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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I want to thank the donors who changed my life, and Colorado law
Just last week Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law the bill I had introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives, with another member of the Jewish caucus, that requires Holocaust and genocide education as a requirement for graduation from Colorado public schools. House Bill 1336 directs the Colorado Board of Education to adopt learning…
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The song of the grass blades
One fortuitous outcome of COVID has been my expanded opportunity to walk and hike, since so much entertainment is closed and outdoor interactions are safest. Living in upstate New York, I’ve been blessed to live near stunningly beautiful wooded areas, streams, and mountains in state parks and on private lands run by local conservancies. Most…
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Joe Biden names his sh’liach to the Yidden – my partner
I lost my business partner last week, but for a good cause. Aaron Keyak is now Jewish Engagement Director for Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. His sh’liach to the Yidden, if you will. The campaign could not have picked a better person. Aaron and Bluelight Strategies, the Washington public-affairs firm we co-founded in 2014,…
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The kibbutz is Israel’s original start-up
Born out of necessity as well as ideology, the first kibbutz, Degania, was established in 1910. The ideology consisted of a blend of socialist thinking and class struggle with Zionism. A communal lifestyle made it possible to cope with the challenge of developing an agricultural economy in a harsh environment. Still, kibbutz life is not…
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As a gay Jew, I may face discrimination – but I still have white privilege
For as long as I can remember, being Jewish has been my primary identity. Once I came out in my early 40s, I embraced being gay as my second primary identity. I am proud to be both. Yet, why am I reluctant about being white? Growing up I never thought about this. You could count…
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As a Black Jew, I am caught in the middle
Over the past 48 hours, my social media outlets have blown up over recent anti-Semitic comments made by an Eagles footballer, DeSean Jackson. I have seen many of my white Jewish colleagues, students, friends and public leaders come out publicly denouncing and calling out the anti-Semitic comments. I am not here to defend the anti-Semitic…
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My article was controversial – and I talked to the haters
Hillel and Shamai, the exemplars of rabbinic and Jewish pluralism, have a dark secret that is seldom found on the many source sheets featuring these archetypal rivals. While most teachers focus on the many stories highlighting the high level of respect and civility between these two men and their respective study houses, we can find…
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Will we be excited to return to shul?
This may be one of the oldest Jewish jokes out there. A Jewish man is shipwrecked on a desert island. Working with available supplies he makes a whole community, including a shul. Eventually he is rescued by a passing ship. Before they leave, one of the sailors says, “Hey! Why’d you build two synagogues?” The…
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Spiritual hunger persists even in the face of physical hunger
Amos dedicated the bulk of his prophecy to railing against the well-heeled, calling them “cows of Bashan”: “They drink [straight] from the wine bowls, And anoint themselves with the choicest oils— But they are not concerned about the food/ruin (shever) of Joseph” (Amos 6:6). And yet, in Amos’s climactic prophecy, he shifts his focus to…
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Not all the statues need to come down
Three monuments—the statue of Saint Louis in Missouri, the Judah P. Benjamin monument in North Carolina, and buildings named for Woodrow Wilson at Princeton—allow us to understand how Jews should think about their place within the American racial order and how antiracists should think about Jews within the struggle to disrupt the legacies of racism….
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Two women of valor and a rental rabbi
We decided that it was our job to fill in our mother’s grave. In the time of COVID, funeral protocols dictated that you either give a ceremonious shovelful or two and back away or do the whole deed. And we were told to bring our own shovels as a safety precaution. So there we were…
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