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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The Schmooze 5 Times Zac Braff’s Movie Got Judaism Just So, So Wrong
In spite of his name, Aidan Bloom, Zach Braff’s Jewish character in “Wish I Was Here”, hardly seems Jewish. Braff’s 2014 comedy film is a recent addition to Netflix’s streaming service, and it centers on Aidan as an out-of-work actor struggling to pay his children’s Yeshivah tuition. As Aidan goes from one doomed audition to…
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The Schmooze No, Kathy Griffin Did NOT Call Orthodoxy A Cult
Don’t feed the trolls…even if they claim to like Jews. In a textbook example of how fake news authors prey on readers’ fears, Pizzagate conspiracy-supporter Jack Posobiec birthed the untruth that comic Kathy Griffin targeted an Orthodox Jew with “anti-Semitic hate speech” by calling him a “cult member.” In a Twitter interaction on Thursday, Griffin…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Leaders Crack Down On ‘Slutty’ Long Wigs
Orthodox leaders are increasingly policing the length of women’s wigs, the New York Post reported Sunday, citing numerous women who say they have encountered criticism and even discrimination because of their artificial locks. “People always say the longer it is, the sluttier it is,” Esther Adina Sash, 30, told the Post. Orthodox women traditionally wear…
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Life Does Harsh Punishment At Orthodox Schools Push Our Kids Away From The Faith?
The spring I turned fourteen, my mother bought me a peach-colored T-shirt. I don’t know why I loved it so much. Perhaps because things had been so gray around me, so muddled in the confusion of teenage-hood, that the color of this shirt brought hope and warmth to my spirit. About two weeks after my…
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Community The Real Life Rabbi Who Almost Played One On The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — Until They Asked Him To Shave His Beard
Amazon’s Golden Globe-winning — and now Emmy-nominated — comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is coming back for a second season, and I couldn’t be happier. As a rabbi and pop culture vulture, you can imagine my delight when I was tapped to play “the rabbi” on the show. But alas, in a real life plot…
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Fast Forward Investigators Find Butcher Shop Where Yeshiva Should Be — Then Move On
New York City officials investigating allegations that yeshivas don’t provide enough secular education found a butcher shop on the ground floor of an address listed for a school that received nearly $10 million in federal funding — so they moved on, the New York Post reported. Officials crossed the United Talmudical Academy in Brooklyn off…
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Fast Forward NYC School Chancellor Says 15 Yeshivas Didn’t Give Investigators Access
Fifteen ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools haven’t let New York City officials investigate allegations that they don’t provide enough secular education, according to a letter Wednesday from the city schools chief. Chancellor Richard Carranza sent a 14-page letter to New York’s state education commissioner expressing “serious concern” about this lack of access, the Wall Street Journal reported…
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Opinion Wake Up, Jews And Catholics: Sex Abuse Turns People Off Religion
On Tuesday this week, the Catholic Church was once again thrust into the limelight when a grand jury released a scathing report. The report documented horrific torture and sexual abuse of over 1,000 children at the hands of 300 priests in six of eight Pennsylvania dioceses. It also detailed the extreme extent the Church went…
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Culture Why saying ‘L’shana Tova’ on Rosh Hashanah may not be the correct phrase
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Culture A Jewish prophet of the 1980s would be horrified to see that we didn’t heed his warnings
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Opinion This is the most disorienting Rosh Hashanah in memory
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Fast Forward Meet Lev Kreitman, who brought down Tel Aviv shooter and survived Nova music festival on Oct. 7
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