This year, Passover will be like no Passover before. Self-quarantined
in our homes to avoid doing harm to ourselves, our loved ones, and
society, Passover will be smaller than ever before.
But it will also be powerful. We…
The 11th Plague: 20 Influences Take on Passover and Coronavirus
The Latest
-
News Scaled-down Passover resorts book up, but refunds are still an issue
A year ago, Bruce Backman was on track for a record year in the Passover travel business. Reservations were almost sold out and the phones were ringing off the hook. But that was before the coronavirus brought everything to a dead stop, said Backman, owner of pesachinthesoutheast.com. Some operators went bankrupt, others are still in…
-
Opinion We are the Egyptians now
BG IMG LINK Previous Article Next Article And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he lay even this to heart. And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. (Exodus 17:23-24) What did Pharaoh tell his people?…
-
Opinion As plagues go…
BG IMG LINK Previous Article Next Article As I write these words, I am lying on a hammock, next to a fire burning in an outdoor fireplace on my porch. A glass of single-malt Scotch is in my hand. The Mozart second horn concerto is playing in the background. As plagues that shut down society…
-
Opinion The invisible plague: grief
BG IMG LINK Previous Article Next Article If you’ve never sat in an eerily empty subway car amid a global pandemic, while reading a novel about a strain of influenza wiping out 99% of the world population — well, I don’t recommend it. But that was a few morning commutes for me as the novel…
-
Opinion The man-made plagues of Gaza
BG IMG LINK Previous Article Next Article The story of Passover and the ten plagues always filled me with awe: Egyptians punished with hunger and thirst, bloody water, blinding darkness and loved ones lost overnight. When I was a young person, those horrifying plagues were unimaginable. Then, I experienced similar, man-made plagues, plagues that continue…
-
Opinion The plague’s reminder: We only think we’re in charge
BG IMG LINK Previous Article Next Article As COVID-19 is not the fearsome Yersinia pestis bacterium — the rod-shaped, anaerobic organism that ravages human bodies by way of rat fleas — it is not, strictly speaking, a plague. No matter. If civilization can be said to be plagued by froyo shops or LED light displays,…
-
Opinion My great-grandmother survived Stalin and Hitler. I’m thinking of her this Passover.
BG IMG LINK Previous Article Next Article We’re going to be alone for the seders. It was the first thought in my mind that really hit home the severity of the COVID-19 crisis as New York authorities began telling people to stay home. The next one was: Are we even going to be able to…
-
Opinion Coronavirus is exposing the plagues of American society
BG IMG LINK Previous Article Next Article If God sent coronavirus to our shores, it isn’t because he’s punishing us. He’s simply forcing us to look into a mirror so we can finally take a good hard look at who we really are rather than what we’ve long pretended. Or maybe it’s because he was…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward ‘Rabbi rebellion’: 33 Orthodox rabbis endorse Harris
- 2
Opinion I was a Bernie supporter. This year, I’m voting Trump. Here’s why liberal Jews like me made the switch
- 3
Opinion Here’s why Orthodox Jews are loyal to Trump — even if they don’t love him
- 4
FIRST PERSON As a rabbi, he helped others mourn. So why wouldn’t his daughter say kaddish for him?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Thirsty Philly voters were in for a surprise: Paul Rudd and some handy hydration
-
Opinion Netanyahu’s firing of Gallant is a cynical betrayal of Israel’s security
-
Fast Forward They quit the Biden administration over the war in Gaza. But they are backing Harris.
-
Opinion Benjamin Netanyahu firing Yoav Gallant is a staggeringly reckless decision
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
