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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Simple, Delicious Food For The Intermediate Days Of Passover
The Cooking’s Just Begun —-Pesach Part 2 And Healthy New Snacks To Pack For Play and Work The Passover Seders are over and it’s time to replenish your refrigerator. But don’t fret: if you try my quick and easy fish ideas, you’ll be out of the kitchen before you finish that last cup of coffee….
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How Shanghai Became A Refuge For Jews During Hitler’s Reign
“It is gratifying to learn from reports of various sources that the Jewish people have during recent years made great progress in rebuilding their ancient country and restoring it to its former position of importance. The people of China are also undertaking the task of reconstruction, and have therefore profound sympathy for others who are…
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Has The Free Exercise Clause Become A Free Pass to Discriminate?
The First Amendment to the Constitution forbids the government to take actions “prohibiting the free exercise [of religion.]” The Free Exercise Clause should protect individuals. Society should not impose its beliefs on anyone. Government actions cannot stand in the way of a person’s religious practices. By the same token, an individual cannot impose his religion…
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Don’t Let Your Passover Leftovers Go To Waste
You meticulously prepped your Seder plate, made oodles of matzo ball soup, cooked enough brisket to feed an army, and are stocked up for the next 18 years on wine, matzo and macaroons. Now what do you do with all of that food once the holiday guests have left? You could throw the leftover parsely…
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American Jews Need To Stop Crying Anti-Semitism — And Start Standing Up For Liberal Values
These can be trying times for American Jews. The ADL recently released data showing a 57 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents since 2016 — and not just from white supremacists, either. Louis Farrakhan, head of Nation of Islam, continues to spew anti-Semitic remarks every chance he gets. This has led many Jewish organizations to condemn…
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A Look Inside My Mormon-Jewish Passover
Passover is surely the most culturally appropriated religious holiday ever to exist. To the chagrin of most Jews, all sorts of groups have rewritten the Haggadah to suit their own niche beliefs and practices. Christians especially love the seder as they imagine the Last Supper. Passover fits nicely into the Easter season for Christians. Not…
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Why Are Conservative Jews Ignoring Our Own Intermarriage Rate?
Most non-profits try to avoid contested elections and just push through a nominating committee report. But sometimes there’s an issue that can’t be shoved aside, a philosophical dispute with the potential to clarify the institution’s mission and meaning. That seems to be the case this year at my professional association, the Rabbinical Assembly — the…
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What’s So Different About A Persian Passover Seder?
There are two times a year that my entire family comes together — Rosh Hashanah and Passover. Although both holidays have their respective traditions, Passover is particularly special. Exhausted mothers and grandmothers have spent the last month before the holiday cleaning their homes with arduous rigor. They have cooked every day, while also having to…
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Healthful And Delicious Wheat Flour Alternatives
Aside from not having any bread during Passover, generally all products containing wheat flour (except for matzo) are also off-limits. This restriction can make preparing many of your favorite recipes more difficult — unless you have some great non-wheat alternatives on hand, that is. Most people use regular, enriched wheat flour (or whole wheat flour)…
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A Third Of Israeli Jews Have Had It With The Passover Cleaning
According to a new survey conducted by The Peace Index, 37 percent of Israeli Jews are liberating themselves from cleaning their homes for Passover this year. 63 percent of the Jewish public will clean their homes of all chametz, the survey reports, and 67 percent will eat kosher-for-Passover food both inside and outside the home….
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What Will It Take For People To Understand That Anti-Semitism Is Racism?
Following the conversation on social media about anti-Semitism, Jeremy Corbyn and the U.K. Labour Party, I wondered why it was that some people continue to have trouble seeing antisemitism as racism. Here are some of my thoughts as to why that might be so. Jews are perceived by some as powerful. Racism systematically oppresses the…
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