Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the robust lives of American Jews. Here there’s a little of everything about the multifaceted world of Jewish life. There are light-hearted Jewish celebrity stories and shocking Jewish celebrity news. Food is also plentiful,…
Life
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In quarantine, daily Talmud study is keeping me afloat
I began learning the Talmudic tractate of Shabbat against the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, in Jerusalem, as I gradually realized that people all over the world were being asked to accept upon themselves an extended period of resting, retreating, and desisting from labor. Here in Israel, the Ministry of Health issued increasingly stringent guidelines…
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My dad lives in a senior facility with coronavirus cases. If he can’t get tested, who can?
My 85-year-old father and residents at his suburban Chicago senior community should form an NBA team. Lottie could play power forward because when she gets that wheelchair rolling, not even LeBron can stop her. Myron, with those long, bony arms, should be the man in the middle. My dad can play point guard, because he’s…
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Coronavirus is a reminder: Bnei Mitzvah theme is ‘coming of age’
We have twins in seventh grade, so this pandemic hit at the height of Bnei Mitzvah season. My son’s wardrobe these days consists entirely of sweats emblazoned with names and dates: the blue hoodie, Charlie, 11-23-19; the black one, Hannah, 11-25-20; oversized gray pants, Carly, 12-21-19. We had three on the calendar this Saturday alone….
The Latest
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I’ve been leading virtual davening for years. Here are some tips for how to make it meaningful.
We have entered a new phase of Jewish history in which cyberspace has become the place to nurture our spiritual lives. Previous generations lived through the Black Plague, cholera and more. Ours is the first to face a pandemic with technology that allows us to create vital, connected, online communities. This is a moment of…
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You’re home anyway. Why not make challah this Shabbat?
I know it sounds insane to start baking challah while the world is shutting down. But you’ll thank me later. I have been doing it weekly for more than a decade. You can make it in 25 minutes – spread across five-minute intervals on a work-from-home Friday or in the evenings or mornings over the…
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How to fulfill the Torah’s commandment for optimism in the darkest times
There is a lot of confusion and doubt in these “coronavirus days.” That’s especially the case within the Jewish community, where optimism has always played a large role in how we live — even in the face of some of the harshest realities. Synagogues, mikvehs, schools and yeshivas have suspended all activities, going against our…
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At home for coronavirus, I’m the child in the (literal) room
This is my evening routine in the era of coronavirus: around dinner time, I descend the staircase that connects my childhood bedroom, where I’ve spent most of the day, to the kitchen below. From the bottom, I can just see the table where my parents are preparing to sit down. But I eat on the…
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Diary of a Day-School Mom: At home, kids still need a separation — havdalah — between school and not
I still don’t know why my 12-year-old son thinks gladiators are not heroes, which was the subject of a short essay he wrote on Monday, Day One of distance learning. I don’t know because he will not tell me. School-at-home? We want to hear from parents — and kids This is a child who can…
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Diary of a Day-School Mom: ‘My daughter doesn’t see the need for pants’
Our kids’ school, the Hannah Senesh Community Day School in Brooklyn, is very on top of things. The attention to detail is really something fine, and it’s reflected in the number of emails they send me, some of which I manage to read. It sometimes makes me, a working mom with average organizational skills, feel…
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Help from a Jewish homeschooler: This feels scary. It can be wonderful.
In the age of coronavirus, being a homeschool mother has made me extremely popular among friends and strangers alike. I have received dozens of questions from friends and strangers alike about curriculum, time management and more. That’s because there aren’t many Jewish homeschoolers, and few as outspoken and public about home education as I am….
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“Meet a Jew” pop-up combats two epidemics: coronavirus and anti-Semitism
At lunchtime on a recent Thursday before the city came to a standstill due to coronavirus fears, 42nd Street was awash with New Yorkers in single-minded pursuit of kale salads and Mediterranean grain bowls. Even at the best of times, it’s difficult to interrupt the powerful flow of this daily migration. In recent weeks, as…
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