Open Orthodoxy
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Open Orthodoxy
Open Orthodoxy is a Jewish religious movement with increased emphasis on intellectual openness and a more expansive role for Judaism and women, women. The term was coined in 1997 by Avi Weiss, who views ''halakha'' (Jewish law) as permitting more flexibility than the traditional practices of Orthodox Judaism. Weiss opened Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (a rabbinical school for men) in 1999 and later also Yeshivat Maharat for training women clergy. In 2007, Weiss co-founded the International Rabbinic Fellowship for Open Orthodox rabbis, and in 2015 he and Asher Lopatin, YCT's president, resigned from the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). The movement's Semikhah, ordination of women is a source of friction. Overview Weiss's desire for a Judaism that is more inclusive and open-minded than the prevailing norms led him to found new learning institutions to train clergy who would be able to employ this new vision: Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT) to ...
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Jewish Religious Movement
Jewish religious movements, sometimes called " denominations", include different groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the most prominent divisions are between traditionalist Orthodox movements (including Haredi and Religious Zionist () sects); modernist movements such as Conservative, Masorti and Reform Judaism; and secular or Jews. The movements differ in their views on various issues. These issues include the level of observance, the methodology for interpreting and understanding Jewish law, biblical authorship, textual criticism, and the nature or role of the messiah (or messianic age). Across these movements, there are marked differences in liturgy, especially in the language in which services are conducted, with the more traditional movements emphasizing Hebrew. The sharpest theological division occurs between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews who adhere to other denominations, such that the non-Orthodox movements are sometimes ref ...
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Posek
In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are inconclusive, or in those situations where no clear ''halakhic'' precedent exists. The decision of a posek is known as a ''psak halakha'' ("ruling of law"; pl. ''piskei halakha'') or simply a "psak". ''Piskei halakha'' are generally recorded in the responsa literature. Orthodox Judaism Poskim play an integral role in Orthodox Judaism. * Generally, each community will regard one of its ''poskim'' as its ''Posek HaDor'' ("Posek of the present Generation"). * Most rely on the rav in their community (in Hasidic communities, sometimes the rebbe) or the leading posek. Poskim will generally not overrule a specific law unless based on an earlier authority: a posek will generally extend a law to new situations but will not ''change'' the H ...
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Sara Hurwitz
Sara Hurwitz is an Open Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader. She is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi. She serves as "Rabba" at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and the president and co-founder of Yeshivat Maharat, both in Riverdale, New York. Biography Hurwitz was born in South Africa, and moved to Boca Raton, Florida with her family in 1989. She earned a B.A. from Barnard College and a certificate from the Drisha Institute for Women. In June 2009, Sara Hurwitz was ordained by Rabbi Avi Weiss with the title "Maharat". In February 2010, Weiss announced that he was changing the title to "Rabba", a move criticised by both Agudath Yisrael and the Rabbinical Council of America. Within several years of Hurwitz's ordination, subsequent Orthodox women also received ordination as well as positions within Orthodox synagogues. This development indicated that Hurwitz was no longer an exception within Orthodox Judaism. On Dec. 6th, 2010, at Temple Reyim in Newton, ...
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Maharat
Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which was the first Open Orthodox yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word ''Maharat'' () is a Hebrew acronym for phrase ''manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit'' (), denoting a female "leader of Jewish law spirituality and Torah". Semikha and the title of Maharat are awarded to graduates after a 3- or 4-year-long program composed of intensive studies of Jewish law, Talmud, Torah, Jewish thought, leadership training, and pastoral counseling. The ordination functions as a credentialed pathway for women in the Jewish community to serve as clergy members. History In 2009, Rabbi Avi Weiss and Rabbi Daniel Sperber ordained Rabba Sara Hurwitz. She was the first woman to receive Open Orthodox semikha. That same year, Hurwitz and Weiss founded Yeshivat Maharat as an Open Orthodox yeshiva (religious school) for women in New York, with Hurwitz as President. Four years later, the first three gradates recei ...
