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
-
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
-
WATCH: A Beloved Cantor Gives Jewish Prayer A Jazzy Twist
Jewish music meets the roaring 20’s in a new single that has just been released drawing key inspiration from jazz, klezmer and prayer. The song, Sheyibone, performed by singer and cantor, Aryeh Leib Hurwitz, expresses one of the most fundamental Jewish prayers, beseeching God to rebuild the Beis Hamikdash (Jewish Temple in Jerusalem), ushering in…
-
My High School Forbid Us From Joining The National School Walkout — Because Of Linda Sarsour
Two days ago, the administration of my Jewish high school persuaded many students not to participate in the national “Walkout” called for by the Women’s March to protest rampant gun violence because of the alleged anti-Semitism of certain leaders of the Women’s March. And we agreed. SAR attracts an ideologically diverse student body, enrolling liberal…
The Latest
-
The Women’s March Has An Intersectionality Problem
The Women’s March has recently come under fire for its leadership’s inability to condemn Louis Farrakhan and his anti-Semitism. While the leaders of the Women’s March movement aim to demand justice for a wide range of people, they must first examine their own motives and internalized biases. Without engaging in this critical struggle and reflection,…
-
Do Israeli Settlers Have Any Power In America?
Almost exactly three years ago, I woke up in my Jerusalem apartment to the news that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party surprised the country and all of its polling experts by dominating the ballots, securing a fairly straight path to creating what many believe to be Israel’s most right-wing coalition in its history. My concerns…
-
Is Ideological Purity Too Much To Ask Of Intersectional Feminists?
A version of this article originally appeared in New Voices. A green text bubble flashed across my phone. “You should write about the Farrakhan, Women’s March, anti-Semitism, intersectionality thing.” I turned my screen dark. I’d been avoiding this. I know. I’m a Jewish feminist writer. I drink my morning coffee out of an Emma Goldman…
-
How A Group Of Ex-Pats Is Bringing Torah To Campus Francophones
Perhaps it’s the support and encouragement they receive from OU-JLIC educators Rabbi Aryeh and Sharona Kaplan, perhaps they aren’t content being only twelfth on The Forward’s “Best Colleges For Orthodox Jews” list, perhaps it’s both; students at UCLA continue to push the limits of what is possible for their Jewish college community. Last semester it…
-
The Secret Jewish History Of International Women’s Day
Do the names Clara Zetkin and Rosa Luxemburg ring a bell? If they don’t, you’re not alone. If these women DO sound familiar, chances are you are from a former Communist block country and grew up celebrating International Women’s Day! Clara Zetkin (a German) and Rosa Luxemberg (a Polish Jew) were besties and crucial figures…
-
Half Of Our Readers Hate Matzo And They’re Not Wrong
Let’s face it: matzo sucks. It’s dry. It’s flavorless. It’s often served stale. It pales in comparison to garlic za’atar challah. But alas, for 8 days a year, we Jews must suffer through meals devoid of bread, pasta and buttery and flakey croissants. Clearly, Forward readers aren’t happy about it — a full 56 percent…
-
Why Has It Become Socially Acceptable To Vilify Hasidim?
In an op-ed for The Forward, Freida Vizel offers a shocking argument in defense of the actress Amber Tamblyn’s recent Tweets about Hasidic men in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: “When men are led to believe that the road is theirs first, that it is a place only for their big minivans, then the criticism is fair of…
-
How To Talk About Death Over Dinner
The most striking part of any Shalon dinner is the end — when attendees hug the people with whom they shared a meal and bared a little bit of their souls. Contact info is exchanged, and in what has become a tradition, people who aren’t in a hurry to get home wander into the kitchen…
-
Justice Breyer’s Dissent for the Ages
On February 27, the United States Supreme Court hid behind legal technicalities to give its stamp of approval to a heartless policy that goes against what we stand for as a country. As Justice Breyer said in his dissent, the outcome violates the Constitution’s Fifth and Eighth Amendments.The case, Jennings v. Rodriguez, involves class actions…
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Was the viral Ta-Nehisi Coates interview a hit piece or fair play? A journalism ethics expert weighs in.
- 2
Culture How my odious cousin Roy Cohn was responsible for creating Donald Trump — and me
- 3
Culture New conspiracy theory just dropped — Jews are causing the hurricanes
- 4
Sports 5 Jewish things about the Mets — and why Jewish fans adore them
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion I’m a Jew of color. Ta-Nehisi Coates can’t apply U.S. lessons to Israel
-
Fast Forward ‘All options are on the table’ to keep Iran from going nuclear, Kamala Harris says in High Holiday call with Jewish voters
-
Opinion Forgiveness has its limits: a Yom Kippur reflection on justice
-
Opinion Atoning during a war feels impossible. Instead, resolve to do better
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism