Orthodox Union
Encyclopedia
- Not to be confused with Union of Orthodox RabbisUnion of Orthodox RabbisThe Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada also known as the Agudath Harabonim , and sometimes as the UOR, was established in 1901 in the United States and is among the oldest organizations of Orthodox rabbis which could be described as having a Haredi worldview...
, a distinct HarediHaredi JudaismHaredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
rabbinical group.
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA), more popularly known as the Orthodox Union (OU), is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
organizations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is best known for its kosher
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
food preparation supervision service. Its circled-U symbol, a hechsher
Hechsher
A hechsher is the special certification marking found on the packages of products that have been certified as kosher . In Halakha , the dietary laws of kashrut specify food items that may be eaten and others that are prohibited as set out in the commandments of the Torah...
, is found on the labels of many commercial and consumer food products.
The OU supports a network of synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s, youth programs
National Conference of Synagogue Youth
NCSY is an Orthodox Jewish youth group sponsored by the Orthodox Union. Founded in 1954, it has members in the United States, Canada, Israel, Chile, and formerly also in Ukraine. Its slogan is Inspiring the Jewish Future...
, Jewish and Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
advocacy, programs for the disabled, localized religious study programs, and some international units with locations in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and formerly in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
It is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Its synagogues and their rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s typically identify themselves with Modern Orthodox Judaism.
History
The OU was founded in 1898, and serves about 1,000 synagogues and congregations of varying sizes. The need for a national Jewish Orthodox rabbinical organization in the early twentieth century was recognized by a number of groups. The Union of Orthodox Rabbis was the most powerful rabbinical body at that time and many of its members saw great value in establishing the early Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.Originally, the OU was formed by the same rabbis who created JTS, the Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
. JTS started as an Orthodox institution to combat the hegemony of the Reform movement. Cracks between the OU and JTS first formed in 1902, shortly after Solomon Schechter
Solomon Schechter
Solomon Schechter was a Moldavian-born Romanian and English rabbi, academic scholar, and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and architect of the American Conservative Jewish...
arrived from Great Britain to head JTS. Schechter "liberalized" the institution and its approach to Torah study
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
. JTS's original founders, backers, and staff disavowed the changes, seeing it as headed toward the very philosophy JTS had been intended to hedge against. Exactly 100 days after Schechter's arrival, they formed a new Orthodox group, Agudath Harabonim
Union of Orthodox Rabbis
The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada also known as the Agudath Harabonim , and sometimes as the UOR, was established in 1901 in the United States and is among the oldest organizations of Orthodox rabbis which could be described as having a Haredi worldview...
, which refused to recognize the rabbinical credentials (Semicha
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
) of those ordained at JTS. Without their support, Schechter broke away from Orthodoxy to create the Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
movement, with JTS as its predominant agency. However,the OU still had some ties to JTS until the 1950s. Conservative Judaism, while not holding as strictly to traditional Jewish law as Orthodoxy, still maintained a halachic
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
orientation somewhat compatible in appearance with the Orthodox. The break between Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism became complete with the "Sabbath decision of 1949". This unprecedented decision by the Conservative court, allowing Jews to drive to synagogue (shul) on the sabbath if they lived too far to walk, made untenable any claim that both camps were on the same path of halacha. Even after the formal organizational division, many Jews in the 1950s and beyond continued to identify themselves as Orthodox even while driving on the Sabbath, and many Jews were members of synagogues of both Conservative and Orthodox persuasions, sometimes out of family loyalty, convenience, nostalgia, or politics.
Some Orthodox rabbis viewed the nascent OU as insufficiently Orthodox, and thus did not participate in it, instead setting up their own more stringent rabbinical organizations. However, the idea for a national Orthodox congregational body took hold, and soon developed into the OU that exists today. The OU grew slowly until the 1950s, when it then began increasing the number of affiliated congregations including both small and large memberships.
