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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The Secret Jewish History of Penicillin
In the small country town of Castlebar, Ireland, you’ll find a road named after a German Jewish refugee and Nobel Prize winner, Bothar Sior Ernst Chain. Chain was awarded the Nobel for his work in developing penicillin. Sir Ernst Chain Road is a major road in the center of the small town. Visitors and local…
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Ruth Messinger: We Must Continue To Resist
“America has established for itself a tradition of fine, open-handed generosity in its response to appeals for help that come from beyond its borders. The respect for human rights, the understanding of the dignity of the individual, the reverence for personality, which are part of the American way of looking at life, carry with them…
The Latest
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Not Your Average Peep Show: An Israeli Ending To New York Fashion Week
Inbal Dror, an Israeli designer whose collections range from regal Bridal gowns to sultry evening wear, ended New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2017 at a private showing which included a window display hosted by Dorinda Medley of Bravo’s The Real House Wives of New York City, John Mahdessian, owner of Madame Paulette and The Tahor…
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It’s Time To Stop The Exploitative Romanticization Of Undocumented Immigrants
“Without immigrants, America’s economy would collapse,” reads a recent video posted by “Attn:” on Facebook. So far it has been viewed 3.1 million times. The video urges us to wonder “what would America look like without them?” It claims the food industry would suffer because “America would lose up to 70% of its farm workers…Agricultural…
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Making Chelm Great Again
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. Lately, the people of Chelm had been afraid. A number of townspeople, afflicted by poverty and unhappiness,…
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Is Judaism A Good Model For Islamic Reform?
Mustafa Akyol’s recent New York Times column, What Jesus Can Teach Today’s Muslims, bravely broaches one of the most important issues today: reform in Islam. The separation of church and state, the position of women, the role of violence— all of these factors and more must be addressed for the Muslim world to experience its…
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Did Netanyahu’s Visit To Australia Teach Us Anything New?
A version of this piece originally appeared in Plus61J, an Australian Jewish publication. If Benjamin Netanyahu could pack up the audience at the Central Synagogue in Sydney and take them back to Israel, he would. No critics. No opponents, from the left, or worse, the right. No journalists waiting to pounce. No police waiting to…
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Should Women Ever Message Men First On Dating Apps?
Click here to anonymously submit a dating question for Sonya’s weekly column. Whenever my female friends reach out to me for guy advice, I often tell them that I’m probably not the person they should be asking. Let me explain: the number one mistake we make when in need of advice (especially about someone…
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WATCH: General Flynn Makes “Pants On Fire” Statements At A Massachusetts Synagogue
General Michael T. Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser who resigned Monday night after reports that he had possibly lied to the FBI, spoke at Ahavath Torah Congregation in Stoughton, Massachusets as a part of their Hausman Memorial Speaker Series in August — and, as it turns out, also made false statements there that were…
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Dates Gone Wrong: That Time My Date Got Arrested
Do you have a crazy dating story of your own to share? Email us! This happened 9 years ago, when I was 21. My date — whom we will call Zack — was about my age, a business owner, and very charming. I had met him at work — we were both Orthodox, and I…
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The Latest Trend In Zionism? Anti-Semitism.
“The truth,” writes Bernard Henri-Levy in his recent book, The Genius of Judaism, “is that one can now be anti-Semitic only by being anti-Zionist; anti-Zionism is the required path for any anti-Semitism that wishes to expand its recruiting pool beyond those still nostalgic for the discredited brotherhoods.” Is that true, or has the ancient virus…
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