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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Doctors Without Borders Denies Institutional Anti-Semitism
At a time of increasing Israeli-Palestinian violence in Israel and the West Bank, and ongoing tensions in and around Gaza, my organization, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiėres (MSF), has been accused by some members of the Jewish community, including longtime MSF supporters, of harboring an anti-Israel bias. Some have charged MSF with anti-Semitism. It is…
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Why the Supreme Court Immigration Decision Is a Jewish Issue
Every so often at Shabbat services, service leaders mark key events in our nation’s history, such as when the Supreme Court decided in favor of marriage equality, or when the Affordable Care Act passed. Whether these events are worked into the weekly sermon or there’s simply a mention before we begin our prayers, marking these…
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120 Years of The Jewish Daily Forward: Now On Pinterest
This year, The Jewish Daily Forward is celebrating our fulfillment of the Jewish blessing — “ad meah v’esrim!” — and marking our 120th year as the leading Jewish publication in the world. To celebrate, we invite you to to view, interact with, and comment on our new Pinterest board, 120 Years of the Forward. Pinterest…
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A Baltimore Inner City Rabbi’s Take on the Freddie Gray Verdict
More than one year after Freddie Gray died in police custody here in Baltimore, within walking distance of my home, I still remember the palpable anxiety and anticipation of those days in April 2015. Protests, mostly peaceful, were a daily feature and curfew a nightly one. The national guard was deployed; I took a photo…
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The Forward Drags Journalism Backwards with Baseless Moratorium on Donald J. Trump
This week, the Forward, a Jewish newspaper founded in the late 1800’s, announced a 24-hour moratorium on covering Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. In her note to readers on June 21, Forward editor Jane Eisner wrote that the so-called “Trumpatorium” was a response to anti-Semitic online bullying, which Ms. Eisner claims Mr. Trump “appears to have…
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Why Trump Supporters Are Infatuated With an Anime Character
In a recent article in the Forward titled, Decoding an Anti-Semitic Meme Donald Trump Supporters Took From Anime, Jay Michaelson uncovered a meme being circulated around the internet by White Nationalists of an anime character sporting a Trump hat. While there is a sad plethora of anime-inspired White Nationalist memes, it makes a lot of…
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Shabbat is the Answer to Every Question
“Shabbat is the answer to every question.” This mantra is one of my favorite teaching and organizing tools in Jewish life. Here’s how it works: ask everyone in the room what questions they have. I’m not talking about things you can Google or ask an expert – real questions that you’re struggling with. Almost without…
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Using the Torah to Heal
What happens when the first evening of Shavuot coincides with an all -night community fund raiser in support of cancer research? You combine both events, using the Torah as a focal point of healing. I faced a dilemma earlier this month after I became aware that organizers of the community’s annual Relay for Life cancer…
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The Origins of Anti-Semitic Anime Inspired by Donald Trump
Late last week, Forward writer Jay Michaelson discovered an unlikely connection between three seemingly unrelated topics: anime, Donald Trump and anti-Semitism. In what appears to be the most bizarre twist to come out of the 2016 election, after penning a criticism of Trump, Michaelson found himself bombarded with pictures of the popular anime character Asuka…
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Riding With My White Privilege
I don’t generally publicly share stories of random encounters I’ve had with strangers in New York City, but this week I had an experience on the subway while riding with my 12-1/2-year-old daughter R that struck me as worth sharing. It was surprising, challenging, instructive, intense, sensitizing, and, ultimately, very gratifying and maybe even important….
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Reflections on Jewish Megatrends
It appears to me that Sid Schwarz’s framing of strategies employed by successful Jewish organizations and programs is useful. Given that Beth Am is a synagogue attempting to establish its relevance in the current marketplace of Jewish ideas and with this current generation of American Jews, I believe we employ each of these strategies. Indeed…
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