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
-
Donald Trump and the Fragility of White Jewish Privilege
The United States has been kind to the Jews. European physical features have helped them become recognized as white in the American racial caste system. The First Amendment’s promise of religious freedom has helped too. However, the whiteness, and in effect the general welfare of American Jewry may soon be a thing of the past,…
-
Israeli Love in the Time of Trump: A Broken Marriage and a Budding Romance with a Muslim
I left my husband, an Israeli American Jew, in the months after Trump launched his campaign. By the time Trump clinched the Republican nomination, I was in love with an Egyptian Muslim. It’s not a path I could have predicted, but it’s one that taught me many valuable lessons about love and the future I…
The Latest
-
Ask the Rebbetzin: How Do I Convince My Orthodox Brother That My Judaism is Authentic, Too?
Q: Dear Rebbetzin, My brother adopted Orthodoxy as an adult and he and his wife and kids lead an active Jewish life. We were raised within the Conservative movement, so I guess he went one direction and I went another: I identify, now, mostly with the Jewish Renewal movement and also consider myself to have…
-
The Ultimate Guide to Making Your First Date Amazing
Below, the founder of JCrush shares her top tips for a successful first date, including: • How many drinks you should have on the first date • What you should you wear — and how to craft your “first date uniform” • Why you should give a second date a chance • Where you should NEVER go on…
-
Kol Nidre, Kabalah, and the Cubs
A few hours after the Kol Nidre service that marks the beginning of Yom Kippur, 11:07 p.m. Chicago time, my phone buzzed. My iPhone was on for emergencies: with the kid away in college and my 91 year old mom alone in her apartment, I had to check. The message spelled “W-O-W.” “Dad, Cubs had…
-
Still Single on the Upper West Side
A kindly old man in my UWS building elevator asked me if I was married. I politely said no, I am not now, and have never been, married. He looked genuinely shocked. “What is wrong with all the boys today?” he asked. What is wrong indeed! I have my theories. But let me tell you…
-
Did Noah Repair to ‘Her’ Tent?
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). Last time we looked at whether the Torah refers to Eve as “he.” This…
-
What To Do When Your Child Shames Hillary for Staying With Bill
My 13-year-old daughter came to me asking for help. Her classmates were claiming that “it was awful of Hillary and a bad influence on girls” (my daughter’s words) for Hillary to have stayed in her marriage after Bill cheated on her. “Hillary is always talking about women’s rights, but she doesn’t show it; she should…
-
The Libertarian Case for Israel
Anti-Israel sentiment abounds in the Arab world due to their rejection of Jewish presence in the area, especially in the form of a State. What is much more vexing is that a similar attitude is pervasive among the libertarian community (and, even, shonda, amongst, happily, a very small percentage of Jews) where Israel is often…
-
Miko Peled and Progressive Jewish Anti-Semitism
Every time I have a glimmer of hope for the progressive community to get it together about anti-Semitism, something happens to quickly dash it. The incident with Miko Peled, the Jewish son of a high ranking Israeli general, is a recent example. After a brouhaha over his string of anti-Semitic tweets, his event at San…
-
Prepent Day 40: My Final Reflections
Thursday 10/13/16 Tishrei 10 5777 Dear me, This journey is complete and the year is off to a good start. Today I’ll put up a temporary roof to sit under and watch the stars in the backyard. When you were 4 you made a drawing of a sukkah and signed it for the first time…
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Why saying ‘L’shana Tova’ on Rosh Hashanah may not be the correct phrase
- 2
Culture How my odious cousin Roy Cohn was responsible for creating Donald Trump — and me
- 3
Opinion This is the most disorienting Rosh Hashanah in memory
- 4
Fast Forward Was the viral Ta-Nehisi Coates interview a hit piece or fair play? A journalism ethics expert weighs in.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Democratic poll shows 71% of Jewish voters across 7 swing states favor Kamala Harris
-
Fast Forward As Florida braces for Hurricane Milton, this rabbi is defying an evacuation order so he can help
-
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.
-
Fast Forward All the Jewish NHL players to watch in the 2024-2025 season
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism