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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What I’ve Learned From Our Adopted Family Of Refugees
I actually felt embarrassed as we headed toward the museum exit. It was my first afternoon with the Kurdish family my congregation is helping to resettle in Westchester. I brought them to the Neuberger museum at SUNY Purchase to show off a great cultural institution and college campus in Westchester County. A campus construction project…
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Anti-Semitism In The Feminist Movement Is Nothing New
When people claim that feminism and Zionism are incompatible, as Linda Sarsour and others have, they are committing an act of erasure and profound ignorance. Erasure, because they silence the countless Jewish women who have fought for both the collective rights of the Jewish people and equality for women. Profound ignorance, because, in the words…
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The Jewish Case For Saving The Earth (It’s More Than Just Tikkun Olam)
Many Jews who like to think of ourselves as environmentalists often cite Tikkun Olam, or the “fixing of the world” as the Jewish impetus for being ecologically aware, and hopefully, taking action. I think that’s a good start, but there’s a lot more Jewish philosophy than just Tikkun Olam, which can be interpreted very broadly….
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Books 7 Books Every Jewish Feminist Should Read
It’s no secret that the second wave of the Feminist movement was propelled forward partially by Jewish women. Decades after some of the books written by these women were published, they continue to inspire women of all faiths and cultures to step and fight for the cause. Below, in no particular order, are 7 books…
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My Most Disturbing Shabbat
A version of this article originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post. It was the most disturbing experience I had during my almost two years studying in yeshiva in Israel. My friend who studied in a small yeshiva on the outskirts of one of the oldest neighborhoods in Jerusalem had invited me to spend the…
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New Film Reveals The Perils of Jewish Power
Despite being held during the middle of the Passover Holiday, a special preview screening of Joseph Cedar’s latest film, Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer at JCC Manhattan brought out a packed house and opened in theaters to relatively nice sales this past weekend. Cedar was at the screening…
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Dear Allies, Don’t Downplay Anti-Semitism in Trump’s America
A version of this article originally appeared in New Voices There are anti-Semites in the White House. They rank among the president’s closest advisors. Still, when I tell student activists that I feel unsafe in Trump’s America, I’m met with blank stares. I may be Jewish, sure, and everyone knows Jews have been persecuted. But…
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When Albert Einstein Became A Member of My Synagogue
The new National Geographic series about Albert Einstein, Genius, has been promoted widely. My synagogue, Keneseth Israel in Philadelphia, has a tie in to this Jewish genius. KI, now celebrating it’s 170th birthday, has been home to many celebrity members, from the Gimbel family to the Rosenwalds of Sears fame, to William S. Paley. One…
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When Biblical Gender Is Lost In Translation
We find gender-bending language in the Torah, in the greater Hebrew Bible, as well as in later Hebrew literature. And I am hardly the first one to notice this. Bible scholars, critics, and translators of later Hebrew works have all drawn attention to the phenomenon. In his 1990 bestseller “The Book of J,” Harold Bloom…
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Veteran Rabbi: Hillel Has Become A Heresy-Hunting Organization
Several weeks ago, the Hillel House at Ohio State University banned from its facilities and its funding an organization of GLBTQ students — B’nai Keshet. Why? B’nai Keshet had taken part in a coalition of student organizations working to support LGBTQ immigrants — a coalition that included Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a group that…
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For This Israeli Settler, Zionism Isn’t Nearly Radical Enough
Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, is an opportunity to take stock of where Israel has been and consider where we’re headed. Geopolitics being as they are, there’s a reasonable tendency to limit the debate to those within the mainstream. But this year may present an opportunity to challenge standard operating procedure. 2017 marks 50 years…
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