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
-
In Uganda, Abayudaya Jews Fight for Survival— One Well at a Time
As Jews around the world celebrate the restarting of the Torah, among them is probably the world’s newest, and unlikeliest, group of Jews. The Abayudaya are converts twice over – once converted to Christianity by British missionaries in the late 1800s and again to Judaism in the early 1900s when their leader, inspired by the…
-
In Washington Heights, a Model of Orthodox Inclusivity Emerges
After graduating from Yeshiva University’s Stern College, Rachael Fried moved to Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood. As she looked around for an Orthodox community that would welcome her, she could not find a synagogue where she felt comfortable as a young Orthodox, queer woman. “I stopped going to shul altogether,” she said, using the Yiddish word…
The Latest
-
Why the U.S. Presidential Election Matters for Israel’s Environment
Israelis are interested in the U.S. presidential election. But who ends up in the White House does not only impact the most obvious foreign policy initiatives – military aid, the future of the Iran nuclear deal, a potential two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. I see the future of U.S. environmental policy as the most…
-
Remembering My Teacher Tom Hayden
I’m a rabbi in Canada, not exactly left wing in my politics, and yet I’m mourning the death of perhaps the most significant American radical of his generation. Tom Hayden has died and I’m left deeply saddened. I’d met Hayden in early 1972 when I was a twenty year old college student in Claremont, California,…
-
The Right of Palestinian Return Would Mean the End of Jewish Israel
Cultural primacy, no less than political independence, is an expression of Jewish power. In advocating for a magical convivium that would come about through the Palestinian “right of return,” Joshua Schreier and Mira Sucharov argue against both forms of Jewish power. Part of their argument is an appeal to the past. Jewish intellectuals have a…
-
Want to Prevent BDS? Speak Out Against the Destruction of Susya.
Last November, I was one of 100 J Street U students from across New England who attended a meeting at Harvard Hillel with Barry Shrage. Shrage is the President of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (the Boston area’s Jewish Federation) as is seen as an important and respected figure in the Boston Jewish community. We discussed…
-
Taking Back the Z: Why Zionism Isn’t Just for Right Wing Jews
This past Shabbat, Noam Rotem wrote a thoughtful article in +972, calling for Israelis and Jews to “say goodbye” to Zionism. Contrary to the position of our organization and movement, to Rotem, Zionism is an “empty slogan, used only to grant Jews rights over non-Jews,” and that we should abandon its use as a word…
-
Ask the Rebbetzin: How Can I Move Forward without Changing Myself?
Dear Rebbetzin, I am starting a new job soon and usually I relish the feeling of beginning over. When I was a teacher, September was the time when all the lesson plans were new and full of potential. I could plan on changing my personal style. I would never eat at my desk. I would…
-
The Top 8 Texting Tips to Make or Break a Budding Relationship
Click here to anonymously submit a dating question for Sonya’s weekly column. Texting is the most important communication tool of the 21st century when it comes to dating. Texting can either make or break a forming relationship. I’d like to share a personal experience that should be a lesson to all texters out there….
-
The Forward’s Responsibility to Expose Campus Anti-Semitism
Last month, The City University of New York (CUNY) released a report by two CUNY-hired lawyers to investigate allegations of campus anti-Semitism. The investigation was triggered by a 14-page letter from the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) to CUNY’s leadership, describing the anti-Semitic harassment and intimidation that students were enduring on four CUNY campuses, perpetrated…
-
How Do I Explain My Trump Nazi Nightmare to My Mexican American Daughter?
I have a terrible recurring dream. I’m hiding in the attic with Anne Frank and she’s calling me “Kitty.” I tell her that I have to go, I don’t know where my daughter is, and she turns to me and tells me that we can’t go anywhere. We are in hiding and we must stay…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
- 2
Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
- 3
Fast Forward Hanukkah shooting leaves at least 15 dead at Australia’s most popular beach
- 4
Fast Forward Father and son suspects in Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack identified as Sajid and Naveed Akram by law enforcement
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture In making a Christian case for Shabbat, Charlie Kirk stripped off its Judaism
-
News Christians are displaying menorahs in their windows post-Bondi Beach attack. Why some Jews object
-
Opinion My religion was ‘None of the above,’ until Oct. 7 and now Bondi
-
Yiddish World This Pennsylvania rabbi fuses liberal Judaism with Hasidic Yiddish
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
