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
-
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
-
Is Gerrymandering Against Jewish Law?
The other day, I took a coffee meeting with a woman who has decided recently to become involved in social activism. She had previously been unengaged politically, but the recent election has galvanized her into action. Specifically, she was deeply concerned about President-elect Trump’s appointment of Steven K. Bannon as Chief White House Strategist, and…
-
Sorry, Pundits: Non-Orthodox American Jews Are Here to Stay.
Recently I was waiting to chow down on some beef stew at a Jerusalem restaurant in the city’s iconic Mahane Yehuda market, often called “the shuk.” That’s when I saw them. Hordes of Americans in the their early 20s. The best new winter jackets. Young, robust, happy. They were chatting about how “cool” Jerusalem was….
The Latest
-
What I Told My 4-Year-Old Daughter When She Asked for a Christmas Tree
We make a left out of our apartment and walk on Sixth Avenue, where a wide selection of pine trees are available for purchase. “I want a Christmas tree,” says Ravi, my 4-year-old. “What’s Christmas?” I ask. “I don’t know,” Ravi says. “I like the lights.” Why shouldn’t she want a tree? Pine trees especially…
-
Seriously — What’s With All the High Security Synagogues?
When I was a rabbinical student in Los Angeles almost thirty years ago, I taught Hebrew school at several synagogues. I often ran late, so I would zoom into the parking lot, rush through the front door, and jog directly to my classroom. No one stopped me at the parking lot, or asked for ID…
-
A Look Inside Jewish Romania
Bucharest, Romania I find myself in Eastern Europe for the “International Festival of Yiddish Theatre,” having been invited by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Romania holds the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2016 and has invited the New York based National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene to present a play of which…
-
Listen Up, Single Ladies: We’re Ruining Men
Click here to anonymously submit a dating question for Sonya’s weekly column. This is an article that some women are not going to like reading, but it’s my duty to call those guilty of this behavior out on it. Over the last couple of months as a single woman, I’ve witnessed many guy friends…
-
In Moldova, a Poor Child’s Face Reflects Infinite Jewish Possibilities
Perched high atop a hill, the old Jewish cemetery looked well maintained, so I smiled. In Eastern and Central Europe, I’ve found that to be rare. We had just entered Rybnitsa – crossing the de facto border between the former Soviet republic of Moldova and separatist, quasi-independent Transnistria – when the translator pointed it out….
-
The League of Defamation
Raymond Donovan, President Reagan’s Secretary of Labor, was repeatedly investigated and cleared — including by the FBI and Justice Department — of apparently politically-motivated accusations of bribing union officials, mob connections and fraud by his construction company. Still, in 1985, a politically ambitious Democratic Bronx District Attorney resurrected those accusations, and secured a highly-publicized 137-count…
-
A Trump Embassy Move Would Be Nothing To Celebrate
During his campaign, Trump promised that he would honor a longstanding American commitment and finally move the American embassy in Israel from it’s current home in Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem, where the seat of the Israeli government is located. For more than a decade, no foreign embassy has been located there, and the world…
-
AMP Is Here To Stay; False Charges Need To Stop
The American Muslims for Palestine, a national not-for-profit organization, has long come under attack because of our mission to educate the American public about Palestine and its rich, cultural and religious heritage. Our goal is to build a grassroots movement that will help persuade our elected officials to create a more fair and balanced foreign…
-
Post Wedding Mental Health Challenges Are More Common Than You Think — Here’s What You Can Do To Conquer Them
After months of planning, and years of anticipation, the wedding was beautiful. Family and friends. Dancing. A real simcha. She and her family never dreamed a mental health challenge would appear after the wedding. She would be a bride! So why was she feeling depressed afterward? For some newlyweds, it may just be “post-wedding blues.”…
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Why saying ‘L’shana Tova’ on Rosh Hashanah may not be the correct phrase
- 2
Culture A Jewish prophet of the 1980s would be horrified to see that we didn’t heed his warnings
- 3
Opinion This is the most disorienting Rosh Hashanah in memory
- 4
Fast Forward Meet Lev Kreitman, who brought down Tel Aviv shooter and survived Nova music festival on Oct. 7
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture How my odious cousin Roy Cohn was responsible for creating Donald Trump — and me
-
Fast Forward Nova survivor reveals she witnessed rape on Oct. 7 at Tel Aviv memorial ceremony interrupted by rocket sirens
-
Fast Forward In NYC, Jews gather together — and apart — for prayer and protest to mark one year since Oct. 7
-
Fast Forward Trump visits gravesite of Lubavitcher Rebbe to mark Oct. 7 anniversary
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism