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.
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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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Why I Said ‘No’ To Trump — And ‘Yes’ To Jewish Unity
It would have been far easier to say “yes.” As Jews, at this solemn time of Rosh Hashanah on behalf of American Jews at Washington’s National Cathedral, celebrating the inauguration of Donald Trump. Quite the honor, indeed, to be asked. When authority speaks, we are taught to listen. But we are also taught to listen…
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This Year, Remember the World’s Poorest Jews
This essay is part of our ongoing series, Outside the Bubble: Class and Inequality in the Jewish Community. It explores the class divides in Jewish communities of all denominations, and the financial struggles belonging to these communities can incur. Please email your thoughts and essays to [email protected]. As I look ahead to the New Year,…
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Seriously, We’ve Got To Stop Obsessing Over Jewish Genetics.
The Jewish world has been obsessing over genetics recently. Are we or are we not white? Has the Khazar hypothesis been conclusively disproven? All these are interesting questions that are fun to discuss, but it’s time to take a breather. Not only are the tests that tell you your ancestry less reliable than people believe…
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Want To Make A Change? Start Doing The Right Things For The Wrong Reasons.
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. In my last column, I discussed the revolutionary concept of “change from the top,” the ancient Talmudic principle that long-lasting change only takes shape when forged at a higher place within ourselves. We described the curative functions that mind-shifts have in overcoming lifelong…
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On College Campuses, The Intermarriage Debate Is Already Over.
There is a vibrant debate going on about how the Jewish community should treat interfaith couples and the children of intermarried families. I understand why the debate is a difficult one, and why major Jewish institutions wrestle with it. On campus, however, the debate is largely over. At UCLA Hillel, we regularly serve students who…
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What Is The Jewish Obsession With Intermarriage Really About?
Last week, the Forward published a piece by Allison Darcy entitled “Are Your Views on Intermarriage Racist?” It’s a well-written and thoughtful piece, and even as a religious woman who is opposed to intermarriage, I agree with many of her points. Particularly this one: “There is a big difference between wanting to marry someone who…
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How Israeli Culture Killed The Mensch
“Be a mensch,” a person of integrity, is a phrase one will likely hear frequently growing up Jewish in the United States. Striving for moral goodness is a quintessential feature of Judaism in America. Israeli Jews live by a completely different dictum: “don’t be a freier” — a sucker. A freier is easily exploited, something…
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What Donald Trump And Taylor Swift Can Teach Us About Rosh Hashana
Many years ago, I was laboring through my High Holiday sermons, trying to find a contemporary angle, something to connect my barely-formed ideas to today’s America, when I flicked on the TV and witnessed a clip of then-President Clinton testifying before the grand jury. Referring to whether he’d lied about a sexual relationship with Monica…
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Why Did Israel Imprison This Young, Non-Violent Palestinian Activist?
In early September 2017, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to thousands of settlers in the northern West Bank settlement of Barkan at an anniversary celebration for 50 years of Israeli West Bank settlement. “We will not evacuate any more settlements in Judea and Samaria… We are here to stay forever,” he said. The following…
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The Secret Sex Life of Hebrew Letters
This series began as an unpacking of some controversial translations of Biblical texts I offered in an Op-Ed in The New York Times, “Is God Transgender?. I argued that the Hebrew Bible is filled with gender-bending language, all intended to hint at an Israelite priestly / scribal tradition that God is “dual-gendered” – “male” and…
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Letter To The Editor: In Support of Professor David N. Myers
The Board of the Historical Society of Israel wishes to express its full support of Professor David N. Myers as President and CEO of the Center for Jewish History in New York, and strongly objects to all attempts to slander or to depose him. Professor Myers is today one of the most prominent scholars of…
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