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
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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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Justice Ginsburg Was Right to Take a Moral Stand Against Trump
I leave it to the legal scholars and commentators to weigh in on whether Justice Ginsburg violated the code of legal ethics by speaking out strongly against the presumptive Republican candidate for President. For my part, I think that she was more focused on morality rather than ethics. And as a Jew, I was proud…
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The Iran Deal is Good Policy and Good Politics
Last summer, a fierce debate in the pro-Israel community over how to best curtail the Iranian nuclear program took place. On July 14, 2015, after 20 months of arduous talks, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran, the P5+1 countries, and the EU was announced. On the deal’s anniversary, we asked two pro-Israel…
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A Year Later, Failure of Iran Nuclear Deal Is Clearer Than Ever
Last summer, a fierce debate in the pro-Israel community over how to best curtail the Iranian nuclear program took place. On July 14, 2015, after 20 months of arduous talks, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran, the P5+1 countries, and the EU was announced. On the deal’s anniversary, we asked two pro-Israel…
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How One Teen’s Chance Encounter Started an Autism Awareness Movement
This piece is part of a series of perspectives from Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award Recipients on their experiences in philanthropic work. While attending summer camp in 2008, I met Jamie, a young girl with Cerebral Palsy. I was at first nervous at the thought of speaking to Jamie, but soon worked up the courage…
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Why the AIPAC Haters Have it Wrong
Advocacy and activism are two fields rarely cited for their warm embrace of nuance. In a stunningly schizophrenic demonstration of why that is the case, consider Tablet’s recent piece “The End of AIPAC’s Israel Monopoly” by Jeff Ballabon and Bruce Abramson. A cursory reading of the text reveals nothing other than the authors’ predilection for…
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Meet the Teen Helping Sick Kids Feel Better One Smile at a Time
This piece is part of a series of perspectives from Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award Recipients on their experiences in philanthropic work. I’ve always wanted to do something to help others. Whether it was when I was in Girl Scouts, clubs to help the community, or running a lemonade stand, I did them all for…
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Fievel Goes East
The center of town – a large open circular area – was packed on market days. Jews and Poles came, three times a week. They set up tables and sold their produce and wares – flea-market style. All around the center, there was permanence – a large Synagogue, homes and shops. All kinds of shops…
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14 Reasons Ruth Bader Ginsberg Should Come Live In New Zealand
This morning I woke up to read on my Internet feed that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice extraordinaire, Queen of Torts, the Notorious RBG, opera aficionado and feminist icon, said that if Donald Trump wins, it’s time to move to New Zealand.’ This irony was not lost on me as I recently returned to…
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Giving Teens with a Record a Second Chance
This piece is part of a series of perspectives from Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award Recipients on their experiences in philanthropic work. Four years ago, I entered high school knowing I wanted to do something remarkable, but was consumed by doubt and uncertainty. In my freshman year, I was introduced to Teen Court—a community outreach…
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A Rabbi’s Painful Kotel Prayer
Thursday morning, I joined hundreds of women and men as we stood in solidarity at Judaism’s holiest site. We danced in celebration of a new Jewish month (Rosh Chodesh), we lifted our voices in song, and we demanded that the Israeli government implement a plan to which it had already agreed. Protests are familiar to…
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A Director’s Undying Tribute to the Iconic Elie Wiesel
For the 85th birthday of Professor Wiesel, I was asked to write a small essay to present my first encounter with Elie Wiesel. This article was published in the book “Take a Teacher, Make a Friend,” special edition for the 85th anniversary of Elie Wiesel, published by Boston University in 2014. Today, after his death,…
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