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The Jewish Week
''The Jewish Week'' is a weekly independent community newspaper targeted towards the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. ''The Jewish Week'' covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC. In March 2016, ''The Jewish Week'' announced its partnership with the online newspaper ''The Times of Israel''. Later in 2016, ''The Jewish Week'' acquired the ''New Jersey Jewish News''. In July 2020, ''The Jewish Week'' suspended publication of its weekly print publication, and in January 2021 announced its acquisition by 70 Faces Media, the publisher of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and other Jewish brands, under whose umbrella it continues as an all-digital brand. Editorial staff Gary Rosenblatt was the editor and publisher from 1993 to 2019. Andrew Silow-Carroll took over in September 2019. Rosenblatt served as editor at large and continued to write for the paper and be involved in several of its educational projects. Phillip Ritzenberg was publisher and edito ...
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Orthodox Union
The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for the disabled, localized religious study programs, and international units with locations in Israel and formerly in Ukraine. The OU maintains a kosher certification service, whose circled-U hechsher symbol, , is found on the labels of many kosher commercial and consumer food products. Its synagogues and their rabbis typically identify themselves with Modern Orthodox Judaism. History Foundation The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America was founded as a lay synagogue federation in 1898 by Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes. Its founding members were predominately modern, Western-educated Orthodox rabbis and lay leaders, of whom several were affiliated with the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), which originated as an Orthodox institu ...
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Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism (also Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the secular, modern world. Modern Orthodoxy draws on several teachings and philosophies, and thus assumes various forms. In the United States, and generally in the Western world, ''Centrist Orthodoxy'' underpinned by the philosophy of ''Torah Umadda'' ("Torah and secular knowledge") is prevalent. In Israel, Modern Orthodoxy is dominated by Religious Zionism; however, although not identical, these movements share many of the same values and many of the same adherents.Charles S. Liebman''Modern orthodoxy in Israel''Judaism, Fall, 1998 Modern Orthodoxy Modern Orthodoxy comprises a fairly broad spectrum of movements; each movement draws upon several distinct, though related, philosophies, which (in some combination) provide the basis for all variations of the movement today. Characteristics In gene ...
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Yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily ''shiurim'' (lectures or classes) as well as in study pairs called '' chavrusas'' (Aramaic for 'friendship' or 'companionship'). ''Chavrusa''-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva. In the United States and Israel, different levels of yeshiva education have different names. In the United States, elementary-school students enroll in a ''cheder'', post- bar mitzvah-age students learn in a ''metivta'', and undergraduate-level students learn in a ''beit midrash'' or ''yeshiva gedola'' ( he, ישיבה גדולה, , large yeshiva' or 'great yeshiva). In Israel, elementary-school students enroll in a ''Talmud Torah'' or ''cheder'', post-bar mitzvah-age students l ...
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The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York City borough of Queens, across the East River. The Bronx has a land area of and a population of 1,472,654 in the 2020 census. If each borough were ranked as a city, the Bronx would rank as the ninth-most-populous in the U.S. Of the five boroughs, it has the fourth-largest area, fourth-highest population, and third-highest population density.New York State Department of Health''Population, Land Area, and Population Density by County, New York State – 2010'' retrieved on August 8, 2015. It is the only borough of New York City not primarily on an island. With a population that is 54.8% Hispanic as of 2020, it is the only majority-Hispanic county in the Northeastern United States and the fourth-most-populous nationwide. The Bronx ...
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Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Riverdale, which had a population of 47,850 as of the 2000 United States Census, contains the city's northernmost point, at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. Riverdale's boundaries are disputed, but it is commonly agreed to be bordered by Yonkers to the north, Van Cortlandt Park and Broadway to the east, the Kingsbridge neighborhood to the southeast, either the Harlem River or the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Riverdale Avenue is the primary north–south thoroughfare through Riverdale. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community District 8, and its ZIP Codes include 10463 and 10471. The area is patrolled by the 50th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. History Legend states that in 1664, Anthony Van Corlaer (later determined to be a fictional character) died while attempting to swim across the Harlem River fr ...
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The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ...
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Jewish Services
Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the ''Siddur'', the traditional Jewish prayer book. Prayer, as a "service of the heart", is in principle a Torah-based commandment. It is not time-dependent and is mandatory for both Jewish men and women. However, the rabbinic requirement to recite a specific prayer text does differentiate between men and women: Jewish men are obligated to recite three prayers each day within specific time ranges (''zmanim''), while, according to many approaches, women are only required to pray once or twice a day, and may not be required to recite a specific text. Traditionally, three prayer services are recited daily: * Morning prayer: ''Shacharit'' or ''Shaharit'' (, "of the dawn") * Afternoon prayer: ''Mincha' ...
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