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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Can a new ritual shift our relationship to the Holocaust?
How will we remember the Holocaust when all the survivors are gone? This question has driven Jewish educators and historians as survivors have aged. Many educators treat it as a crisis; without testimony from those who actually experienced the atrocities, they will become easier to forget and deny. Holocaust denial is on the rise. There’s…
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‘Shtisel’ gives a surprisingly progressive picture of abortion among the Orthodox. Is it accurate?
Warning: Spoilers for “Shtisel” season three. Conservative Christian opponents to abortion are among the loudest voices in the debate. The most extreme positions often don’t even allow exceptions for rape or the mother’s health. It is easy to assume that other extremely observant religious groups would take a similar stance. Let’s not forget that the…
The Latest
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Once the staple of New York politics, whatever became of the knish?
All ten leading New York mayoral candidates seem to agree on one thing: New York bagels are better than California bagels (no matter what The New York Times says). Food is an easy way for politicians to win points and present themselves as relatable. Besides, being asked your bagel order is a softball question compared…
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Books ‘This man is not going to daunt me:’ Talking with Philip Roth’s biographer, Blake Bailey
Editor’s note: Two weeks after this interview with Blake Bailey was published, multiple women came forward to accuse him of sexual assault and other sexual misconduct. Details of the allegations may be found here. A masterful writer obsessively preoccupied with whether and how he’d be valued by history; a deeply sensitive charmer with a real…
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The artist who transfixed Albert Einstein and Jean-Paul Sartre
As a teenager I would often mistake Alexander Calder’s work for that of Joan Miró and sometimes even Picasso. Bold, playful and abstract, the sculpture of these three art giants appeared interchangeable. Visits to Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona and Musée Picasso in Paris only seemed to confirm Calder’s European influences, even though the darker…
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October 20: Have I Got A Story For You! The Forward’s 2021 gala
Our virtual gala will take place on Wednesday, October 20 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Register here. Join us for a virtual evening of celebration, hosted by Forward journalists and Ginna and Lynn of A Bintel Brief podcast. Hear stories from celebrities, thought leaders and members of the Forward family from across…
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Was Mitt Romney drinking Kedem for Easter?
Each year around the Easter-Pesach nexus we inevitably have a difficult discussion about cultural appropriation. Thankfully, it looks we don’t need to have that talk with the junior senator from Utah. While there are some differences of opinion, the holiday discourse usually goes as follows: DO attend a Jewish friend’s Seder if you are Christian,…
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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…
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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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