This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture where you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music (including of course Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen), film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of…
Culture
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Barbra Streisand’s brand-new duet with Bob Dylan is a whole lot different than you might think
Though Dylan and Streisand's voices may seem ill-suited to each other, the two complement each other gorgeously on 'The Very Thought of You'
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An Epistolary Glimpse Into Wartime Holland
How does one understand the incomprehensible human tragedy of the Holocaust? The answer: One story at a time. In “Hidden Letters” (Star Bright Books), Deborah Slier and Ian Shine have edited a treasure trove of letters that Philip “Flip” Slier, a Dutch Jew, wrote during 1942 at the Dutch forced labor camp Molengoot. The translations…
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Viral Philanthropy Starts To Spread
Hoping to raise money for a three-day bike ride over Labor Day to benefit the Jewish environmental organization Hazon, Ariela Pelaia turned to her blog. Pelaia, 26, thought she could find donors by raffling off books on her personal Web site, www.bakingandbooks.com, which draws up to 2,000 viewers each day. She was right: Pelaia received…
The Latest
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Agencies Lobby To Make Tax Incentive Permanent
With one of the most significant tax incentives for charitable giving set to expire by the end of the year, philanthropies and foundations are pushing lawmakers to make the tax relief permanent, allowing senior citizens to continue to transfer to charitable causes, tax free, funds from their individual retirement accounts. The temporary measure, called the…
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New Fund Gives Young Jews a Place at the Table
When a group of 20-somethings formed a fund to give money to innovative Jewish not-for-profit groups, their project itself was, in an ironic twist, an innovation in Jewish philanthropy. It’s no secret that Jewish donor circles are, for the most part, dominated by wealthy individuals — predominantly men — who are well beyond the half-century…
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Grant Rewards Innovation in Seattle
The Jewish community of Seattle is tapping into the city’s entrepreneurial spirit by taking a risk on innovative programs designed to transform local Jewish life. For the past three years, the Levitan Innovation Award has given $10,000 to a local organization with a creative program designed to increase Jewish engagement around Washington State’s Puget Sound….
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Fellowships Aim To Boost Jewish Studies Programs
The Foundation for Jewish Culture, in partnership with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, recently announced the launch of the Jewish Studies Expansion Project, a pioneering program aimed at improving and diversifying Jewish studies course offerings at colleges and universities across the nation. The Schusterman Family Foundation has earmarked $1 million for a pilot…
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Students Donate Time and Money on ‘Alternative Breaks’
Winter vacations and spring breaks afford college students a chance to catch up on lost sleep or to work on their tans. But this year, growing numbers of Jewish students will donate some of their vacation time — as well as their money — to perform community service. A study conducted by the Charles and…
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Program Helps Families Write New Chapter in Jewish Literacy
When country music legend Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library program 11 years ago, she began sending free books to young families in Tennessee to promote literacy. The program has grown enormously over the past decade, shipping books and educational materials to more than 330,000 children who otherwise might not have the opportunity to cultivate…
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After Bar Mitzvahs, Teens Keep Giving
Rebecca Schwartz was featured in the Forward’s Giving section three years ago, around the time of her bat mitzvah. Back then, she was one of the first to participate in Give a Mitzvah — Do a Mitzvah, a program that helps teenagers use their coming-of-age ceremony to help others. The program is still going strong:…
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Virtual Tzedakah Box Collects Real Dollars
For decades, Jews have dropped loose change in those tzedakah boxes found on countertops in Jewish stores and in Hebrew schools. Now, one person is modernizing this charitable act for the 21st century. Ben Vorspan, founder of Inspired Multimedia, launched MyJewishPortal.com three weeks ago as a community Web site that connects synagogues, organizations and individuals….
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November 2, 2007
100 Years Ago In the Forward For the second time, Yiddish theater director Jacob Gordin was denied all rights to the play “God, Man, and Devil” in New York’s Supreme Court. The judge also barred director David Kessler from casting actor Jacob Adler in the starring role. Gordin, who bought the play from Kessler in…
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