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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How Does A Rabbi Comfort His Congregants After California’s Wildfires?
I was confused as I lit the Chanukah candles this year. How could it be that I recently watched thousands of firefighters in Southern California douse out life threatening flames, while my job as a Jew on the holiday was to ignite a spark, and spread that flame throughout the world? How could it be…
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Why Are Canadian Reform Jews So…Conservative?
Dear American Reform Movement Jews — please, throw me a life raft. I’m a Reform Jew in Canada, and I’ve been watching the profound changes towards inclusion that American Reform Jewish leadership has made in the last four years with tears, relief and – jealousy. Since leaving the U.S. for Canada 15 years ago, my…
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Why Splurging On Over-The-Top Bar Mitzvah Sets Your Kid Up For Financial Failure
It was when my daughter turned twelve that I realized how utterly financially illiterate she was — I had yet to teach her the meaning of a dollar, the definition of a budget, the art of choosing priorities. The realization came to me when I heard an NPR interview with financial expert Beth Kobliner, author…
The Latest
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This $500 Pure Silk Tallit Is Produced In An Italian Village — Alongside Hermes Scarves
Like many traditional Jewish brides, Dora Piperno wanted to give her future husband a tallit — a Jewish prayer shawl — as a wedding gift. With one difference: She wanted to give him a tallit made of silk, the same material the ones worn by her Italian ancestors were made of. “Back in the day,”…
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So You Have Something To Say About #MeToo: Tips For Male Allies
Here’s a guide for non-survivor cis men who want to talk about the critically important topic of sexual abuse. We’re very appreciative of your willingness to speak out—this is extremely important work that requires all of us to leverage our voices and platforms to create change. However, doing so responsibly, especially for those not personally…
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Stop Spoiling Your Kids On Hanukkah
Most parents want to give their children the world. But it’s sometimes difficult to know when to draw the line between giving our kids the world and ensuring they don’t grow up spoiled, having everything handed to them. This line becomes especially hard to navigate around Hanukkah, as our children are bombarded with the overt…
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The Problem With That New York Times ‘Hypocrisy Of Hanukkah’ Op-ed
In a recent New York Times op-ed, “The Hypocrisy of Hanukkah,” novelist Michael David Lukas described Hanukkah as being a holiday for hypocrites. According to his assessment, most Jews celebrating this wintertime holiday would probably have been hated by the Maccabees, the Hanukkah heroes, and that the holiday only gained significance in recent decades due…
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Stop Kicking Kids Out Of Shul. Research Says Early Ritual Experience Is Essential.
It’s a typical winter Shabbat morning in Massachusetts. The temperatures have plummeted outside, and we are all gathered together for the morning service in our sanctuary. As soon as services end and the adults leave the room, the children take over. After services, our shul’s sanctuary often becomes a playground. Children run up and down…
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Changes To Title IX Will Assist Sexual Assault Perpetrators And Silence Their Victims
Recently, we read in the book of Genesis about Dinah, who was kidnapped and raped by the prince of Shechem. With no voice and no way out, Dinah was the victim of a man who had a lot of political power and social capital. Afterward, the prince goes to Dinah’s home to ask her parents…
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Meet The Forward’s Fearless Women In Journalism Award Recipients
Introduction By Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward CEO and publisher You’re about to meet five remarkable Jewish women whose achievements have helped shape journalism — and our world. With the Forward’s Fearless Women in Journalism awards, we’re doing more than honoring them. We’re thanking them. Each confronted obstacles and disproved naysayers. Lynn Povich and her Newsweek…
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I Got Disinvited From A Hanukkah Party — Because I’m Politically Conservative
I’ve been left off the Solomons’ Hanukkah party list. You know the Solomons* – that large, loving, trans-generational family of educated, cultured, politically active writers, lawyers, professors, and psychotherapists. It was one of the great fortunes of my life that I was “adopted” into the family. And for fifty years now, I have been going…
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