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.
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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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Hanukkah’s lesson about antisemitism on the Left
There’s a popular joke that every Jewish holiday can be summed up as “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.” It’s an aphorism that’s especially apt for the two rabbinic holidays on the Jewish calendar, Purim and Hanukkah, which we’re currently celebrating. In the Purim story, Haman wished to kill all the Jews…
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My grandfather was a Nazi. Now I say ‘Never Again’
“Why?” It was an understandable question from the hiring team at Never Again Action: “Why are you interested in this job?” The Jewish-led movement fighting the U.S.’s cruel immigration policies is less than two years old; the salary they were offering me to be their new press director was a fraction of my last one….
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The ghost of Hanukkah past
The toughest question was not: what items to keep and what to let go of? Standing in my fully filled childhood home after my father’s death in 2015, the real kishka cruncher was: which memories to keep and which to let go of? At age 50, my bittersweet job was to partner with my big…
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Our era’s Maccabee moment is now
This year, we have to remember the original meaning of Hanukkah. What many of us associate with the holiday — a little bit of oil miraculously going a long way — seems profoundly underwhelming for a God who creates the world and redeems nations from slavery. Some will say it is precisely this fact, that…
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The joy of Hanukkah gift giving — even during a pandemic
There is often confusion among Jews around the globe about why, when and how the tradition of Hanukkah gift-giving originated. Has exchanging gifts with loved ones and friends always been a part of the tradition? Why do we do it? There is nothing in religious texts nor the original retellings of the Maccabees that specifically…
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Hanukkah – This year… and next
Hanukkah begins on Thursday night…and not a minute too soon. At noon on Tuesday, every cellphone in Southern California buzzed with an emergency alert from the state office of emergency services: “New public health stay at home order in your area. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. Stay home except for essential activity. Wear a mask. Keep…
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I kayaked the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Don’t let Trump ruin it.
Almost 20 years ago, I led a small group from my congregation in New York’s Greenwich Village on a kayaking trip in the Beaufort Sea, along the northern coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. We were only miles from the part of the refuge that the Trump administration just announced it would…
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On Hanukkah, what story are you telling?
The popularized story of Hanukkah may be little more than a story. And yet, as we all know, some stories hold greater power than others. A mythologized telling of Avram smashing his father’s idols lends greater weight to his righteousness and showcases his pining for a transcendent sense of faith. A mega-fish swallowing Jonah whole…
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Scribe | The New York Times tried to erase Hannukah – a holiday that’s all about Jewish pride.
Earlier this week, The New York Times ran an article called “Saying Goodbye to Hannukah.” In it, a writer who does not identify as Jewish explained her decision to “discontinue” her Hannukah practices. The piece disappointed many in the Jewish world, including myself, not least because Hannukah is not just any holiday; it is the…
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I’d given up on Hanukkah, but this year, I’ll be lighting the menorah again
I’m in the market for a menorah, and have been rather shocked at the dizzying array of styles available, from the traditional to the downright weird. I haven’t observed Hanukkah for a number of years, but this year is different, and I need a menorah. I’ll try to explain. Both my parents were raised in…
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‘Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews,’ 33 years later
This week, 33 years ago, I stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the first time in my life, amid 250,000 American Jews and allies, listening to the legendary refusenik Natan Sharansky speak. “No missiles and tanks, no camps and prisons can extinguish the candle of freedom,” he told the throngs of people….
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