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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Israel’s Education Minister Is Pushing American Jews Away From Israel
Earlier this week in Jerusalem, Naftali Bennett, who serves as both Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Minster of Education, told delegates to an American Jewish Committee conference that the future of the US Jewish community “keeps me up at night.” Warning that “If we don’t act urgently, we’re going to be losing millions of…
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A Madison Party With A Purpose
Over eight hundred senior citizens gathering for three days. Graying grandparents. The requisite canes and walkers. All of us slightly stooped, carefully maneuvering the crowds and narrow stairwells. Looking as if we had been dispatched from Central Casting — large group of old folks needed. Lots of jokes about hip replacements, creaky knees, and the…
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How American Jews Can Help Immigrants And Asylum Seekers
A humanitarian nightmare is happening right now in our backyards — and the Jewish community needs to step up to help. The Trump Administration announced in May that it would implement a “zero-tolerance” policy at the border, meaning that it will criminally prosecute anyone attempting to enter illegally. Since children can’t be jailed, this means…
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The Arrogance Of Crying ‘Anti-Semitism’ Over Zoning Battles
On Wednesday, June 13th, members from the Orthodox Union’s policy and advocacy team met with several legislators and key federal administrators in Washington D.C. One of those administrators was US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a man who is singularly responsible for the horrible treatment of undocumented immigrants and asylum-seekers. I am shocked and upset by…
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As Orthodox Parents, Being Horrified By Child Sexual Abuse Is Not Enough
In recent years, some horrible stories of child sexual abuse in Orthodox settings, such as schools and summer camps, have rocked the religious Jewish community. A phenomenon that used to be underreported and largely taboo has come to light, and the fact that people are now speaking and writing about it more and more in…
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7 Ways Straight Jews Can Become Better LGBTQ Allies
Serving the largest LGBTQ synagogue in the world, as two straight rabbis, makes us a little queer. Not because our jobs place us deep in the LGBTQ community, but because here, we are the exception; and being different, in this sense, makes us…queer. As we prepare for NYC Pride on Sunday, June 24, we wanted…
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I’m A Muslim. CAIR Has No Place In A Synagogue.
In our quest for tolerance, religious spaces often take the lead in showcasing voices of change. But sometimes, those who claim to work for tolerance are themselves agents of hatred. Synagogues should never be bullied into hosting organizations that promote divisiveness and demonization — especially groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which…
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Michael Chabon Touched A Nerve — And Shouting Him Down Is Not The Remedy
Michael Chabon’s recent graduation speech to the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) has reinvigorated fiery accusations of Israel- and Jewish self-hatred against Jewish opponents of Israeli administration of the West Bank. Not only Chabon, who vigorously voiced this opposition, but also HUC-JIR, which hosted him, have come under attack. These ugly charges impoverish…
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In Siding With Masterpiece Cakeshop, The OU Made A Tough Choice, But The Correct One
In As An Orthodox Rabbi, The SCOTUS Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision Gives Me Pause, Rabbi Gabriel Greenberg objects to the Orthodox Union’s favorable stance toward the Supreme Court’s recent decision, in which the Court ruled that a bakery was not in violation of law for refusing to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple. Greenberg,…
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Jews Cannot Accept The Administration’s Destruction Of Families
Since Memorial Day weekend we have been reading the stories in newspapers across the country about children being intentionally separated from their families at the U.S. border. Hundreds of children are being detained by U.S. authorities in conditions Senator Jeff Merkley has likened to “dog kennels.” According to NBC News, over 300 of these children…
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How Movement And Nature Can Breathe Life Into Your Spiritual Practice
Are you a Jewish mover and shaker? Literally. Do you move? Is movement part of your Jewish practice? What does that look like, and how does leading a more movement-rich life yield benefits for both ourselves as individuals and for the communities and ecosystems in which we move? Movement, especially in nature, is central to…
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