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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Why the story of cream cheese is the story of Jews in America
When it comes to “bagels and lox,” the cream cheese is essential but goes without mention. Like the marinara sauce in “spaghetti and meatballs,” it plays a leading role but gets no top billing. Still, a tart, bright red tomato sauce gets noticed. Cream cheese, however, inspires no secret nonna recipes. Even Jewish gourmands who…
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Hanukkah today would make the Maccabees roll over in their graves
Corporations — and plenty of everyday people — treat Hanukkah as Jewish Christmas. It has a nice little story about miraculous oil, plus you decorate your house and give gifts. Even plenty of Jews feel this way; Hanukkah provides a way for us to participate in the music, media and cheer that dominates the Christmas…
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Mel Brooks delivers 500 pages on his favorite subject – himself
All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business By Mel Brooks Ballantine Books, 480 pages, $25 Mel Brooks’ memoir begins with a promise. In a preface, the 95-year-old actor-writer-director vows to make an intimate confession to his reader — one not to be shared with anyone. Then, he thinks a bit more about the…
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The last and greatest gift Stephen Sondheim gave us
The thing about Stephen Sondheim is that there is almost nothing meaningful to write about him, because he captured what was remarkable about himself better than anyone else ever could. In his lyrics and his music, Sondheim, the musical theater genius who died Friday at the age of 91, gave voice to an extraordinary spirit….
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Stephen Sondheim wrote the soundtrack to all our lives
It’s a cliché to say that an artist has written the soundtrack of your life. When you think about it, every artist we grew up with — even the ones we despise — writes that soundtrack. But when I think about Stephen Sondheim, that cliché is actually true. Every key moment of my life, I…
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Why Jews are literally ‘the people of Thanksgiving’
Jews are linguistically rooted in gratitude; the word for Jew in Hebrew is directly tied to the word for thankfulness
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In Chile, where Jewish writers fought bigotry in search of a literary utopia
Cristián Opazo teaches literature and drama at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. In “Jewish Voices, Chilean Literature,” co-written with the Chilean Jewish author Marjorie Agosín, Opazo investigates how Jewish refugees in Latin America became literary heroes against all odds. Benjamin Ivry spoke to Professor Opazo about how these writers managed to achieve their lasting artistic…
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Does a $676 million art sale mark the end of an era in Jewish art collecting?
The $676 million that Harry and Linda Macklowe’s art collection brought at auction was, according to a quote from Sotheby’s in The New York Times, “the most valuable single-owner auction ever staged.” Amid the jubilation, only one voice suggested something was off. Art collector and gallery owner Adam Lindemann sized up the collection, distinguished by…
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Do we seriously need ugly sweater-themed cookie kits for Hanukkah?
Just in time for Hanukkah, Manischewitz has debuted two new twists on what it claims is a festive tradition: Hanukkah-themed — wait for it — sugar cookies. The new kits, including one that is ugly sweater-themed, join the company’s longstanding Hanukkah dessert line, which also includes donut mix and do-it-yourself Chanukah Houses — because everyone…
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Looking for chill Jewish conversation online? Try r/Judaism
If there’s a path out of the polarization, shaming and judging among Jews, it would take us to the Promised Land, right? Sometimes it feels as if we’re already there on r/Judaism, a forum on the social media platform Reddit that’s by Jews, for Jews — and open to anyone curious. Compared to Jewish life…
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On HBO, basketball star Amar’e Stoudemire’s journey to Orthodox Judaism
When basketball star Amar’e Stoudemire was a child, his mother told him that they were from “the lost tribes of Israel.” While her reference was to a Hebrew Israelite group, her words planted the seed that would lead him to Orthodox Judaism. Stoudemire’s decade-long journey from a six-time all-star forward in the NBA to his…
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