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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At first I didn’t want to make ‘The Chosen’ — then ‘The Chosen’ changed my life
Making this movie changed my life. Published in 1967, Chaim Potok’s book, “The Chosen,” is regarded as one of the great Jewish American novels. Set in Brooklyn at the end of WWII, it explores the complex relationship between two Jewish boys, one modern orthodox and the other the genius son of a Hasidic rebbe (the…
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Why this will be the most Jewish World Series in baseball history
The immediate narrative surrounding the 2021 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros is that it matches teams that no one outside their respective fan bases wants to root for. The Astros are one year removed from being exposed, although largely unpunished, in the largest sign-stealing scandal in baseball history (one’s anger…
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The Jewish books you need to read this month, from Paul Auster to Louise Glück
Welcome to Forward Reads, your monthly tour of the Jewish literary landscape. I’m a culture writer at the Forward, and I spend a lot of time combing through new releases so you can read the best books out there. This article originally ran in newsletter form. To sign up for Forward Reads and get book…
The Latest
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Who does hummus belong to — and could it have the power to bring peace to the Middle East?
Hummus, the dish of cooked chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and spices is a national favorite in Israel and across the Levant. Cherished alike by diners of different faiths, hummus became the unlikely center of so-called Hummus Wars in 2008, when a proprietary spat arose between Lebanese and Israeli restauranteurs. This and related matters are…
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In the face of the Houston Astros’ miraculous victory, Alex Bregman has become our most eloquent Jewish existential philosopher
If you are not from Beantown or Bayou City, you might be unaware of the climax to a remarkable drama that occurred when the Houston Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox in a marathon contest to win the American League Championship Series. After an initial Houston victory, Boston erupted with two wins that included not…
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How Paul Auster writes doorstopper novels without touching a computer
This interview originally ran in the Forward’s books newsletter. To sign up for a monthly tour of the Jewish literary landscape, click here. When I asked Paul Auster what drew him to 19th-century author Stephen Crane, the subject of the literary biography he’s been writing for several years, he put the answer in personal terms….
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For Sephardic Jews, Portuguese citizenship offers keys to tradition, heritage and pride
For a good part of their history, Jews were a stateless people, repeatedly finding themselves fleeing or expelled from countries even long after they had put down roots. Now, some of those nations are offering citizenship to Jews, regardless of their present nationality, to make amends for centuries of persecution. Portugal is among these nations….
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No, George Soros doesn’t control school boards — these antisemitic conspiracy theories need to stop
The danger of conspiracy theories is that they can become mainstream thinking in the blink of an eye. That’s what’s happening right now in the governor’s race in Virginia, where Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin is in a tight race with former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe. Youngkin has blamed George Soros — the Hungarian-born Jewish billionaire…
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How an unapologetically vulgar collector horrified fellow Jews — and revolutionized the art world
As two exhibitions in Philadelphia and New York showcase the seven-decade career of America’s greatest living artist, 91-year-old Jasper Johns, two new histories have arrived, revealing the crucial role that has been played by Jewish art collectors, “The House of Fragile Things: Jewish Art Collectors and the Fall of France”and “Belonging and Betrayal: How Jews…
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Your art, your stories — a collection of the paintings and sculptures that inspire our readers
On a wall in Barbara Sander’s apartment in Sarasota, Fla., a seabird flies between two palm trees across a pinkish-orange sky. Ellen Green feels inspired by a deep forest, one she used to gaze at for hours when she was a child. Chani Miller of Highland Park, N.J. finds peace and content when she looks…
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In Brazil, 8,000 Christians have adopted Orthodox Jewish customs — a scholar is trying to figure out why
Manoela Carpenedo, a native of Southern Brazil, is an anthropologist and sociologist of religion. Her latest book “Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus: Judaizing Evangelicals in Brazil” (Oxford) analyzes the allure of Jewish history and observance for groups of Christians in South America, where around 8000 Christians across Brazil in a network of Pentecostal churches have…
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