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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Introducing the 16 over 61 awards
The Forward is excited to share its newest project in partnership with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan: The 16 Over 61 Awards. Jewish tradition showcases transformative journeys that begin at older ages. Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Miriam, Naomi and countless others offered life-changing and age-defying contributions in their mature years. Their importance and relevance to their…
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A prayer for justice and compassion
More than 380,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. Almost 2,000,000 have perished worldwide. The numbers are simply staggering. We mourn and are brokenhearted by what has been lost. These past few weeks have been challenging on other levels, as well. We are witnessing an attack on our democracy and our government, incited by the president…
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Eulogy: Norman Golb, controversial giant of Jewish scholarship
This past week, Norman Golb, a leading scholar of Jewish history and proud son of Chicago, died just shy of his 93rd birthday. He leaves a legacy of knowledge, insight, and passion for a venerable civilization. I met Norman — “Professor Golb” to me — in the fall of 1994, at the Oriental Institute of…
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The use and misuse of Holocaust analogies after the attack on the Capitol
Among other awakenings last week, many Americans received a crash course about the Holocaust in the aftermath of the terrible events at the Capitol. Given recent studies showing Americans’ lack of knowledge about the Holocaust — along with slogans on display among last week’s mob in Washington, DC, including “Camp Auschwitz” and “Work Brings Freedom,”…
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How can we heal America? Look to the Egyptians who aided Moses.
Shocking as this past week’s storming of the Capitol by domestic terrorists may have been, it was not a surprise. There is a direct line between the actions and personalities of last Wednesday and those of Charlottesville in August of 2017. Trump’s video, issued while rioters were in the Capitol, telling them “We love you….
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As Jewish historians, we see only one path forward — Trump must be removed from office
As scholars of Jewish studies, we are deeply attuned to the convulsions of modern history. We are also cautious about making historical analogies that smooth over the rough crevices of the past. And yet, after witnessing Wednesday’s attempted putsch at the Capitol, it is impossible not to be reminded of the grave dangers of complicity,…
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My grandparents thought Kristallnacht could never happen. We can’t make the same mistake.
On November 9th 1938, Nazi paramilitary and civilian groups carried out mass acts of violence against synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses, and Jewish homes. The broken glass found on the streets the next day would define this moment as “Kristallnacht,” the night of broken glass. A short time after Kristallnacht, my grandfather Israel Kohn and other Jewish…
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Jews found hope in this country generations ago. Now we find horror.
There are two things that you should know about Grandma and Grandpa. One: Grandma and Grandpa are notorious pack rats. I think they have kept every program and every thank-you letter. I am enormously grateful for that. Two: Grandma and Grandpa are often right on time. I am also enormously grateful for that. Before and…
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The Capitol riot reminds us: We must care for democracy like a child
Wednesday started like any other day in the life of a parent of young children in the era of COVID. There was breakfast, and reading, and drawing Totoros. There was changing diapers and playing outside, and putting the toddler down for a nap. There was screen time for my 5-year-old and there was a fight…
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Who are we?
As the events unfolded yesterday on Capitol Hill, I like so many, was taken aback by the brazen and swift insurrection by domestic terrorists. Four people died, dozens of peace officers were wounded, the Confederate Flag, a symbol of hatred and racism, was paraded through statuary hall for the first time in U.S. history. It…
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Lessons Learned from Pandemic B’nei Mitzvah
I’m not used to sitting during services, but this day was different. It was my daughter’s bat mitzvah and for one Shabbat I wasn’t the rabbi, I was the dad. I’ve been officiating at b’nei mitzvah ceremonies since the beginning of the pandemic. What started out as Zoom ceremonies has transitioned to outdoor, socially-distant, masked…
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