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
-
Breaking News Beit Shemesh Vote Voided as Showdown Looms
A Jerusalem court voided the results of municipal elections in Beit Shemesh over fraud accusations, paving the way for a rematch between a secular challenger and the haredi Orthodox incumbent. The Jerusalem District Court’s decision on Thursday came after the results of the Oct. 22 election were challenged by Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and…
-
Breaking News Boston Funeral Home Trades Orthodox Burial Society for Nondenominational Group
A new nondenominational Jewish burial society has replaced an Orthodox one at a Boston-area Jewish funeral home. Community Hevra Kadisha of Greater Boston, which launched this fall and is part of a growing movement of Jewish burial societies that include non-Orthodox volunteers, began performing tahara – the ritual preparation of bodies for burial – at…
-
News British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Brings Message of Openness to Limmud
In the decades since a bunch of British Jews created Limmud, its model of volunteer experts offering a pluralistic smorgasbord of Jewish teachings, arts offerings and performances has turned into a worldwide movement. But through all these years, the chief rabbi of the United Kingdom has never attended Limmud in the country where it all…
-
Breaking News Ex-Wife of Congressman Aid Receives Religious Divorce After High Profile Battle
The ex-wife of an aide to a U.S. congressman has received a religious writ of divorce after fighting a high-profile battle for years, an organization for agunot said. The announcement of the religious divorce, or get, for Tamar Epstein came from the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, or ORA, on Thursday. Epstein, who lives…
-
Breaking News British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis Slams Orthodox Shuls for Letting Women Lead Services
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called on Orthodox synagogues to ban partnership minyan services, where women can lead services and read from the Torah. Mirvis said in a message sent to rabbinic leaders Wednesday that the services were “not something that can take place within our synagogues,” the Jewish Chronicle reported. “I know that you…
-
Opinion Why I Am Making ‘Aliyah’ to Reform Jewry
(JTA) — I grew up Jewish. Simply Jewish. My late father, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, raised us in an observant Orthodox household. Our lives were filled with beautiful ritual and we celebrated the wonder of a familial spiritual connection. That said, we also danced along the fine line of progressive Judaism. My father’s Torah was an…
-
News Israeli Sex Educator Teaches Secular and Orthodox To Enjoy Intimacy
(Haaretz) — As a certified sex educator who runs a side business out of her home selling dilators and vibrators to the ultra-Orthodox and secular alike, Beverley Damelin was certain she had seen and heard it all. That includes the case of an elderly ultra-Orthodox woman who recently summoned Damelin to Bnei Brak so she…
-
News Sex-Therapist Advocates Masturbation For Orthodox Women Despite Taboo
(JTA) — When Max Grunberg wants to know more about the sex lives of the couples he treats, he asks the women to describe what happens after they return from the mikvah. Grunberg, a Dutch-born couples therapist specializing in the Orthodox Jewish community, needs to ease clients into talking about sex, an activity many religious…
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion I’m a Jew of color. Ta-Nehisi Coates can’t apply U.S. lessons to Israel
- 2
Culture How my odious cousin Roy Cohn was responsible for creating Donald Trump — and me
- 3
Fast Forward Was the viral Ta-Nehisi Coates interview a hit piece or fair play? A journalism ethics expert weighs in.
- 4
Sports 5 Jewish things about the Mets — and why Jewish fans adore them
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Columbus may have had Jewish heritage — that doesn’t mean he was Jewish
-
Fast Forward Christopher Columbus was genetically Jewish, Spanish researchers say
-
Fast Forward Israeli Deni Avdija sits out Yom Kippur NBA game; Jewish BYU quarterback suits up
-
Fast Forward US to send troops to Israel as Hezbollah ramps up its attack
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism