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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Is Religion Really A ‘Big Problem’ For American Jews?
A June 9 interview of Michael Steinhardt by correspondent Ben Sales of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency made a big splash in the Jewish media. The Forward titled its coverage of the interview, “Michael Steinhardt Says Religion Is Big Problem for American Jews.” As an American Jew who considers himself religious, I was shocked to discover…
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Please, Betsy DeVos: Don’t Ax Title IX. Survivors Are Counting On You.
Dear Betsy DeVos (and the Department of Education and Trump Administration), You don’t know me, but I am one of the billions of people who live in a world where sexual harassment, sexual violence, and relationship abuse are a reality no matter our age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. I feel incredibly angry…
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Support Religious Pluralism In Israel? First, Take A Stand For Pluralism At Home
For the first time in recent memory, the mainstream Jewish community is outraged at the Israeli government. After reaching an agreement with Women of the Wall and the Reform and Conservative movements to establish a new egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall, the government reneged on its promise and suspended its plan. At the…
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What Would Goebbels Really Think Of Julius Ceasar?
You’d think that having grown up in New York, I wouldn’t feel my heart swell with pride every time I look around and see multiple kipah-covered heads. And yet, as I waited in line to enter the Delecorte Theater in Central Park, I couldn’t help but smile at the obvious number of Jewish audience members….
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What Does It Mean To Be A Religious Jew Today?
To me, being religious, in our contemporary conception of society, means making the invisible person visible and the unheard person heard. It means that in the constant journey to learn, one seeks moral refinement in each moment, all the while acting with kindness and humility towards all. One boldly leads from the inside out: inner…
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How Fostering Children Is Uprooting My Unconscious Racism
It is not hard to look out on the landscape of America today and see the consequences of latent racism. Despite all the progress of activists, community and religious leaders, and politicians, racism remains deeply ingrained and systemic in American society. Whether through our prison industrial complex, staggering rates of poverty within minority communities, employment…
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What Happened To The Yemenite Children? We’re Still Waiting On An Answer.
On June 16, feminist activists gathered in Tel Aviv (as well as another six locations in Israel) to oppose a recent spike in violence against women. Although the organizers had asked participants not to come representing parties or organizations, a small group of women from the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) arrived bearing their flag,…
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Martyrs To Modesty
My daughter Elianna is 7 and a half years old. She loves art, mine-craft, Amelia Bedelia graphic novels and PJ Masks on Disney Junior. As a rising 3rd grader, her and her twin sister Kinneret still fall into a fit of giggles when someone uses the word “tushy” and the greatest excitement is created in…
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We Deserve Better Than Corruption And Malice From The Ultra-Orthodox
In a recent story reported in the Forward by Jesse Bernstein, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri makes the claim that Reform Jews who oppose the new draconian Conversion Law in Israel that would invalidate Masorti/Conservative, Reform and independent Orthodox conversions performed in Israel are motivated by “a desire to convert illegal African immigrants and promote intermarriage.”…
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And You Too Must Love The Convert
“She is hoping to convert” a parent recently told me about their son’s non-Jewish girlfriend. “That is great news! Why do you look so disappointed then?” I asked. “I don’t know. I just am. I paid all this money for Jewish day school and this is what we get…” he responded. He didn’t have to…
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Confused By Israeli Capitulation To The Ultra-Orthodox? You Must Not Understand Coalition Politics.
I’m appalled by the recent action taken by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reverse the cabinet decision to create an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall — but I don’t blame Bibi alone. The Israeli electoral system necessitates the inclusion of the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) to form any government. A more liberal leader would…
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