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
-
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
-
I’m An American Jewish Teenager — And Poland’s Holocaust Bill Worries Me
As human beings, we have a responsibility to narrate the past as it was; not as we’d like it to be and certainly not as we believe it should’ve been. It is true that sometimes the past is complicated, sometimes it doesn’t show someone in the most favorable light, and sometimes it is simply ugly,…
-
Getting Drunk On Purim Is Not Kosher
Getting Drunk Is Not Kosher Today, we are well aware of the dangers of excessive drinking, alcohol addiction, and binging. There are strict laws regarding distribution of alcohol to minors and driving under the influence of alcohol. Yet at least once a year, On Purim, observant Jews behave as if there is no tomorrow and…
The Latest
-
A Shtetl Cow Named Vashti
In Europe, my bubbe’s family owned a cow named Vashti. They were too poor to drink her milk or eat her cheese — this they sold to Jews more well-to-do than themselves — but they managed to subsist, from day to day, on the meager earnings derived from Vashti’s dairy products. It was my bubbe’s…
-
Intergenerational Trauma And The Holocaust
“What if something happens and you never come home, Em?” I hear my mother’s voice in my head as I pack for a trip to New York. I can feel the knot in my stomach move up to my throat and suddenly, I’m nauseous. I go to the bathroom and vomit. This isn’t the first…
-
WATCH: Israeli Actress Stars In PETA’s Latest Anti-Fur Campaign
Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer has joined forces with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for a new anti-fur campaign. “We are in 2018, and it just doesn’t make any sense that people still buy fur when they can buy the same thing made out of man-made fur that looks exactly and feels the same,”…
-
The Real-Life Black Panthers Liberated Concentration Camps
The superhero film ‘Black Panther’ pulled in a record-breaking $192 million on its debut weekend. It was also the highest grossing opening weekend of any February, and one of the top 15 global debuts in history. “Black Panther” will likely also break the box-office record for a movie directed by a black filmmaker, currently held…
-
I’m A Jewish Teenager From Florida — And My Friends And I Took Capitol Hill By Storm
This article originally appeared on NFTY’s blog. I hope you saw the news stories about buses of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, making their way to Florida’s Capital to plead with their legislators about preventing gun violence. For the past 24 hours, the Parkland Reform Jewish community made me one…
-
The Israeli Settlement Movement Is Failing
Earlier this week, settlement movement leader Yaakov Katz, in comments to the Associated Press boasting about the growth of the settler population in the West Bank, illustrated well the old saying, “in God we trust; and all others must bring data.” Katz does bring data — but we must not trust them. Contrary to his…
-
In Teaching Tolerance, Jews And Blacks Make Common Cause
Every February when we celebrate Black History Month, discussions within the Jewish community often include the history of our relationships as two minority groups. We compare our days as slaves, our fights for freedom and rights, our history of being excluded and then included. Our communities have deep, rich and varied traditions and values most…
-
Should Teachers Be Expected To Take Bullets For Their Students?
The day after the Parkland massacre, one of my high school students asked me if I would take a bullet for him. We’d been discussing the shooting — I offered a freewheeling, no judging, no holds barred discussion — and someone brought up the excruciating heroics of Scott Beigel and Aaron Feis, a teacher and…
-
Stop Blaming Mass Shootings On Mental Illness
“What is his diagnosis?” As a school social worker and child therapist, I have often been asked this question by various city and state agencies. When I try to explain the child’s unique struggles, I am abruptly interrupted and asked once again for the diagnosis, as if a four-digit DSM code could neatly summarize the…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Trump mandates universities to report foreign funding, a demand of pro-Israel groups
-
Fast Forward Exclusive: Trump nominee apologizes for praising Nazi sympathizer while awaiting Senate confirmation hearing
-
Fast Forward Global antisemitism has declined since Oct. 7, Tel Aviv University says
-
Yiddish World VIDEO: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising commemoration highlights women ghetto fighters
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
