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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Prepent Day 17+18: The Ties That Bind — And When To Unbind Them.
I did not choose my DNA, my family of origin, my tribal ties. But I am choosing, hopefully wisely, each day and today, which of those ties to honor and strengthen and which ones, when honest, to thank but let go. In a world with so many more relationships than our human mind can likely…
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A Month After Charlottesville, A Synagogue Lay Leader Reflects On The Shabbat Of Terror
As a darshan and occasional maftir of our lay-led, traditional egalitarian Sabbath services here in Charlottesville, Virginia, I am often struck by the immediacy of the Torah and haftarah texts. Sometimes Moses and the Prophets ascend from the mundane to the eternal; other times, their words reach down and touch the present. Like Sabbath celebrants…
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Orthodox Rabbis Call For Action For The Rohingya
Yet again, a minority group is being persecuted, displaced, tortured, and killed for the crime of being different. The Rohingya, a stateless minority of approximately 1.1 million people spread across Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other nations, have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982. The government of Myanmar does not even recognize the name “Rohingya”,…
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Prepent Day 16: Handling Family Feuds
Some family feuds, big or small, can sometimes take generations to heal. Some never do. Many could have been curbed or avoided. We keep our dirty laundry behind closed doors and often close our hearts to the mere idea of reconciliation with kin. Can we find ways to build again the bloodline bonds of trust?…
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Yes, There Are Jews In Texas!
We’ve been here the whole time. Believe it or not, Jews were in Texas long before Hurricane Harvey turned our Houston neighborhoods into extensions of the Gulf of Mexico. And it’s not that I don’t appreciate the outpouring of support that’s come our way from the Jewish Community around the world in its aftermath. I…
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Jewish Preschool Is For Everyone
Over a third of American children are cared for by someone other than a family member while their parents work. First and foremost, families need a program that meets their needs for location, schedule and budget. And they need to trust that a program will provide a safe and nurturing environment in which their child…
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To This California Teen, ‘Homeless’ Is Not A Dirty Word
When I was 10 years old, my Jewish youth group visited the local homeless shelter where I had been volunteering for two years. As soon as we arrived, the group of students in varying shades of soccer and baseball jerseys huddled close to the door, shuffling their feet and trying to avoid making eye contact…
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Prepent Day 15: Family And Your Inner Child
Family dynamics can be some of the most meaningful elements of life, and also, frequently, the most disappointing and damaging. As the youngest of my siblings and most of my cousins, it sometimes feels when I speak with some of them that they still see me as the little bratty kid they first knew me…
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6 Trump Officials With Ties To Anti-Semites
Many observers have expressed concern about the rise of anti-Semitism in America and the lack of a timely, consistent and strong denunciation from President Donald Trump’s administration. Too often, we’ve been surprised by rhetoric and events bubbling up from the sewers of hate as well as the heartbreakingly weak responses from this White House. In…
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Jews Must Defend The DREAMers
On September 5, after weeks of speculation, the Trump Administration announced it will begin to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era initiative meant to stave off the deportation of millions of undocumented individuals brought to the United States as children. The demise of the program ends the legal protections…
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Nir Baram Talks Tachlis About A Land Without Borders
A version of this article originally appeared in Plus61J, an Australian-Jewish publication. Israeli journalist and author Nir Baram set out to find out what life is really like for people living in the West Bank. Sometimes, he found words could not do justice to their experiences. One of the most moving parts of Nir Baram’s…
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