Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Modern Orthodox Judaism, a movement in Orthodox Judaism that emphasizes secular education and involvement with the modern world alongside adherence to Jewish law.
Modern Orthodoxy
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News Controversial Brooklyn Eruv for Modern Orthodox Vandalized Amid Dispute With Chabad
A controversial new eruv designed to serve Modern Orthodox Jews in the traditionally Hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights was allegedly vandalized — days after rabbis from the Chabad-Lubavitcher group said the ritual barrier was not approved by rabbinic authorities. The wire that is erected around Orthodox areas allowing for otherwise-prohibited activities on the Sabbath…
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Breaking News Crash Kills Three Workers at Jewish Camp in Pennsylvania
Three staff members of a Jewish camp in eastern Pennsylvania were killed when the van they were traveling in lost control and drove into a drainage pond near the camp just before 1 a.m. Thursday. The two men and a woman, including the driver, were all seasonal workers at Camp Shoshanim, a summer camp for…
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The Schmooze Dating While (Modern) Orthodox Takes YouTube by Storm With ‘Soon by You’
(JTA) — “There’s no such thing as a bad date — there’s just a funny story,” says Jessica Schechter, a 28-year-old modern Orthodox woman who teaches acting in New York City and lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. There’s the guy who took her to the action figure section of a Toys “R” Us after dinner…
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News Is Modern Orthodoxy Reaching Its Breaking Point?
A white rabbi and black minister (this isn’t the start of a joke) link arms and are swept up in the sound of a gospel song. Not only the two clergymen. As the song soars, an entire congregation is on its feet in this Orthodox house of prayer and the congregants are trying to overcome…
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Life It’s Time to Embrace a Post-Modern Approach to Orthodoxy
Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Mordechai Willig that an evolving viewpoint on the place for women and gays in Jewish life are manifestations of post-modernism. In contrast, Modern Orthodoxy’s shift to the right can be seen as a rejection of post-modernism. He closes rather ominously with the exhortation that “authentic” Modern Orthodox Jews must “observe the laws…
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The Schmooze This Boca Shul Just Created the Biggest Prayer Shawl in the World
Facebook Jewish tradition: it’s beautiful and comforting but a bit too constricting, right? Well, not anymore. The bookkeepers at Guinness just awarded the world record for “largest tallit (prayer shawl)”— measuring 1,471.74 square feet — to Boca Raton Synagogue, a Modern Orthodox shul. The Facebook post by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg announcing this amazing feat was…
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Breaking News Ramaz Picks Eric Grossman as New Head of School
(JTA) — For the first time in its history, the Ramaz School, an elite modern Orthodox preparatory-style school in Manhattan, is tapping someone from outside its ranks to be its permanent head of school. The new hire, Rabbi Eric Grossman, 43, hails from Canada and is currently the head of school at the Frankel Jewish Academy…
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Breaking News New Jersey Rabbi Steven Pruzansky Spews ‘Savage’ Hate in Blog Post
(JTA) — The rabbi of a major modern Orthodox synagogue in New Jersey has written a blog post that calls for Israel to collectively punish Arab Israelis and Palestinians until they realize “they have no future in the land of Israel.” In the post, written Friday and titled “Dealing with Savages,” Rabbi Steven Pruzansky of…
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Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
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Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
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Opinion Just about every interpretation of Trump’s narrow election victory is wrong
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News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
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Fast Forward Rep. Ritchie Torres, outspoken pro-Israel advocate, is dropping hints that he could run for NY governor
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Fast Forward Ursula Haverbeck, infamous German Holocaust denier known as ‘Nazi grandma,’ dies at 96
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Fast Forward A Jewish museum in Tulsa held a funeral for remains of Holocaust victims it kept for years
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Sports Texas A&M’s Sam Salz cherishes his first taste of DI college football — and the opportunity to inspire fellow Orthodox Jews
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