Back when I was serving as editor of my college Jewish newspaper, one of our staff members wrote an article about making the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPI) Jewish fraternity more Jewish – namely through increased religious observance. Frat brothers celebrating Jewish holidays, attending Shabbat services, and wrapping tefillin were the obvious ways by which to…
By most accounts, I am not a self-hating Jew. I wrote a doctoral dissertation on a Jewish-studies topic, have a blog with the word “Zionism” in the subtitle, and have published enough articles on Jewish-related topics that there’s a (charming) post dedicated to me on one of those big white-supremacist websites. There’s a poster of…
My 8-year-old son Cai didn’t like the tension around the Brexit talk. He knew an “out” vote meant we’ll probably move from our new home in Luxembourg since my Welsh husband would become ineligible to work in his current job for the EU. As the only British people he knows voted to stay, he can’t…
After Gal Beckerman diagnosed in his final column as opinion editor, we invited Forward readers to prescribe solutions. Here are seven of your responses, edited for style and length. 1) Kill the Idea of “Authenticity” On Beckerman’s reading, we have [American Jewish] humiliation on the one hand and [Israeli] narcissism on the other. Is it…
My daughter is confused. She has asked me a number of times in the last few weeks what it means to be a Jew. She’s 5. So confusion about identity is not an unusual state for her — she’s also been wondering aloud lately about why she can’t fly. But her questions about Jewishness are…
I was signing the lease to my new apartment in Israel when my landlord asked to see my passport. He looked down at my work visa, which was pasted on a page inside, and then looked back up at me. “Oh,” he said. “This is a very bad name in Israel.” My last name, Zeveloff,…
Born to a Jewish family on Long Island, Jessica Singer was given the Hebrew name Yehudit, after the ancient figure said to have saved the Israelites by beheading an Assyrian general. For most of her life, Singer went by her Hebrew name in synagogue only. When she legally changed her name to Yehudit at age…
Upon graduation, many college students land jobs in big cities. I went to West Virginia. The move generated quizzical looks from my family and friends in the Northeast. What kind of place is that for an aspiring young Jew? Turns out, it was perfect. Upon graduation, many college students land jobs in big cities. I…
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