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
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Fast Forward British Chief Rabbi Backs Women Saying Mourning Prayer
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said that women who would like to say the Mourner’s Kaddish “should feel comfortable and supported in doing so.” His comments came in the wake of the publication Wednesday by the United Synagogue, a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues, of a mourning and Kaddish booklet for women. “It is…
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News Why Does Bronx Old-Age Home Funnel Millions to Ultra-Orthodox Groups?
A Bronx old-age home whose board includes several high-powered Orthodox Jewish activists has sent at least $20 million to dozens of ultra-Orthodox organizations in an unusual, decades-long arrangement. The not-for-profit, called the Bronxwood Home for the Aged, runs a home care agency and an assisted living facility, which serves largely non-Jewish seniors. It has sent…
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News Trailblazing Orthodox Rabbi Lila Kagedan Stands on ‘Shoulders of Giants’
(JTA) — When Rabbi Lila Kagedan spends her first Shabbat at the Mount Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph, New Jersey, later this month, she will be making history. A recent graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, Kagedan, 35, is the first person ordained at the Orthodox women’s clergy training institute in New York to adopt the title…
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Fast Forward New Jersey Synagogue Reveals It Hired First Orthodox Woman ‘Rabbi’
An Orthodox synagogue in New Jersey has hired Lila Kagedan, the first Yeshivat Maharat graduate to go by the title “rabbi.” Mount Freedom Jewish Center, in Randolph, New Jersey, announced in a news release Monday that Kagedan is joining its “spiritual leadership team.” The news release did not use the word “rabbi,” instead referring to…
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Fast Forward Restaurateur Says Synagogue Threatened Kosher Certification in $1.8M Dispute
A New York restaurant owner claims in legal papers that a prominent Orthodox synagogue threatened to have his kosher certification revoked if he does not drop a $1.8 million lawsuit against it. Joseph Allaham, who operates several kosher restaurants in Manhattan, said Lincoln Square Synagogue wants him to move his legal dispute with the shul…
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Opinion Jewish Extremists Divide Israel’s Right Wing — Even as Orthodox Take Reins of Security Services
In a uniquely Israeli bit of irony, the VIP protection unit of Israel’s Shin Bet security service has beefed up protection — for the director of the Shin Bet, Yoram Cohen. The reason, according to Israel’s Channel 10 television news, is growing agitation against the Shin Bet and its director by pro-settler radicals. Intense anger…
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Life First Woman Orthodox ‘Rabbi’ Is Hired by Synagogue
The first graduate of Yeshivat Maharat to take the title “rabbi” said she has been hired by an unnamed American Orthodox synagogue. Lila Kagedan, who was ordained this summer by the seminary created by Open Orthodox Rabbi Avi Weiss to train Orthodox female clergy, told the London-based Jewish Chronicle this week that she was recruited…
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News Hillary Clinton Complains in Email of ‘Unbelievable’ Airbrushing From Orthodox Papers
Hillary Clinton complains in a newly released email about being airbrushed out of photographs by ultra-Orthodox newspapers. The email with the subject line “unbeleivable” was bared as the State Department released another 5,000 pages of emails of the former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate. The emails released on Thursday afternoon are part of…
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