Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture. Here, you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music, film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of everything and everyone from The Rolling Stones to…
Culture
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That time Yiddishists met extraterrestrials a short while ago in a galaxy not far away
It was a normal summer internship at the Yiddish Book Center ... until the Jedi invaded our turf
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No, Paul Simon is not a ‘historical footnote.’ And no, it doesn’t really matter.
And no, this is not an aggrieved defense of a Boomer icon either
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‘Space Jam’ should have these Jewish Warner Bros. characters in its lineup
We live in a world of giants — some of them iron, all of them corporate. With the first trailer for “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” we have an artifact that media theorists are poking and prodding for insights into our current moment of rapacious franchise bloat and media monopoly. Like the original, it pairs…
The Latest
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I took Duolingo’s new Yiddish course for a test drive. Here’s what I found.
Read this article in Yiddish In nearly eight years of covering Yiddish events for the Forverts, I have never seen anything approaching the level of excitement accompanying the release of Duolingo’s Yiddish course, which will go live Tuesday, April 6. Ever since work began on the course five years ago, reddit, Twitter, Facebook and Duolingo’s…
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The Night We Lost The Messiah Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
The balcony curtains suddenly parted. The Rebbe sat motionless surrounded by his three trusted rabbinical aides. On cue, the singing and chanting began: “Long live our Master, Teacher and Rebbe, King Messiah, Forever and Ever!” Hundreds of men dressed in black suits stood shoulder to shoulder on the synagogue floor craning their necks towards the…
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The New York Bagel Experience is not for hipsters
As recent transplants to this fair city of New York, we have plenty to learn about bagels. We haven’t had a chance to develop brand loyalties and identify establishments we love — or simply refuse to patronize. We don’t have firm feelings about the Montreal bagel. We can’t yet bring ourselves to speak unironically of…
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Is the legend of Murray’s Cheese only a myth?
For the past two decades, Murray’s Cheese has been Manhattan’s cheese tastemaker. From a small Greenwich Village store, cheesemongers enlighten New Yorkers on terroirs and washed rinds and supply upscale restaurants with camembert and French triple crèmes. Since 2008, Murray’s influence has spread across the country. Now fully owned by Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket…
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What would Paul Celan think of Zoombombing?
Pierre Joris didn’t even get a chance to speak before the swastika appeared on the Zoom. A prolific poet, essayist and translator, Joris was slated to give a virtual lecture through Princeton University on the poet Paul Celan, whose work he has studied and translated for decades. He’d prepared to discuss his two newest translations…
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Meet the 27-year-old amplifying the sounds of the Borscht Belt (and listen to his favorite Yiddish songs)
(JTA) — (New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Growing up, Aaron Bendich would spend lots of time with his grandfather Max in the North Bronx, in a house “filled to the brim” with records, videotapes and CDs. Among Max’s collection were recordings of Yiddish songs and other Jewish music. Fast forward a few years…
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June 7: “Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Begin” Screening and Q&A
This screening and Q&A will take place on Monday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. RSVP here for the free event screening. Check out the trailer here. Driven by a passion for his people, former Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin, dedicated his life to the survival of his country and…
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WATCH NOW: October 4: Bintel Live!
Watch the recording here. To celebrate the Forward’s iconic Bintel Brief advice column becoming a brand-new podcast, join a discussion moderated by Jodi Rudoren with the Bintel Brief podcast’s co-hosts Ginna Green and Lynn Harris and the Forward’s archivist Chana Pollack. They’ll chat about the history of the Bintel Brief and upholding its legacy, followed…
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White Boy Summer is a bad idea — but are its shirts racist?
“White Boy Summer” is one more item in a line of Chet Hanks’ bad decisions — but does it also have a racist aesthetic? Son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, the 30-year-old actor-rapper, who is the recent subject of a protective order requested by his ex-girlfriend, went on Instagram last week to announce (or…
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News Exclusive: ADL chief compares student protesters to ISIS and al-Qaeda in address to Republican officials
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News A Jewish farmer drove 600 miles to rescue a century-old synagogue. Now he’s building a new one in a cornfield.
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Opinion Pete Hegseth is targeting a Jewish American hero — who’s next?
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Opinion The two things I fear most after the horrifying attack on Jews in Boulder
In Case You Missed It
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Opinion If Trump is being compared to Hitler, who was Hitler before he was Hitler?
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Culture Aaron Lansky built a home for 1.5 million Yiddish books. Now he’s handing over the keys.
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Fast Forward Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla could reach Israeli waters over the weekend: What you need to know
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Fast Forward French police detain Palestinian man who allegedly struck rabbi with a chair
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