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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8 Days of Meaningful Hanukkah Giving
On Hanukkah, it’s not about what we give as much as why we are giving it. In America, the chaotic holiday season seems to span for months. Luckily for us Jews, Hanukkah is smack in the middle and a symbol of so many positive values. Let’s put aside the “To Gift or Not to Gift”…
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The Yiddishe Mame on Black Friday
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Thanksgiving with the Yiddishe Mame
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I Worked with Keith Ellison. Here’s Why Pro-Israel Jews Should Be Cautiously Optimistic.
There is a good possibility the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is going to be my friend and Congressman, Keith Ellison. In the decade since he was first elected to Congress, Rep. Ellison and I have fostered a close relationship. I respect Rep. Ellison and strongly support many of his domestic policies…
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4 Existential Questions Worth Asking on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the most Jewish of American holidays. It recalls the Torah’s instruction that “when you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which God has given you” (Deut. 8:10). Thanksgiving calls on Americans not to hoard the earth’s bounty, but rather to share with “the stranger,…
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Gender Bending in the Torah: Was Rebecca a Young Man?
I am responding in this series to frequently asked questions about some gender-bending translations of Torah texts I have proposed in a few articles since 2008, and in an Op-Ed in The New York Times, “Is God Transgender?” (August 12, 2016). So far, we have looked at Eve as “he” and Noah repairing to “her”…
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What Should You Do When Someone at Dinner Says Jews Control the Media?
On Saturday night, my husband and I went out to dinner with friends in a suburb about 25 minutes away. We were enjoying a restaurant featuring an eclectic menu of Asian fusion food. Sitting at the next table were a father, his adult son and daughter and their significant others. They were all in their…
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My Grocery Aisle Encounter with the New Age of Anti-Semitism
“That’s a big f**king yarmulke,” says a voice coming from behind me. I’m shopping at a Fairway supermarket in Manhattan and turn around to face a white man in his thirties sporting a blonde crew cut. “Excuse me?” I ask. I’m holding onto a shopping cart full of groceries for a dinner my community prepares…
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In Dating, How Picky Is Too Picky?
When I was in my twenties, I knew exactly the type of guy I was searching for. He was Brad Pitt. He also had an unrealistic list of qualities, mostly superficial ones, that I was sure one person could possess. I often heard my friends in their thirties and forties tell me that as you…
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Judaica Items You’ll Want to Buy Right Now
What do you love more- giving or getting? Giving gifts or getting gifts? Giving love or getting love? Before I became a mother, I was certain that getting was the preferred option, but as my five sons have grown — as well as my deep love for them — “giving” seems to feel so much…
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How to Argue with an Anti-Semite: Advice from a Jew on the Alt Right
I’ve spent years arguing with anti-Semites online. I’ve argued with them since before it was called “online” — back in the days of BBS services, dial up modems, and green and black monitors. Their tactics haven’t changed much (just like Jews haven’t changed much). They may cloak themselves in any number of guises, but their…
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Culture Why saying ‘L’shana Tova’ on Rosh Hashanah may not be the correct phrase
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Culture A Jewish prophet of the 1980s would be horrified to see that we didn’t heed his warnings
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Opinion This is the most disorienting Rosh Hashanah in memory
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Fast Forward Meet Lev Kreitman, who brought down Tel Aviv shooter and survived Nova music festival on Oct. 7
In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish ווי האָבן ייִדן געהיט די ייִדיש־קולטור אױף יענער זײַט „אײַזערנעם פֿאָרהאַנג“?How did Jews maintain their Yiddish culture behind the Iron Curtain?
ייִדישע ליטעראַטן, װאָס האָבן געטרײַ געדינט די קאָמוניסטישע רעזשימען, האָבן גענוצט זײערע פּריװילעגיעס כּדי אָפּצוהיטן ייִדיש.
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Fast Forward All the Jewish NHL players to watch in the 2024-2025 season
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Opinion A two-state solution may seem like a distant dream. Here’s why it shouldn’t be
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Opinion I’m a Holocaust survivor. Here’s why I celebrated my 80th birthday protesting at an Israeli prison
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