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
The Latest
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Community Is Keeping Shabbat A Choice?
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. I find Shabbat dinner to be the perfect setting for those deep philosophical conversations that happen so rarely these days. We’re all so busy with work, family, technology and never-ending errands that finding the time or space to have meaningful conversations is becoming…
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Fast Forward Crown Heights School Warns Moms To Ditch Leggings And ‘Loud’ Nail Polish
A Hasidic girls school in Brooklyn is demanding mothers of students appear more “modest” next school year. Some of the things the administration is forbidding? Leggings, denim and “loud” nail polish. In a letter to parents from Crown Heights Girls’ School Bnos Menachem, director Motty Gurary explained the rationale for the changes: to “create a…
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Life Orthodox Princeton Student Plans To Get Married — And The World Gasps
In a country with actual child marriage, it might seem as if a 23-year-old wearing an engagement ring would not cause any sort of controversy. And yet I can’t say I was all that surprised by Penina Krieger’s account of the negative, judgmental response she’s received, from people who think she’s basically a child bride….
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Fast Forward Jared And Ivanka Fly On Shabbat – But That Doesn’t Mean You Should
Could Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s traveling on the Sabbath cause trouble for Orthodox Jews in America? One group of Orthodox rabbis says so. TORA, which describes itself as an “umbrella group of Traditional Orthodox Rabbis of America” issued a statement arguing that the flight “could lead to an erosion of the historic responsibility of…
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Fast Forward Israeli Education Group Reaches 1,000 French Students
(JTA) – An Israel-based Jewish educational group, Dirshu, has enrolled its 1,000th student in France into classes devoted to studying the Talmud, a central text of Orthodox Jewish tradition. The current level of enrollment was reached two years after Dirshu, which was founded in 1997, began its current cycle of study in France, Rabbi Naftali…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Union Pushes Women Clergy To Change Their Titles — But To What?
NEW YORK (JTA) — Following its rabbinic ruling prohibiting synagogues from hiring female clergy, the Orthodox Union is pressuring synagogues that have hired the women to change their titles. In February, the Orthodox Union, an umbrella Orthodox Jewish group, issued a Jewish legal ruling by seven rabbis that bars women from serving as clergy or in…
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Fast Forward Israel Conversion Bill Draws Fire From Diaspora Jews
(JTA) — Jewish groups criticized a proposed Knesset bill that would require the state to recognize only conversions completed under the auspices of the haredi Orthodox-dominated Chief Rabbinate. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, urged the Israeli government to reject the proposed legislation, calling it “another step down a path of…
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Fast Forward Menstruation App Comes Under Fire For ‘Jeopardizing Purity Of Jewish Nation’
A new debate is playing out in New York City’s Orthodox community over the halachic status of an online app designed for women who wish to better observe the religious prohibition on intimacy during menstruation. The application, Tahor, allows for women to anonymously send photos of their bedikah cloths, used to check the vagina for…
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