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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News Bloomingburg Dogged by Fraud Claims as ‘Hasidic’ Development Backers Face Voters
The last election in the quiet, one-stoplight village of Bloomingburg brought out only two dozen voters. But that was before a bitter feud broke out between locals and an Orthodox developer over a 396-unit housing development being marketed to Hasidic Jews that would likely more than double the village’s population. With the pro-development Mayor Mark…
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News ‘Partnership Minyan’ Spreads Among Orthodox — and Rabbis Fire Back
(JTA) — If it wasn’t clear before, it should be abundantly clear now: The Orthodox establishment will not sanction so-called partnership minyans, and it’s willing to go to the mat to fight them. In recent weeks, a flurry of articles by leading Orthodox rabbis and scholars have taken aim at the growing phenomenon of partnership…
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News ‘Fake Frum’ Con Man Scams More Than Dozen Orthodox Jews
More than a dozen Orthodox Jews have come forward to complain they were scammed by a ‘fake frum’ con artist in New York City who tricked them into giving him substantial sums of money with tales of bad fortune. The fraudster, who often approaches his targets near rail stations as the Sabbath nears, proffers panicked…
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Opinion When It Comes to ‘Ultra’ History Speaks for Itself
Getty Images In a recent essay in the Forward, I made the case for jettisoning the time-honored (if, to me, less than honorable) term “ultra-Orthodox.” I argued that, like “ultra-conservative” or “ultra-liberal” in domestic politics, the prefix implies extremism, something that isn’t accurate about most Haredim. What best to replace it with is less obvious,…
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Opinion Hobby Lobby Discriminates in the Name of Religion With Help from Orthodox Outliers
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear the most important abortion case in decades. Like the recent anti-gay law vetoed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, it turns on the meaning of the term “religious liberty.” The case — actually a consolidation of two similar cases, Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius and Conestoga Wood v. Sebelius —…
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Breaking News Orthodox Groups Silent on Arizona Anti-Gay Law
(JTA) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer yesterday vetoed a bill that would have permitted businesses to refuse service to gays if doing so would violate their religious convictions. The Anti-Defamation League commended her for the veto, and the Jewish Community Relations Council in southern Arizona advocated against the bill. Absent from the debate over the…
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The Schmooze Would I Ask the Same Question of a Man? You Bet!
Thank you, commentators, talkbackers, bloggers, and writers, for so passionately sharing your thoughts with me following the publication in the Forward of my interview with Racheli Ibenboim. Honestly, I was not prepared for such a reaction. A couple of you were on my side (thank you!), but many hundreds of you were against me. And…
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Breaking News Orthodox Parties in Israel Issue Ban on Yeshiva Students Enlisting in IDF
The rabbinic councils of three Orthodox parties in Israel have issued a statement prohibiting their yeshiva students from enlisting in the Israeli military. The senior rabbis of the Lithuanian haredi Orthodox Degel Hatorah and Hasidic Agudat Yisrael, and the Sephardic Orthodox Shas parties issued the statement following a joint meeting on Monday night. It was…
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