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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For The Sake Of Our Country, Let Us Eat Cake.
During a recent Weekend Update skit on Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey introduced us to a new concept: “Sheetcaking.” Fey performed a skit about dealing with feelings of anxiety and hopelessness in the wake of the Charlottesville white supremacist riots. Her satirical solution? Tell your woes to a sheet cake and then devour it, much…
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Prepent Day 6: Every Vice Has A Price
Each vice has a price. Simple pleasures or sweet sins can turn toxic and become trouble, crutches that, with help, sometimes, come to be thanked and discarded. Inside the safe circle of truth on this journey of self reflection I make a list of vices today, just three – guilty pleasures perhaps that could use…
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Prepent Day 5: Taking Care Of Your Body
“Are you taking care of your body?” A doctor asks and I pause to ponder a seemingly simple question. Who is the “I” that is taking care of my body? Or is it the other way around and IS there a difference? This new week of Prepent begins with a focus on the inner circle…
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Are You A Kohen? You’re In Luck: You Could Be A Mormon Bishop, Too.
Are You a Kohen? You Could be a Mormon Bishop. If your last name is Kohn, Coen, Kahn, Kahan, Cohen, etc., you may have priestly, patrilineal descent from Aaron, the brother of Moses. While the temple still stood, your ancestors performed the daily and holiday duties associated with sacrificial offerings. Now, no longer attending to…
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Prepent Days 3+4: Pause To Be Present
How and when if at all do I pause to be present? Imagine a lake, serene and silent, before a rock is thrown in and the ripples begin. What will I do today to do less and be more, to pause, to stop, to Sabbath, to become that lake. On this first Sabbath of PREPENT…
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Sorry, Frum Fashion Police: We Orthodox Women Will Keep Wearing Whatever The Heck We Want
A piece appeared in the fashion section of the Forward a couple days ago by Michelle Honig, in which she deplored the ubiquitousness of the layering shell — a tightly-fitting top that Orthodox Jewish women wear beneath tops that would otherwise not meet Orthodox standards of modesty. She expressed the opinion that these things are…
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Letter To The Editor: Jews Have Never Been Disengaged From Social Justice
I am proud to stand with Bari Weiss and Jake Tapper in the Forward article of August 22, 2017, “Worried About Anti-Semitism? Practice the Tolerance You Preach,” that claims we use “the same talking points (as) the white nationalist movement.” Apparently, criticizing leaders of the Women’s March is like quoting The Daily Stormer. Who knew?…
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Prepent Day 2: Take A Deep Breath
The innermost circle of my being is my breath, so often taken for granted. I pause today to honor my body for its continued rippling and to think: what can I do to breathe more deeply, more often, more aware, today and every day anew? Take a deep breath has become a cliche but still,…
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Being Watched By The Mikveh Attendant Reminds Me Of My Sexual Assault
Today I am going to the mikveh and I can barely breathe. The anxiety starts days before when I know that I have a week left until I have to go. I put my children to sleep and begin the long process of preparing to dip my body in the pure waters. But the weight…
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Touro’s Lander Colleges
Touro’s Lander Colleges have educated generations of Jewish students and prepared them for careers in law, medicine, accounting, finance, the health sciences, psychology and more. The school has three campuses—Brooklyn (separate men’s/women’s program), Queens (men’s program) and Manhattan (women’s program). All three campuses offer an Honors program track and generous academic scholarships. All food served…
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What’s The Duty Of A Jew In Government?
What does it mean to serve the government as a Jew? Is there a way to express Jewish values in civil service? I’ve worked for a number of different government agencies over the past 13 plus years. “Jewish values” are often shared by non-Jewish colleagues who choose to serve the public, from a different origin…
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