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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Why Do Superhero Movies Move Us?
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. It’s turning into another summer of superhero domination, with Gal Gadot and “Wonder Woman” strongly leading the fearless pack out of the gates. With superheroes on the brain, I find myself returning to a question I have long pondered: Why do superhero movies…
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Against My Best Advice, I Married A Non-Jewish Man
Editor’s Note: On June 9, the Forward’s editor-in-chief Jane Eisner wrote a piece entitled, “Why This Renegade Rabbi Says He Can Marry Jews —- And The Jew-ish,” which discussed the controversy of intermarriage within the Conservative Jewish community. In the coming days and weeks, we will be publishing several responses to her story. The following…
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We Must Embrace Interfaith Families — With No Strings Attached
Editor’s Note: On June 9, the Forward’s editor-in-chief Jane Eisner wrote a piece entitled, “Why This Renegade Rabbi Says He Can Marry Jews — And The Jew-ish,” which discussed the controversy of intermarriage within the Conservative Jewish community. In the coming days and weeks, we will be publishing several responses to her story. The following…
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The Dangerous Myth of Israeli ‘Pinkwashing’ Must End
I want to speak about courage and honesty, two concepts missing from much of the discussion about the events at the Celebrate Israel parade in New York City. At the parade, a group of activists from Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) chose to create disruption by specifically targeting the LGBTQ contingent in the parade, a…
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The Modern Men of Chelm: Demons From The Cookie Jar
Editor’s note: In Ashkenazi Jewish folklore, the (very real) city of Chelm functions as an imaginary town of fools. Many tales from this tradition are entitled “The Wise Men of Chelm.” The following piece continues in that tradition. Tossing and turning, Reb Yankel spent the night struggling with intense nightmares. He could not sleep peacefully….
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What It’s Like To Be A Modern Lonely Man Of Faith
“And a man found him, when he was wandering in the field, and the man asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’ And he said, ‘I am seeking my brothers’” (Genesis 37:15). I peer out from the siddur (prayer book): are these my brothers? I look around at a rally for justice and peace: are these…
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On LBGTQ Rights, Linda Sarsour is No Ally
I was riding my bike one summer evening alongside the beautiful, crashing waves and the golden beaches of Tel Aviv. The last rays of sun painted the sky in rainbow colors which echoed the countless multi-colored flags trimming both sides of the streets of the Israeli city that never sleeps. Carefree and anxiously anticipating the…
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A Look Into My Mormon Jewish Life
When I became a Mormon at age 16 in Los Angeles, I didn’t convert from Judaism. It was when I finally made a trip “back east” at age 21 and met my relatives that I fully realized I was Jewish. Although I had spent day and night glued to the radio during the Six Day…
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Craving A #Woke Book Club? Meet The Booklynites
Throughout my year as a Repair the World Education Justice Fellow, I have had multiple coffee meetings with millennial Jews to discuss community engagement. Early on, I recognized a recurring theme that would come to shape my year of service: People sought a space in which they could have meaningful discussions about racial justice. I…
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How Do You Feel About Interfaith Marriage?
Intermarriage has always been a controversial subject, and the Forward would love to hear from our community. If you or a loved one are intermarried, were you married by a rabbi? Under a chuppah? How do you balance your beliefs and practices with those of your spouse? If you have stories, anecdotes or memories that…
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Sorry, Rabbis: Gay Men Can’t Be Happy With Women — I Married One And I Know
As some in the Sephardi world stand in an uproar as one rabbi opens a dialog around homosexuality, I am grief stricken. Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Chief Rabbi of the Spanish Portuguese community in London, recently gave a class discussing homosexuality in the context of Jewish texts. His words in no way permitted that which is…
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