Welcome to 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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Fast Forward Happy Hanukkah — Cut the Chit Chat With Cousin Gertrude!
It’s Hanukkah time, but don’t get carried away with the holiday spirit. Fliers posted in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of New York City warn: amidst your Hanukkah parties, dreidel spinning and menorah lighting — don’t let the men and women mix. There should be no engaging in “unnecessary chatting,” “frivolous laughter,” or “playing games together.” This even…
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Community Though Spiritually Bereft, I Never Felt Bullied As A Jew At McGill
My time at McGill University was intellectually satisfying but spiritually deficient. Let me preface my words by acknowledging that I am an Orthodox Jew and Orthodoxy was absent from McGill University’s campus. Benchmarks of Orthodoxy such as a daily prayer quorum, hot kosher food, fellow observant Jews, and Shabbat and Chagim observance were scant. Orthodox…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Union Urges Unity for Trump Interfaith Inaugural Event
(JTA) — Amid preparations for an interfaith prayer during Donald Trump’s inaugural weekend, the Orthodox Union called on faith leaders to demonstrate a nonpartisan approach to the event. The plea by Nathan Diament, head of the public policy arm of the Orthodox Union, the main communal association for Orthodox Judaism, which the Associated Press quoted,…
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News Orthodox Man Pelted With Ice, Called ‘South Side Jew’ in Brooklyn Attack
An Orthodox man walking to his car in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn was on the receiving end of New York’s post-election hate crime wave, as teens pelted him with ice and shouted at “South Side Jew” at him. “Two kids, they were DNAInfo. “I don’t know what that means.” The epithet might have been…
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Fast Forward Des Moines’ Only Orthodox Synagogue To Sell Building
(JTA) — The only Orthodox synagogue in Des Moines is selling its building, which will leave the Iowa city without an Orthodox synagogue for the first time since the 1880s. Beth El Jacob has a potential buyer for its nearly 60-year-old building, the Des Moines Register reported. The congregation of about 80 families has been…
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Community How an Orthodox Rabbi Became A Reform Jewish Educator
In 1979, I was ordained as a rabbi by a prominent yeshiva. My training prepared me to become a modern Orthodox rabbi, presumably in a congregation. I previously served as a Jewish youth educator in the Chicago region of NCSY and as a visiting staff member for other regions around the Midwest. So, when the…
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Community Sorry, Pundits: Non-Orthodox American Jews Are Here to Stay.
Recently I was waiting to chow down on some beef stew at a Jerusalem restaurant in the city’s iconic Mahane Yehuda market, often called “the shuk.” That’s when I saw them. Hordes of Americans in the their early 20s. The best new winter jackets. Young, robust, happy. They were chatting about how “cool” Jerusalem was….
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Opinion Dramatic Orthodox Growth Is Transforming the American Jewish Community
The overall American Jewish population size is stable and growing, but its character is shifting dramatically. The Orthodox population (Haredi, centrist, and modern) is exploding. The non-Orthodox are in sharp decline. We can chart the rapid growth of the Orthodox by looking at their numbers in the Pew Research Center data over three generations, each…
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