Scribe, the Forward’s curated contributor network, is a place for showcasing personal experiences and perspective from across our Jewish communities. Here you will find a wide array of reflections on Jewish issues, life-cycle events, spirituality, culture and more.
Community
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You say matzah — and matzo and matzuh and matzee and more
Readers respond to our editor-in-chief’s column about a Passover copy-editing conundrum
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A modest proposal: Democrats and Republicans should start marrying each other
We live in polarized times. Democrats and Republicans can barely even be in a room together, much less interacting civilly. So maybe it’s good that we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving alone this year? Hardly. Fortunately, Jewish tradition gives us a blueprint for how to navigate polarization: Enter Hillel and Shammai (~10CE). Shammai embraces law-and-order, believing that…
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Worried about celebrating holidays remotely? Tips from a Jewish expert
Congregation Neveh Shalom’s Rosh HaShanah service had just wrapped up. But the congregants, assembled in squares on the Zoom gathering, remained online, even after the conclusion of the three-hour long service ringing in the Jewish New Year of 5781. Rarely do I make it to the end of the lengthy service in synagogue. But this…
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Every map is political — but sometimes the agenda is overt
As someone who regularly wears a kippah you might think my encounters with anti-Semitism would be all about a racial epithet I unfortunately was confronted with on the street. But subtle racism can be even more detrimental than an overt attack, and this experience of racism beneath the surface cuts even deeper than a stranger…
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What does Judaism have to say about the Thai protests?
The affinity of many non-practicing and even some practicing Jews for the wisdom found in Buddhism is well-known. Prime Minister Ben Gurion was a famous student of Buddhist meditation. Many Israelis find Buddhist practices offer a respite of peace and tranquility in their turbulent climate. Pre-COVID, Thailand has for years been a very popular tourist…
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Can reducing loneliness extend life?
When the COVID-19 lockdown was at its most severe in Israel at the end of April, I was scrolling through headlines and came across a deeply troubling article detailing the discovery of a dead body in a small apartment in Beer Sheba. The body was that of Dr. Magda Graif, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor, who…
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Jonathan Sacks was a beloved leader. Yet his stance on marriage captivity belied his ethics
The Jewish world is still absorbing the news of the passing of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z”l, former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, and for many, an inspiring religious leader. Sacks came to represent modern Orthodoxy, which he never wished to do, preferring instead to speak for a humanistic, yet halakhic, Judaism as a whole. Yet,…
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Germany is revising the Holocaust in order to keep stolen art.
Last week, I joined my Jewish constituents in marking the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht. The Night of Broken Glass falls the same week as Veterans Day, and each year, fewer Holocaust Survivors and fewer of the American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who liberated Europe are able to join us for commemorations. As this generation…
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A conversation with my Trump-supporting son
I would describe myself as a Conservative Jew. Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, I went to synagogue about twice a week, and I studied Torah at least that frequently. I have developed a regular prayer ritual, in which I recite certain prayers each night before bed and other prayers when I wake each morning. I…
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In Jewish tradition, sodomy doesn’t mean what you think
I constantly stress to my students in Hillel that the dominant Western or Christian-centric exegesis of biblical stories is often very much the opposite of Jewish interpretation. This is true with the creation story and the subsequent eating from the tree, which Jewish thinkers read as a story of human empowerment as we gained the…
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In 2020, we’ve been unable to breathe. But after the election, we finally took a breath.
Last Shabbat, when the news spread that Joe Biden had won, I breathed a sigh of relief. Along with my family and millions in the U.S. and the world over I felt that a massive burden had been lifted from our shoulders and that we could, therefore, breathe freely again. Then it struck me that…
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During the pandemic, the Lucerne Hotel was a true home
Our support group begins: One person shares how difficult it has been during the pandemic, not being able to see his grandchildren for months. The next person talks about the challenges of repairing their life after a divorce. Another speaks about how difficult finding a new job can be during COVID. We share what gives…
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