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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Opinion The Rabbinate as Taught to Me by Avi Weiss
Rabbi Avi Weiss “Retire is a word I’d like to retire,” said my rabbi, Rav Avi Weiss, from the pulpit he has held for over 40 years. Over the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, Rav Avi announced that he would step back from his position as senior rabbi at the synagogue he helped found, The Hebrew…
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Life After Mikveh Scandal, Make Us Feel Clean Again
It’s time for Simchat Torah, but I don’t feel much like dancing. A promise I made long ago has been broken. In the summer of 1986, I wrote what many consider the first piece about non-Orthodox women using the mikvah. Published in Lilith Magazine, in “Take Back the Waters” I proposed a feminist re-appropriation of…
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Fast Forward Rabbi Avi Weiss, Progressive Voice in Orthodoxy, Steps Down From Pulpit
Rabbi Avi Weiss, a religiously progressive voice within Orthodoxy who has spearheaded the push to give women a greater role in the faith, announced he is stepping down on Thursday. Speaking from the pulpit of his Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Weiss told the packed congregation of his plans to end his tenure as rabbi. Many…
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News How Are We To Die?
Scroll down to tell us your story about making an end-of-life decision for a loved one. Signing the papers to officially place my father into hospice care was among the most difficult tasks of my life. But it was also one of the most gratifying. Long before the day arrived, I had begun carrying a…
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Fast Forward More Orthodox Women Dance With Scroll for Simchat Torah
(Haaretz) — Just how progressive is your local Orthodox synagogue? Probably the best way to find out is to pay a visit during Simchat Torah, the holiday that starts at sundown on Wednesday, and take note: Are women sitting behind the mechitza – the partition that separates them from the men – looking bored and…
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Life We Are All (Fill in the Blank) Jews
Courtesy Leigh Shulman I was recently e-mailing with a woman I know and told her how I planned to take a couple days off for Rosh Hashanah. I haven’t been to synagogue in years, but I do mark the holiday by spending time with family. “You’re Jewish?” she asked surprised, immediately mentioning the ultra-Orthodox crowd…
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News The End-of-Life Battle Over Jewish Souls
Sylvia Sodden lay on life support in a critical care room in Brooklyn when her health care proxy made the hardest choice: He decided to end her life. But before any machines could be unplugged, her relatives turned to Chayim Aruchim, a program that helps ultra-Orthodox Jews navigate end-of-life care. Chayim Aruchim referred the family…
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News Miami Jewish Community Grows by 9% in Decade
(JTA) — For the first time in four decades, Miami Jewry is growing. That’s the official finding of the new Miami Jewish population study released Monday by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. The Jewish population of Miami-Dade County increased 9 percent over the last decade, to 123,000 from 113,000 in 2004, according to the survey. That…
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Fast Forward Groundbreaking analysis of Hitler’s DNA shows no Jewish ancestry — but finds a genetic disorder
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Opinion Why a concert hall should be the last place for a protest — particularly an antisemitic one like this
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Opinion Israel deported me for helping West Bank Palestinians. I won’t give up on a peaceful future for the country I love
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