''Mishpacha'' ( he, משפחה, : Family) - Jewish Family Weekly is a

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

weekly magazine package produced by The Mishpacha Group in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

History

The Mishpacha Publishing Group was founded in 1984 with the publication of the Hebrew Mishpacha magazine. Publisher and CEO Eli Paley teamed with Rabbi Moshe Grylak towards the goal of producing a magazine that would serve as a conduit for the exchange of ideas and values between the varying streams within

Jewish orthodoxy Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

, among them the Hasidic,

Yeshivish Yeshivish (), also known as Yeshiva English, Yeshivisheh Shprach, or Yeshivisheh Reid, is a sociolect of English spoken by Yeshiva students and other Jews with a strong connection to the Orthodox Yeshiva world. "Yeshivish" may also refer to ...

, Sephardic, and

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

communities. With no other weekly or monthly magazines geared towards Orthodox Jewish readership at that time, Mishpacha quickly gained popularity, in effect launching the Jewish Orthodox magazine industry. The first editor for the Hebrew edition was Asher Zuckerman (now the editor of the Hebrew newspaper ''Sha'ah Tova''). First beginning as a monthly, it became a weekly in the beginning of 1991. After a while the newspaper split into two competing weekly papers. One is left with the original name ''"Mishpacha"'' and the other is called ''"Hashavua"'' (This Week). In November 2010 by the husband & wife team of Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter (previously Torah Editor for ''Mishpacha'') and Rechy Frankfurter (previously ''Mishpachas American Desk Editor), founded the

Ami Magazine ''Ami Magazine'' ( he, עמי, "My people") is an international news magazine that caters to the Orthodox Jewish community. It is published weekly in New York and Israel. The magazine was launched in November 2010 by Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter ( ...

. According to a TGI (Target Group Index, a subsidiary of market research company

Kantar Group Kantar Group is a data analytics and brand consulting company, based in London, England. It was founded in 1992, and has approximately 30,000 employees in 100 countries working in various research disciplines, including social media monitoring, ...

) survey of September 2016, the Hebrew "Mishpacha" exposure rate is 24.1%. In light of this, it is the most popular Haredi weekly and weekend in Israel. A magazine ''"Te'imot"'' (tasting), which is also published by Mishpacha, is rated 6.7% according to this survey. In the years 2011–2013, Hebrew "Mishpacha" released a Free newspaper which was distributed in the middle of the week, but its publication was halted due to pressure from the Gedolei Hador, specifically Rav Elyashiv Zatzal, who protested against their anti-Torah viewpoint.

English edition

The English Mishpacha launched in 2004 with a weekly package including the flagship Mishpacha Magazine and Mishpacha Junior. Mishpacha was the first full-color weekly magazine targeting the Anglo-Orthodox population worldwide, with the standalone children's magazine also serving as an innovation. Family First, introduced to the package in 2005, was also the first of its kind, a full-color weekly magazine by and for Jewish women. Mishpacha frequently addresses social problems. For example, it has addressed issues such as the ''shababniks'' (

street youth) and violence in the family; and has waged a battle against educational institutions’ discrimination against

Mizrahim Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...

and the newly religious. But it brings up these issues without mentioning names, so no one will be hurt. Mishpacha's publications tend to not print photos of women. There have been exceptions to this. For example, when

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

was running for president against

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, the magazine chose to print her face, although obscured by a blue field. Some attribute the significant increase in Haredim joining

Israel's army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

to Mishpacha as well as

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

awareness and mental health services access over the past decade amongst Orthodox Jewish populations to the public dialogue stimulated by Mishpacha magazines and other Jewish publications such as Ami. Mishpacha has been banned by many rabbinical leaders including Rabbi

Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ( he, יוסף שלום אלישיב; 10 April 1910 – 18 July 2012) was a Haredi Rabbi and ''posek'' (arbiter of Jewish law) who lived in Jerusalem. Until his death at the age of 102, Rav Elyashiv was the paramount lead ...

. However, Mishpacha has turned to the rabbinical court of the Haredi community (

Badatz A badatz ( he, בד״ץ plural ) is a major Jewish beth din (rabbinical court). The term is a modern one, and is an acronym for ("court of Justice"). In Israel, the term ''Badatz'' is often used to refer to the Badatz of the Edah HaChareidis; ho ...

) which forbade harassment of the magazine. Haaretz, the newspaper of Israel's secular left, describes the Hebrew version of ''Mishpacha'' as one of the "most powerful" newspapers in the

community.

Contributors

Some of the popular contributors to the English version of Mishpacha are noted authors Yisroel Besser and Yonasan (Jonathan) Rosenblum, political editor Binyomin Rose and Jewish historian Yehuda Geberer, and educator

Yakov Horowitz Rabbi Yakov Horowitz is an Orthodox rabbi, author, educator and advocate from Monsey, New York. Early life Horowitz was born to Shloime and Beile Horowitz. His father died when he was three years old. He was raised in a Haredi family in Belle Ha ...

References

External links

* * {{Organized Jewish Life in the United States 1984 establishments in Israel Haredi Judaism in Jerusalem Jewish magazines Magazines established in 1984 Mass media in Jerusalem News magazines published in Israel Weekly magazines