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 Bias Against Non-Orthodox Has Deep Roots in Israel
(JTA) — Israeli Religious Services Minister David Azoulay — from the haredi Shas Party — drew a wave of backlash earlier this week when he said that Reform Jews aren’t Jews. Among those who spoke out against the minister was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “A Reform Jew, from the moment he stops following Jewish law,…
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Fast Forward Israel Minister Not Sorry for ‘Sinner’ Slur Against Reform Jews
Israel’s religious services minister said that his remarks about Reform Jews were taken out of context, but he did not apologize for their nature. “Of course, all Jews, even though they sin, are Jews,” David Azoulay of the Sephardic Orthodox Shas party said Wednesday in a speech on the floor of the Knesset. “At the…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Rabbis Plan Conversion Reform After Barry Freundel Scandal
(JTA) — After facing criticism for its handling of inappropriate behavior by a convert-supervising rabbi who turned out to be a mikvah-peeping voyeur, the country’s main centrist Orthodox rabbinical group has released key guidelines aimed at preventing abuses during the conversion process. The Rabbinical Council of America is recommending that would-be converts be given a…
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Opinion We’ve Heard Enough Rabbis on Gay Marriage. Now, We Need a Rebbe.
The Orthodox conversation over the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision reminds me why I am Modern Chassidish and not Modern Orthodox. There are many differences between these two streams, but the defining distinction is this: their views differ greatly over the role of Halacha (Jewish law) in religious life. The Modern Orthodox Jew experiences the…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Fret Over Impact of Gay Marriage Ruling
The name that keeps coming up when Orthodox Jewish groups consider the consequences of last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision extending same-sex marriage rights to all states has little to do with Jews or gays. Bob Jones University, the private Protestant college in South Carolina, lost its tax-exempt status in 1983 when the Supreme Court…
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Opinion Worst Way To Protest Gay Pride? It’s Called Jewish Ethnic Drag.
What’s the best way for Orthodox Jews to protest a bunch of gay drag queens? By transforming a bunch of Mexican laborers into ethnic drag queens — for a fee. That, apparently, is the belief of the Jewish Political Action Committee, supposedly a fringe group (see update below) of Brooklyn-based Hasids whose unusual protest strategy…
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Opinion I’m an Orthodox Rabbi and I Celebrate Supreme Court’s Gay Marriage Ruling
On Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that it is unconstitutional for a state to ban same-sex marriage. The issue still divides America, though the latest Pew numbers say 54% of Americans are in favor of gay marriage and only 36% oppose. In the Orthodox Jewish community, the matter is far less…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Hire Mexicans To Wear Tzitzit and Protest Gay Pride
An Orthodox Jewish group hired Mexican laborers to protest for them at the gay pride parade in New York. A reporter for The New York Times witnessed the group of Mexican men picketing for the Jewish Political Action Committee, a fringe Hasidic group based in Brooklyn, at Sunday’s parade in Manhattan. The hired protesters wore…
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