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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Jewish peoplehood 4.0 – it’s time to update our operating system
If you were Jewish 200 years ago, it defined everything about you. It defined what you ate, where you lived, how you dressed, what you did for a living, how you spoke, and who you married. But if you are Jewish today, that may be just one piece of your multifaceted identity. At a time…
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Don’t take democracy for granted
My father knew the importance of what he often told me: “Don’t take democracy for granted.” In 1948, he came to the U.S. from Europe, where he had served in the army for seven consecutive years and where, before the war, he had helped write Czechoslovakia’s Constitution. Today, we are confronting profound social, economic and…
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After adopting children in need, rewarded with twins
I surround myself with incredible people all of the time. People who are constantly giving and helping others without getting anything in return. They do this because they are good people and they want to become even better. That is why I am the luckiest person in the world. Emergency medical service volunteers from United…
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Keeping the stories alive, high school students interview Holocaust survivors
This summer journalism students from the School of the New York Times interviewed Holocaust survivors to help preserve their stories and to learn about that fading period in history. With attacks on Jewish communities recently on the rise, and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the time seemed right for the high school…
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Donald Trump is the most serious threat to American Jewish security in the past half century
Forty-five years in the Jewish civil rights field did not prepare me for the Jewish community’s response to Donald Trump. From Gerald Ford (the president when I began my 27-year career with the Anti-Defamation League in 1975) to Barack Obama, there was a unifying reality that bound liberal and conservative Jews together when assessing the…
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Continuing the legacy of Kindertransport
In July 2019, my husband Norm and I joined several members of the Kindertransport Association on a commemorative tour of Europe for the 80th anniversary of Kindertransport. The tour was both joyous and heartbreaking, tracing the journey that my mother and 10,000 other children had taken from Nazi rule to England in the months preceding…
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The UAE-Israel peace deal obliges us to heal
The historic accord between the United Arab Emirates and Israel is the onset of a seismic shift in the Middle East. Countries that had formerly experienced a strong disconnect and even rivalry open a new chapter, one of allyship, peace and cooperation. It is critical we make sure this change does not remain confined to…
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Why young Jews like me need to vote for Joe Biden
Despite our reputation for recklessness, many young people are making incredible sacrifices to avoid catching or spreading the coronavirus. Yet there is one risk that no amount of hand-washing or mask-wearing can protect us against — the pandemic’s economic impact. My peers who graduated from top colleges last spring were supposed to be hotly sought-after…
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Israel is a house divided against itself
Israeli society has never been as divided as it is now. Civil strife is brewing as anti-Netanyahu demonstrations, which began in March 2020, are spreading. Although the focal point of the demonstrations has been Jerusalem, near the Prime Minister’s official residence, thousands of Israelis are also protesting on bridges and crossroads all over the country….
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I came to Israel to connect to Judaism – but my traditions didn’t resonate with Israelis
As I began to lead havdalah, the familiar prayer that I’ve chanted on hundreds of Saturday nights to close Shabbat, 78 pairs of eyes followed me. These eyes belonged to a group of Israelis that I had just met a few days prior, when I began my journey as a gap year participant in south…
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Jewish tribalism leaves some Jews out
In my decade doing interfaith work as a representative of the Jewish community, I often explained to my interlocutors that many (if not most) American Jews are concerned more with belonging than believing. For most of us, I said, the experience of being a member of the community — belonging to the Jewish people —…
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