NY Times Explores the World of Hasidic Women & Other Orthodox Jews in the News

New York’s Hot New Trend? Prairie Dresses Inspired by Orthodox Judaism
There was one event during New York Fashion Week that felt not just more old-fashioned, but positively pre-Raphaelite. Held in a diner in Tribeca, it showcased new pieces by Batsheva Hay, the New York fashion designer whose ankle-length, Orthodox Judaism-inspired prairie dresses have made her the unlikely hottest new name in US fashion. Her frum fashion house quickly took off, counting Jessica Chastain, Natalie Portman, Amandla Stenberg and Erykah Badu among its famous fans.

Who Was Ari Fuld? American Pro-Israel Activist Fatally Stabbed in West Bank Mall
A 45-year-old American who became well-known on social media for his defense of Israel was stabbed to death by a Palestinian near a mall in the West Bank on Sunday, according to reports. Ari Fuld was born in Queens, New York, but relocated to the Israeli settlement Efrat, a settlement outside Jerusalem that is home to many religious nationalists from the U.S. He became a social media sensation for his Israeli nationalism and strong support of the Israeli Defense Forces.

Faith-Based Nonprofit Triples Altruistic Kidney Donations
The number of live kidney transplants performed per year in Israel has nearly tripled since 2010. A new research paper co-authored by Prof. Meni Koslowsky, a psychology professor at Ariel and Bar-Ilan universities, claims that the majority of that growth is coming from the Orthodox Jewish population.

Hasidic Singer Performs at Red Sox-Mets Game
Shulem Lemmer, a hasidic singer from Brooklyn, took to the field at Fenway Park in Boston on Sunday night. He wasn’t throwing out a pitch at the game. Lemmer was there to perform “God Bless America” to the thousands of baseball fans seated in the bleachers. And the crowd cheered and applauded Lemmer’s rendition of the song, which he sang during the game’s seventh-inning stretch.

Want to Make Your Wedding More Meaningful? We Hosted a Reception at a Soup Kitchen
I’m an Orthodox Jew, and our weddings are big — especially since we throw seven wedding parties, the biggest affair the first night and then one a night for six more nights. Usually, family and friends host the last six — each one called a sheva brachot — by renting out a restaurant or hosting a mini-banquet in their homes. But my family wanted to send off my brother in a more meaningful way. My father suggested that we host a sheva brachot at a Masbia kosher soup kitchen.

A Glimpse Inside the Hidden World of Hasidic Women
As Ms. Pulwer and her camera moved deeper into the world of Orthodox women, she found a richness in the all-female spheres they inhabited. In Crown Heights, where about 20,000 Chabad-Lubavitch live, there was Dalia G. Shusterman, 45, the drummer in an all-women band (who may perform only for female audiences); Devorah Benjamin, a wedding planner who pays for poor couples’ weddings; and Neomi Schlifer, 34, a secular woman who chose Orthodoxy and runs women’s support groups for the community.

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