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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Two minutes and 53 seconds that scream ‘black lives matter’
Two Minutes 53 Seconds that Scream: Black Lives Matter Rabbi Sharon Brous The divine revelation at Sinai came amidst thunder, lightning and blasts of the shofar. But our Rabbis imagined that just before the Holy One spoke, there was a great, unifying, collective silence throughout all the world. No bird chirped, the angels did not…
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I graduated early to hike the Appalachian Trail. Now I’m stuck inside.
I should have been on the Appalachian Trail right now. I am a high school graduate and have been for the last six months — I finished high school a semester early in order to start the Appalachian Trail in April 2020, planning to then begin college after a gap year. Ditching my senior prom…
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Yearning to breathe free
At first, the world seems little changed—the virus is still present, the future still unclear. In fact, the coronavirus is a consistent reminder of how much we do not know. When will there be a second wave? Do antibodies provide immunity? When will there be a vaccine? Feeling equal measures of fear and constriction, we…
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I joined a club to read an old book and found a new story
Geraldine Brooks’ “People of the Book” was the inspiration for a creative musical work entitled “The Sarajevo Haggadah: Music of the Book.” Created by Bosnian composer and accordion player, Merima Kljuco, the work uses accordion, piano, and video to trace the unique travels of the haggadah from medieval Spain to 20th century Bosnia. Hidden and…
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B’sha’ah tovah and superstition during my pandemic-era pregnancy
Persecutions, pogroms, and power struggles have programmed Jews to expect the worst. This manifests most in oft-stereotyped Jewish worry. Stuck in traffic? We will never get to our destination and every gas station along the way will be closed. Our food delivery is ten minutes late? They forgot our order and we will go hungry…
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‘Zoom shiva is shiva distilled to its essence’
I am one of those people with one of those stories. My mom, 83, went into the hospital in early April with something relatively routine. A few weeks and complications later, she went to a rehab to regain her strength. My dad delivered her reading glasses and an everything bagel to the door, knowing, of…
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A Lower East Side children’s book to guide your family through quarantine
This piece was originally published on the Eldridge Street Museum’s blog. Millions of families, including my own, are heading into an tenth week of staying at home. And there’s no official end date in sight. I find myself grasping at ways to keep my toddler-aged child engaged and entertained while preserving some shred of sanity…
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‘What religion was my cousin? What rituals could we all share?’
My cousin was born a Jew, accepted Christ, and died an atheist in a COVID ward in a Florida hospital. He was secretly laid to rest a week later, his Christian wife spreading his ashes on the grave of our observant Jewish grandmother in a private, unauthorized graveside funeral. Before the funeral, there were discussions…
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Q&A with authors Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman
This article was originally published on We Need Diverse Books here. We’re pleased to welcome Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman to discuss their anthology It’s a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories and their careers as authors. Get ready to fall in love, experience heartbreak, and discover the true meaning of identity in…
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Aleinu. It is on us.
George Floyd was murdered under the knees of a police officer, along with three accomplices. In many faith traditions, knees are used to bend in reverence to holiness. Reverend Ted Tollefson inspired my sisters and me to write this piece from the Jewish perspective as we head into the festival of Shavuot. Aleinu. It is…
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Mourning, healing, and proximity in a COVID world
There is a story told in the Talmud (Tractate Berakhot, 5b) about Rabbi Yohanan. He possessed a great healing ability, the unique ability to listen and hold the pain of the other, and he had also experienced unimaginable loss as 10 of his children died in his lifetime. In one famous story he goes to…
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