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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If Paying For High Holy Day Seats Is Hard For You, Remember You’re Not Alone
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but this was the first year I ever picked up my own tickets for High Holidays. In previous years, my in-laws have taken care of it. And before I got married, I did holidays on my college campus, at a Chabad abroad, or my cousin would pick them up. But…
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Dying Activist Ady Barkan’s Memoir About ALS Is A Crucial Guide To Life
On the first page of his memoir, Ady Barkan and his wife Rachael King arrive at a hotel for their first night away from their new baby and — despite their nearing dinner reservation — decide to have sex. Days later, Barkan is diagnosed with ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, sometimes known as Lou Gehrig’s disease,…
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A Walk Through Jericho — Hours Before Israel’s Elections
The Biblical city of Jericho, located among the barren hills of the Judean Desert just north of the Dead Sea, was quiet on Monday. Schoolchildren smiled and joked as they made their way through the dusty streets and vendors sat in the shade outside their stores, smoking cigarettes and waiting for their next customers. A…
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At Yeshiva University, Students Prepare To March For LGBTQ Rights
Molly Meisels, a student at Yeshiva University, wanted to invite assemblymember Deborah Glick to talk about her experience as New York’s first openly gay legislator to the school’s College Democrats club. The university administration had other ideas. Two weeks before the event took place, Meisels said she was called into an office and asked not…
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Dear Rabbi – Please Stop Talking Politics From The Pulpit
Rabbi, I think you’re great. I love it when you talk about Torah, when you introduce me to the spiritual insights of past generations, when you invoke the values of our ancient tradition. I even like hearing you make the appeals on Yom Kippur and the various Mazel Tov announcements. But when you talk about…
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Jewish Baby Boomers Are ‘Rewiring,’ Not Retiring — Through Synagogue Life
The Judaica books stacked on David Goodman’s nightstand are ones he’s intended to get around to reading for decades now, but a little thing like a 40-year career got in the way. Now that he has reached his sixties, Goodman, a retired journalist who lives in a Philadelphia suburb, said he finally has the luxury…
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I Stood Up Against LGBT-Hate In My High School Yeshiva. All Straight People Should.
I can’t remember what chapter of the Chumash [Torah] we were meant to be studying that day. I also can’t remember what prompted my teacher to raise the issue of homosexuality. But I can recall, in vivid detail, the words she used. “Being gay is like having a bad temper,” she brazenly declared to a…
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The Child Victims Act Is About To Shake The Orthodox Jewish Establishment
It used to be that the hardest part of my job was talking to survivors — as director of community organizing for ZA’AKAH, an organization dedicated to advocating for survivors of child sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community. They’d call me up, tell me their horrific stories of being abused by relatives, acquaintances, or…
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Explore The Vast Opportunities to Volunteer in Israel
Volunteering in Israel is perhaps the best way to embrace the beauty of the country. However you wish to practice tikkun olam, the Hebrew phrase for “world repair” and working for the greater good, there’s an immersive volunteer opportunity or program that’ll put you right in the action. Below is just a taste of Israel’s…
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10 Israeli Startups You Want To Work For
These ten startups are innovating in Israel
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I Can do WHAT? 5 Differences Between Working In Israel And The U.S.
In the middle of the airport, shortly before boarding our flight to Israel, several participants on my Birthright trip were frantically unpacking their suitcases, looking to meet the 50-pound luggage requirement to avoid exorbitant fees. I laughed, amazed at my own success: While the majority of them were returning home to the United States after…
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