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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Today I Am Weeping For Pittsburgh — But We Must Stand Strong Together
Sometimes, maybe it is the same for you, I come to shul on Shabbat and just look around. I am trying to understand the stories of all the people who have come to pray. There are the wide-eyed newcomers, so polite. There are the insiders, and the ones who came for the bar mitzvah, unmistakable…
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Remembering A Jewish Childhood In Squirrel Hill, Unblemished By Hate
I lived in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh. I lived in Squirrel Hill. I remember the park, Frick Park- with a blue slide etched into the edge of a hill- one we used to ride down on wax paper and cardboard boxes- the relic of childhood that I rode down years later to relive the few moments…
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How My Hearing Loss Inspired Me To Help Others
My long hair was somewhat of a shield when I was a girl — an effective way to hide my multicolored hearing aids from classmates with lingering questions and bullying tendencies. I’ve worn hearing aids since I was 3-years-old. Being hard of hearing caused delays in my mental and physical development, which made going to…
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Jewish Leaders Ignore Occupation At General Assembly
The first thing I noticed were the slogans painted in colorful letters on the walls and columns of the convention center. “Silence is Not Golden,” said one. “Keep the dialogue going,” said another one. “Don’t leave anything unsaid,” said a third. The Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Tel Aviv was plastered with…
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The Anti-Israel Professor Who’s A Darling Of The Alt Right — And The Far Left
The US Government created Ebola, Zika and Swine Flu. The Anthrax attacks after 9/11 were an inside job. America is run by Zionists and Rothschilds. Harvard graduates, including President Obama, have a “Nazi mentality.” One would think these were the deranged rantings of an obscure conspiracy theorist, but they are not. These views belong to…
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Is Ranting Against Globalism Anti Semitic?
The president has railed against “globalists” in recent rallies. (This is not new rhetoric; earlier this year the president told the United Nations that he rejects globalism altogether.) “Globalist” is a term with an anti-Semitic history, and it’s often understood as code for “Jews,” so this language is activating and traumatizing for a lot of…
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The Unlikely Friendship Between A Chabad Rabbi And A Professional Fratboy
Andy Borans: The Man and The Legend. Borans, head of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity for over two decades, is the person who has single-handedly had more influence on college students than any other college professional. AEPi is his life, his family. Borans is all about developing future Jewish leaders. One of my earliest encounters…
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I Survived A Totalitarian Regime. ‘Believe All Women’ Is A Recipe For Disaster
I was six- years-old, growing up in Bucharest, Romania, when I was denounced as a public menace. Mariana, who lived next door, was the first to jump on the bandwagon. Her parents were communist party officials. Until that moment, I didn’t know why we were hiding at my grandparents’ house and everyone spoke in whispers,…
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Remembering The Positive Changes President Carter Made For Israel — And American Jews
September 17 marked the 40th anniversary of President Jimmy Carter’s singular achievement — the Camp David Accords. The Accords established the framework of the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty, which the parties signed six months later. In return for Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordering Israeli withdrawal — including settlements — from the entire Sinai Peninsula, Egyptian President…
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Deported Synagogue Custodian Has One Last Chance To Appeal
In May 2018, Rabbi Aaron Brusso shared the harrowing news that ICE had just deported his synagogue’s beloved custodian. His Forward op-ed, “Our Synagogue’s Custodian Is A Member Of Our Family – And ICE Just Deported Him,” recalled how Armando had been a beloved member of the community for decades, but was now facing deportation…
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How Did The Murdered Warsaw Ghetto Rabbi Build A Huge Modern Following?
This month, thousands of unlikely Hasidim will commemorate the martyrdom of a lesser-known rabbi sometimes called “The Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto.” Since the discovery of his buried Holocaust manuscripts in December 1950, fascination with the creative genius and theological heroism of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira has swelled into a rising tide of interest in…
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Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
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Fast Forward Hanukkah shooting leaves at least 15 dead at Australia’s most popular beach
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Fast Forward Father and son suspects in Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack identified as Sajid and Naveed Akram by law enforcement
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Culture In making a Christian case for Shabbat, Charlie Kirk stripped off its Judaism
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Opinion My religion was ‘None of the above,’ until Oct. 7 and now Bondi
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Yiddish World This Pennsylvania rabbi fuses liberal Judaism with Hasidic Yiddish
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