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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For A Long Time, I Felt Unsafe Wearing A Kippah. Now, I Feel I Must.
I am sitting at my brother’s dining room table in suburban New Jersey wearing a pale grey-blue driving cap. It’s the one I use to keep my head warm and also to hide the yarmulke underneath. A curious extended family relative breaks the silence: “Do you always wear that hat?” As an assimilated and secular…
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When terror strikes in a modern-day shtetl
In Monsey, few slept on Saturday night. And the next morning, residents of the Forshay neighborhood walk around with wide, unbelieving eyes. Let me tell you something about this quiet, wooded town in Rockland County where a man attacked a Hanukkah party with a machete. It’s often called a “Hasidic enclave.” It’s not. It is,…
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Eight Hanukkah Sweaters To Keep You Cozy All Winter
I’ve long thought that, if indeed there is a War on Christmas, Christmas sweaters are proof enough that Jews are losing. For every boring dreidel t-shirt proffered by Target as a limp gesture of inclusivity, there’s a thrift store stocked with red and green sweaters sporting the most innovative combinations of sequins, appliques, and rhinestones…
The Latest
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Need a Last Minute Gift? A Very Forward Guide to Hanukkah Gifts
No idea what to get your brother-in-law for Hanukkah? Looking for a last-minute gift for that dinner party you forgot about? We’ve got you covered. Here’s a round-up of stylishly Jewish gifts for everyone on your list. For the new parents: a wooden menorah, so little ones can practice before playing with fire. My First…
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The Power Of Grating Potatoes This Hanukkah
There it stood on my quartz countertop. I wanted to put it away tucked neatly away in a drawer, or push it towards the back of my cabinet in the land of occasionally used cooking appliances — but I couldn’t. I liked to look at it while I did the dishes. It had lost much…
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Eight Jewish Food Bloggers Share Their Takes on Hanukkah Staples
Hanukkah — the one time when we can eat everything deep fried and smothered in oil with absolutely zero guilt, because we’re literally commanded to do it. But my favorite thing about Hanukkah’s indulgent standbys — from latkes to sufaniyot to gelt — is that they’re so simple and timeless, they just beg for creative…
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‘We Were All Assimilating’: Why I Dropped My Family’s Christmas Tree
The lush, fragrant pines penned up in Christmas tree lots waiting to be hauled home and decorated beckon Jewish kids like a siren song. Oh, how my three daughters longed for one. Alas, their wish for a festive tree remained unfulfilled: Neither Santa Claus nor their Reform Jewish parents delivered one while they lived under…
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‘The Greeks Tried To Kill Us’ And Other Hanukkah Myths Debunked
As American Jews, we all grew up with the basic story: “The Greeks came and tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat!” That may work for kids, but once you hit maturity, it’s time to learn the real story: Myth 1: The Greeks were barbaric. Alexander the Great was privately tutored by Aristotle until…
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Christmas in the City: What To Do In New York On Christmas Day
For Jews, Christmas is a great excuse to do nothing — but with most of the city otherwise occupied, it’s also a great day to explore New York. If you wake up feeling festive, here are the eight best options for Christmas Day in the city. Take an outing to one of the city’s classic…
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Why the Kosher Grocery Store Is Just As Jewish and Holy As Shul
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Ever since the Jersey City attack, I’ve been trying to figure out how to express why and how a kosher grocery store feels just as Jewish and safe and holy as shul does. In some ways, even more so. The thing you have to understand about being…
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Sheitels, Jewels, Stories: Orthodox Holocaust Survivor Women Speak Their Lives
In a sunlit space in Brooklyn’s Industry City — warehouse-style windows, exposed ceilings, Lucite fixtures — forty Orthodox women who survived the Holocaust gathered December 16 for a very chic Hanukkah party. The event was organized by Orthodox jewelry designer and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors Freida Rothman, in collaboration with Nachas Health and Family Network,…
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