York City to arrange for kosher certification of a free school lunch program, which observant Jewish and Muslim students have so far not been able to eat. “The mayor is openly discriminating against students in nonpublic and religious schools,” Orthodox Union CEO Allen Fagin told the New York Daily…
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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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