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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Prepent Day 27+28: In Search of Peace and Pleasure
Friday 9/30/16 Elul 27 5776 Today, we are publishing a double love letter for your double super Sabbath souls. Wishing you a restful, peaceful, and love-ful Sabbath. Be back on Sunday! Dear Persistent and Tired Peacemakers, Shimon Peres failed to make it happen but who knows how long it will take for grand visions like…
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Why Anti-Zionists Who Say They Aren’t Anti-Semitic Usually Are
Many responses to my recent articles have boiled down to variations of the classic claim: “I’m not anti-Semitic, just anti-Zionist.” Here’s why most people who say that are kidding themselves. To some extent, I am cautious about conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. Zionism is the revolutionary movement that asserts a Jewish right to statehood, self-determination, self-defense,…
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Prepent Day 26: What Does it Really Mean to Pray?
Thursday 9/29/16 Elul 26 5776 Dear Whomever is In Charge, There was this one night in my backyard six or seven months ago, in deep despair, no poetry or meditation helping to bring me the light of simple joy. I got on my knees and lost all mind or pride and asked in tears, of…
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How an Act of anti-Semitism in Paris Led This Young Moroccan Muslim to Fight It at Home
The first time I ever experienced anti-Semitism was in Europe. I was waiting for a bus on Avenue Niel in Paris’s 17th arrondissement when I noticed an elderly woman looking at me from across the street. She was small, with wispy white hair and a shopping basket filled with vegetables and a baguette. The way…
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Prepent Day 25: How to Handle Conflict
Wednesday 9/28/16 Elul 25 5776 Dear Conflict, There are ways to debate our different needs and ways of life and there are ways in which debates become, so often needlessly, a conflict. On this 25th day of Elul and Prepent, the day on which, it’s said, the the world was created (humans come on day…
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Ask the Rebbetzin: Should I Marry the Non-Jew I Love?
Q: Dear Rebbetzin, In the coming year I will marry a man whom I love, and who treats me with the utmost respect and love as well. I couldn’t ask for a better partner for me. The problem that my family points out (and that I was raised to understand) is that he is not…
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The Office That Peres Built
On my first day of work this summer, I rushed to my office, the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, with the hopes of being the first one there. Call me eager or anxious, but I wanted to make a good first impression. To my surprise, Shimon Peres was already at his desk drinking coffee…
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Why Donald Trump Won Last Night’s Debate
This election has brought out intense passions. Most of us have decided who we’re voting for already. There’s little room for movement among those convinced the other side is evil, out to hurt women, flood our country with Muslims, and we’re not listening to each other. In this environment, what did Trump do that made…
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Prepent Day 24: The Virtue of Hope
Tuesday 9/27/16 Elul 24 5776 Dear Hope, I invoke you often – “hope you are well, and I hope to see you again..” and even as I mean it, am I deeply powered by your inner honest code of highest hope? Or just cliche-ing? Do I still embody your virtue when I get sucked into…
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How to Break Down Barriers of Shame Surrounding Mental Illness
One out of every four of us struggles with mental illness, yet most people we speak with about this feel so alone. We have been giving people living with mental illness and addiction a place to share stories and strategies, to feel accepted and safe, and to let go of, for many, decades of shame….
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5 Best Moments of the First Presidential Debate
Whew! Ok. The first debate is in the books and our long national nightmare is finally over. Unfortunately that’s not the case, as we have around 45 more days of these shenanigans, plus another four years of the lowest common denominator in the White House. But I digress. After the first debate, I can definitively…
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