In the 1920s the OU started its Kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
division. In 1923, the H. J. Heinz Company
H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
′s Vegetarian Beans became the first product to be kosher certified by the OU.
Starting in the mid- to late-20th century, most synagogues affiliated with the Orthodox Union were under the leadership of rabbis trained by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik
Joseph Soloveitchik
Joseph Ber Soloveitchik was an American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a descendant of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic dynasty....
and alumni from Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , or Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University, located in Washington Heights, New York. It is named after Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, who died the year it was founded, 1896...
. These rabbis were ideologically Modern Orthodox
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
. By the 1990s and early 21st century, the OU's general philosophy and levels of observance may be seen to have shifted towards stricter interpretations and halachic practices. This change has not necessarily affected individual member congregations, but has impacted many Orthodox Jewish communities across America. The general trend toward stricter practices among Orthodox Union congregations reflects the Orthodox world's trending toward Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
.
In 2009, Rabbi Steven Weil
Steven Weil
- Biography :Steven Weil grew up on a cattle farm in upstate New York. He attended Ohr Torah High School and Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh in Israel and Yeshiva University in New York...
of Beverly Hills, succeeded Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb as the OU's Executive Vice President.
Kosher certification
The Orthodox Union′s Kosher Division headed by CEO Menachem GenackMenachem Genack
Menachem Genack is an Orthodox rabbi and the CEO of the Orthodox Union Kosher Division, a supervisory organization of kosher food. He is known as one of the foremost talmidim of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik under whom he studied for over a decade. He was also very close to Rabbi Moshe Shmuel...
, is the world′s largest kosher certification agency. As of 2010, it supervises more than 400,000 products in 8,000 plants in 80 different countries. It employs approximately 1,000 supervisors, mashgichim
Mashgiach
In Judaism, a Mashgiach is a person who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment.A mashgiah may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses, food manufacturers, hotels, caterers, nursing homes, restaurants, butchers, groceries, or cooperatives...
in Hebrew, and about 50 rabbinic coordinators. The supervision process involves sending a mashgiach to the production facility to ensure that the product complies with halacha (Jewish law). The mashgiach supervises both the ingredients and the production process.
In 2005, the Orthodox Union faced controversy because of an undercover video that purportedly documented animals at Agriprocessors
Agriprocessors
Agriprocessors was the corporate identity of a slaughterhouse and meat-packaging factory based in Postville, Iowa, best known as a facility for the glatt kosher processing of cattle, as well as chicken, turkey, duck, and lamb. Agriprocessors' meat and poultry products were marketed under the brand...
in Postville, Iowa
Postville, Iowa
Postville is a city in Allamakee and Clayton Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It lies near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of U.S. Routes 18 and 52 and Iowa Highway 51, with airport facilities in the neighboring communities of Waukon, Decorah, Monona, and Prairie du Chien....
, the world′s largest kosher slaughterhouse, being slaughtered in an extremely cruel manner. The investigation was the subject of multiple stories in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Washington Post, and all of the Jewish media. In 2006, the OU’s defense of what the President of the Conservative Movement and the USDA
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
called “egregious violations” of Federal law, were the subject of a video narrated by novelist Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer is an American author best known for his novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...
and Rabbis Irving Greenberg
Irving Greenberg
Irving Greenberg, also known as Yitz Greenberg, is a Modern Orthodox rabbi, Jewish-American scholar and author. He is known as a strong supporter of Israel and a promoter of greater understanding between Judaism and Christianity....
and David Wolpe
David Wolpe
David J. Wolpe is an author, public speaker and rabbi of Sinai Temple . Named the "#1 Pulpit Rabbi in America" by Newsweek magazine , he is considered a leader of the Conservative Jewish movement. Wolpe was named one of The Forward's Forward 50, and one of the hundred most influential people in...
.
Synagogue affiliation
The OU requires that all member synagogues follow Orthodox Jewish interpretations of Jewish law and tradition. Men and women are seated separately, and nearly always are separated by a mechitzaMechitza
A mechitza in Jewish Halakha is a partition, particularly one that is used to separate men and women....
, a physical divider between the men's and women's section of the synagogue. OU synagogues follow Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
, meaning that they support the existence of the State of Israel. The laws of Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
(the Sabbath) and Kashrut (dietary laws) are stressed. Members of OU synagogues have a diverse political background, and are not necessarily members of any one political party. Orthodox Jews are somewhat more politically conservative than less- or non-observant Jews. They daven (recite prayers) exclusively in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, using the same traditional text of the siddur
Siddur
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
(prayer book) that has been used in Ashkenazi Jewish communities for the last few centuries. Until recently the most common prayer book used in OU synagogues has been Ha-Siddur Ha-Shalem edited by Philip Birnbaum
Philip Birnbaum
Philip Birnbaum was an author and translator, best known for his translation and annotation of the siddur , first published in 1949.-Biography:...
. In recent years the most common siddur has been the Rabbinical Council of America
Rabbinical Council of America
The Rabbinical Council of America is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU...
edition of the Artscroll
ArtScroll
ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York...
siddur, a prayer book that is identical to the regular Artscroll siddur, but for the addition of a new preface, and the inclusion of prayers for the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces. Until recently the most common Hebrew-English Humash
Humash
The Hebrew term Chumash is one of the Hebrew names for the Five Books of Moses, also known by the Latinised Greek term Pentateuch or as one of the uses of the Hebrew term Torah, "Law." The word comes from the Hebrew word for five, ḥamesh...
(holy book) used has been the Pentateuch and Haftarahs, edited by Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz
Joseph H. Hertz
----Rabbi Joseph Herman Hertz, CH was a Jewish Hungarian-born Rabbi and Bible scholar. He is most notable for holding the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and The Holocaust.- Early life :Hertz was born in the...
; in recent years this has been supplanted by The Chumash: The Stone Edition, also known as the Artscroll
ArtScroll
ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York...
Chumash.
National Conference of Synagogue Youth
The official youth program of the OU is the National Conference of Synagogue YouthNational Conference of Synagogue Youth
NCSY is an Orthodox Jewish youth group sponsored by the Orthodox Union. Founded in 1954, it has members in the United States, Canada, Israel, Chile, and formerly also in Ukraine. Its slogan is Inspiring the Jewish Future...
(NCSY). It sponsors the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists
Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists
The Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists is an organization of scientists that focuses on the interrelationships between science and Orthodox Jewish Halakha....
. NCSY was founded by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper
Pinchas Stolper
Pinchas A. Stolper is an Orthodox rabbi, writer, and has been a spokesman for Orthodoxy through his writings and books popularizing Orthodox Judaism.-Biography:...
in the 1950s and currently is run by Rabbi Steven Burg. NCSY was originally created to reach out to young non-orthodox Jews, and has now expanded its reach to include many already religious mostly Modern Orthodox
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
children from Jewish day school
Jewish day school
A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide Jewish children with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full time basis, hence its name of "day school" meaning a school that the students attend for an entire day and not on a part time...
s. Many marriages have resulted from the social interaction. NCSY boasts that 95% of their members marry Jews.
Alliance with the Rabbinical Council of America
For many years the OU, along with its related rabbinic arm, the Rabbinical Council of AmericaRabbinical Council of America
The Rabbinical Council of America is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU...
, worked with the larger Jewish community in the Synagogue Council of America
Synagogue Council of America
The Synagogue Council of America was an organization of American Jewish synagogue associations, founded in 1926, including :*The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America *The Rabbinical Council of America...
. In this group Orthodox, Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
and Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
groups worked together on many issues of joint concern. The group became defunct in 1994, mainly over the objections of the Orthodox groups to Reform Judaism's official acceptance of patrilineal descent as an option for defining Jewishness. (See Who is a Jew.)