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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Playing Yentl’s father, Billy Wilder’s gangster and Papa Mousekewitz, he was a Jewish actor of unparalleled resourcefulness
When Barbra Streisand sang the Oscar-nominated song “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” in her film “Yentl,” she was singing it to Nehemiah Persoff’s character, Rebbe Mendel. Persoff, who died April 5 at age 102, also starred as Papa Mousekewitz in the “American Tail” movie series. Yet Persoff’s varied work on stage, film, and TV proved…
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How one trailblazing rabbi is fighting racism in the Reconstructionist movement
Like other Jewish institutions, the Reconstructionist movement made a commitment to racial justice in 2020 as part of its stated mission to blend a strong commitment to Jewish tradition with the search for contemporary meaning. Unlike some others, its leaders vowed to make it more than just lip service. That year, their Tikkun Olam Commission…
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Everything you need to know (which isn’t all that much) about the most lavish Jewish wedding of the year
It’s a beautiful thing when two young Jewish people in love join their lives under the chuppah. And for young Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz we wish only the best. A model and photographer, Beckham, 23, is still best known as the son of Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham and soccer player, model and MLS franchise-owner,…
The Latest
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Sports ‘March Madness for Jews’: Why the Sarachek tournament is such a big Orthodox deal
For all the ways the sport unifies the Orthodox world, there is nothing like basketball to draw out its differences.
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Let the world’s greatest expert on haggadot help you choose your haggadah this year
For 14 years now, I’ve reviewed haggadahs for this publication. Often, I find they illuminate developments in the Jewish world, such as growing independence, creativity, fragmentation, and reassessment of ritual and liturgical forms. This year’s crop, though, showed me something about myself. Probably the most significant Haggadah published this year is Marcia Falk’s “Night of…
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Just when you thought you were ready for Passover, a kosher poultry shortage could fowl everything up
This Passover, observant Jews may not just be forgoing leavened bread; they might also have to skip chicken. Jewish supermarkets, butchers, and restaurants are facing a nationwide kosher poultry shortage which means this year’s matzo balls might lack that heavenly schmaltz. Park East Kosher on Manhattan’s Upper East Side is coaxing some shoppers to roast…
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Leonard Cohen changed Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Did it change him?
In October of 1973, Israel was fighting the Yom Kippur War with Egypt and Syria and Leonard Cohen decided to visit. His exact reasons have long been a mystery. Hearing him clarify them, you may wish they’d stayed that way. In an unpublished manuscript, the 39-year-old poet wrote he “wanted to go fight and die…
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Books A thriller from Mexico and a debut detective novel: The Jewish books you need to know this month
Welcome to your monthly tour of the Jewish literary landscape! I have four new titles to share and a special announcement — we just launched our Bookshop storefront, where you can shop the books recommended in this newsletter. I’ll be keeping the page updated with titles I’m loving, Forward Book Club picks, and other fun…
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Embracing Trump’s politics, David Mamet has become the Kanye West of American letters
The author of 'Recessional' offers up a bevy of conspiracy theories
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How the war already changed the meaning of one artist’s childhood — and her painting
'When they started bombing Kyiv, there was no place left for fantasy,' painter Zoya Cherkassky-Nnadi said
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Mother to George Costanza, wife of Mr. Potato Head, Estelle Harris had a comic style all her own
Estelle Harris (born Nussbaum) who died April 2 at age 93, proved that sources of laughter in American Jewish television sitcoms are incisive self-awareness and time-honored tribulations. Harris was paired with two of the loudest, most obstreperous Jewish comedians of the modern era, Jerry Stiller in TV’s “Seinfeld” and Don Rickles in Disney’s “Toy Story”…
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