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.
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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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Waking up to the parallels between the American Indian Boarding School system and the Holocaust
As a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I grew up hearing about the unfathomable conditions the Jews endured while in concentration camps or in hiding. I learned about the numbers tattooed on my Papa’s arm from Auschwitz, my Bubbie’s stories of caring for the younger girls in her camp, and why my mom never had her…
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Unlike Seth Rogen, I was in charge of my own Jewish education – I’m still a Zionist
By now, I am sure you have heard of Seth Rogen’s latest comments regarding Israel. I wasn’t shocked by his comments, but I knew that they didn’t speak for me or my experience with Israel. I grew up in a small town in Iowa and there weren’t any Jews nearby for hundreds of miles. I…
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Following my mother’s footsteps through Romania
This piece was originally published in the Boston Jewish Advocate. I hailed a taxi to take me to where I was meeting others—a traditional Romanian village. Driving from Casa Lurca de Calinesti (next to the Elie Wiesel Memorial House) down Strada Tudor Vladimirescu (formerly Kigyó utca) we passed a long yard on the right. “What…
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On the internet, no one knows if you’re atoning
“Isn’t that Franny from Fire Island?” my husband asked as a well-dressed woman stepped up to the bimah to greet the rabbi. I looked closer. Indeed it was Franny, looking great. “Just please don’t tell me that you don’t recognize her with her clothes on,” I said, before he could. That nasty beach joke was…
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Why isn’t climate change a bigger issue for the Orthodox?
Why have Orthodox Jews been so slow to commit to the struggle against climate change? The Pope and the Islamic Society of North America have spoken up about it. In January, Renewal Rabbi Arthur Waskow’s Shalom Center issued a statement with more than 500 rabbinic signees, and this spring, Reform Rabbi Jennie Rosenn launched Dayenu:…
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No camp this year? The Shalom Hartman Institute steps up to the plate
The Shalom Hartman Institute is known for its intellectual leadership within the Jewish sphere, producing research, holding events and educating influencers on contemporary challenges in Israel and American Jewry. The Institute works with scholars and professionals to become thought leaders in the Jewish world. However, Hartman rarely works with younger students, focusing its energy on…
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Talk about the conflict by talking about climate change
Joel Swanson’s recent take on the Seth Rogen interview on “WTF with Marc Maron” resonated with me not because I, like Rogen, once had a warped understanding of Israel, but because the reactions from some members of this community are so clearly misplaced, they represent a mass distraction. For one, it seems to me that…
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Photos reveal the hidden side of Hasidic weddings
For my thirteenth birthday, my stepfather gave me a camera. I had just arrived in New York City without any spoken English, but his gift enabled me to begin to communicate with the world through images. It was the beginning of a lifelong passion. Now, I am a professional photographer, one who has spent her…
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At Balfour, disparate voices unite to protest against Netanyahu
“A Prime Minister can only be replaced at the ballot box!” How many times have anti-corruption protesters heard this phrase since Netanyahu was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust? The oft-repeated retort to the only demand that unites all the protestors ignores Israeli history, where there have been many occasions of…
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The story of the Shma, our intergenerational oath
A near-universal faith refrain of Jewish prayer — one whose familiarity spans a vast continuum of Jewish commitments, perspectives and people — is Deuteronomy 6:4: Shma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Eḥad. Listen, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. This verse and three other biblical passages were developed by the early rabbinic…
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As a homeschooler, I chose Yiddish to meet my language requirement
Editor’s note: Read this story in Yiddish here. I’m 13 years old, just graduated from the eighth grade and recently started studying Yiddish! Not too many kids get this opportunity. I’ve been homeschooling since second grade and will continue homeschooling as I enter high school. Being a homeschooler has helped with learning Yiddish because of…
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