Scribe, the Forward’s curated contributor network, is a place for showcasing personal experiences and perspective from across our Jewish communities. Here you will find a wide array of reflections on Jewish issues, life-cycle events, spirituality, culture and more.
Community
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You say matzah — and matzo and matzuh and matzee and more
Readers respond to our editor-in-chief’s column about a Passover copy-editing conundrum
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President Trump Has Called The Palestinians’ Bluff
Donald Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has, in a real way, breached a false peace to possibly gain a real one. If his wrongheaded words and impulsive methods threaten perfectly legitimate international agreements like NAFTA and the Montreal Climate Accords,…
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Poll Results: 52% Of Forward Readers Are Against Trump’s Israeli Embassy Move
Is Trump’s decision to move America’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv good or bad? Here’s what Forward readers think: 52% of the 272 people polled believe the move is bad, 32% think it is good, and 16% think we shall see! Is Trump’s decision to move America’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem…
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My Father Wouldn’t Let Me Be Mary At The Christmas Pageant — I Was A Sheep Instead
The year was 1955 and I was eight years old. Back then Christmas was a magical time, even for us Jews. I recall that nearly every school held a Christmas pageant that featured stories, carols and the grand finale — a living Nativity scene with boys and girls dressed as the kings and angels, wise…
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When I Was Ten Years Old, I Saved A Rabbi’s Life
The day began as so many days in early December do, pretending to still be fall in the bright light of morning but descending into the grey and cold that only the earliest days of winter feel like by afternoon. I was 10 years old, in the 5th grade and hated going to school. My…
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Hanukkah Poll: Do You Give Your Children Eight Small Presents Or One Big Gift?
The eight day holiday of Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kieslev — which means that in 2017, the holiday begins on the night of December 12. On the holiday, do you give your children and relatives eight small presents, one for each night, or one large one — or none at all? Parents and…
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How Joining A Christian Choir Strengthened My Connection To Judaism
I’ve been a musician since my first recorder lessons 50 years ago. My vision was to be the first woman conducting a major symphony, but Sarah Caldwell snagged that spot at precisely the moment I was graduating from high school. So much of the music I performed had its roots in Christian liturgy. Most of…
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Addicts Don’t Need Tough Love — They Need Quality Treatment.
On a beautiful spring day some thirty years ago, I had a heart-to-heart talk with my brother, Duvid. We had come of age in the 1970s and were both active musicians. In those days, the music world meant the availability of drugs, primarily but not exclusively marijuana. Duvid had developed a taste not only for…
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How To Clean Wax Off Of Your Hanukkah Menorah
Flummoxed by how to clean off the wax stuck to your Hanukkiah? We’re here to help: The best way to clean off your Hanukkah menorah is to heat the wax with a hair dryer and clean it off with a kitchen towel. Use cotton swabs if you need to get into the candle bits. Or…
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Trump Is Right: Jerusalem Is Israel’s Capital — But It Is A Divided One.
Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Israel. Israelis know this; Palestinians know it. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and the Arab world know it. And yet an illusion is maintained, for the sake of diplomatic correctness, that Jerusalem is not yet the capital of the Jewish state, though it is obvious that it…
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Is It Anti-Semitic For Non-Jews To Associate Jews With Money?
Jews and money, money and Jews. How long have we been associated with money? Probably as long as our history. Money has enabled us to survive, to run quickly when the anti-Semites attack and to maintain ourselves in the face of prejudice and ostracism. Yet the association of Jews with money has been a constant…
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How Do Jews Respond To ‘Merry Christmas’?
If you live outside of Israel or the Arab world, you’re probably used to well-meaning friends and strangers alike wishing you a “Merry Christmas!” For some, this is no big deal: we live in majority Christian nations, and Christmas is par for the course (as well as a fun, twinkly perk). For others, an innocent…
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