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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5 Steps and an Unlikely Outsider Can ‘Save’ Conservative Judaism
Recently Dr. Roberta Kwall wrote an article entitled “Saving Conservative Judaism” for Commentary Magazine. Kwall writes “In short, the Conservative movement needs to return to [Solomon] Schechter’s mission of conserving Jewish tradition by focusing its educational and spiritual energies on enlarging and strengthening a root group of Conservative Jews who are drawn to tradition.” Kwall’s…
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Ancient Barcelona Synagogue Survives Despite Tragic Past
The Ancient Synagogue of Barcelona, also called Sinagoga Major de Barcelona in the region’s native Catalan, is on Carrer Marlet, a narrow stone road in the city’s old Jewish quarter, the “Call” (a Catalan word from the Latin callis that means “narrow streets”). Although the site is small, easily accessible and lovingly and openly preserved,…
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A Fallen Heiress And The Theory Of Wealth
My friend Sandy is the founder and sole member of The Fallen Heiress Club. The child of a wealthy business man and a mother who was a movie star -– or at least looked like one –- she grew up in silence and boarding homes with the richest kids in the neighborhood. Today, she wears…
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The Tragic Socialist Russian Jewish Immigrant At The Root of Our Public Health Debate
One of the guiding lights of public health policy in the United States was a Russian Jewish immigrant who came to this country with plans of being a lawyer and a social advocate. Theodore Bernard Sachs was born on May 2, 1868, a son of a prosperous merchant and owner of the largest department store…
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What I Learned Baking Challah For My Children’s Heritage Dinner
The news from Washington gets stranger and more disturbing each day. The pundits scream from our television screens. Columnists issue dire warnings in newspapers. Our Facebook feeds glow with loud echos of our own views. Whether we occupy the left or the right, unsettled feelings swirl ever more rapidly all around us. Staying upright on…
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Your Ultimate Guide To The Laws And Customs Of Shavuot
This is a brief review of the laws and customs of Shavuot. Besides the status of Shavuot as a Yom Tov, there are neither biblical nor rabbinical laws relevant to it today. In biblical times Shavuot was the culmination of the Exodus, and it did not have a date of its own, but rather was…
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Freeing ‘Chained Women’ Starts With A Song: JWI and The Maccabeats Join Forces to End Get Abuse
Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. At least, that’s the narrative society often instills in young women. The shoes, dress, and decorations need to be Pinterest perfect. But how often do we discuss what happens after the wedding? The value of a healthy relationship gets lost in the…
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Are Both Jews and Palestinians Indigenous To Israel?
On Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) we celebrate an indigenous people displaced from their land by colonizing Empire (a succession of Christian or Muslim empires, to be specific) returning home, gaining self-determination, and then regaining access to the lost city that had been holy to them for 3,000 years. But of course the history is not…
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NYC Protestors Drink Salt Water In Solidarity With Palestinian Hunger Strikers
Jews Say No!, an NYC group I am a part of, and the Grannies Peace Brigade recently participated in the salt water challenge in solidarity with more than 1500 Palestinian hunger strikers, who have entered the 38th day of their strike. The Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails began the hunger strike on April 17th, and…
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How To Celebrate Jerusalem Day Abroad
Today, as I walk the streets of Jerusalem, I feel the miracles and the magic around me. I hear the stones whispering their history. I see the colors and the vibrancy of the people. I viscerally sense the complexity which I cannot adequately articulate. I am witness to the fruits of past bravery, and I…
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Don’t Like Kosher Restaurants? You’re Probably Going To The Wrong Ones.
Editor’s Note: On May 16, 2017, Scribe featured piece by Jacob Frommer asking a simple question: Why Are Most Kosher Restaurants So Terrible? The piece has since sparked many heated and thoughtful discussions online. In the coming days, we’ll be featuring several responses from readers and Jewish communal leaders alike. I travel quite a lot,…
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