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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On Lou Reed’s birthday, remembering his epic Seder
Editor’s note: Lou Reed would have turned 79 on March 2, 2021. In honor of him and the upcoming holiday we have republished this piece, which first appeared in March of 2013, about the singer-songwriter’s historic “Downtown Seder.” Lou Reed is standing in front of a room full of Jews on Varick Street on a…
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Yes, Dr. Seuss wrote racist books. He still has things to teach us.
Update March 2, 2021: This article has been updated to reflect news that six of Dr. Seuss’ books will no longer be published because they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” My first introduction to fascism was the tin-pot dictator of Sala-ma-Sond. Yertle the Turtle, the king of a “nice little pond,”…
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The CPAC stage was shaped like the Othala rune…which is what?
At the just-wrapped Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, headlining speaker Donald Trump made an inflammatory speech from a strange, zig-zagging stage. The speech, of course, drew attention, but it featured largely the kind of content we have grown to expect from the former president. The stage itself, however, drew anger for its shape —…
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Meet the Orthodox therapist who says watching ‘Bridgerton’ could improve your sex life
If you visit Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus’s Instagram, which you absolutely should, you will find many informative videos. Videos about the challenges of having sex while breastfeeding. Videos explaining the various causes of pain during intercourse. Videos about the items you should include in your “sex basket.” (Options, among others, include “a vibrator” and “a…
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Eulogy | The improbable friendships of Ruth Dayan
T hree days before Ruth Dayan died at her home in Tel Aviv last month, I rang her up from a park near my apartment in Tangier. Her assistant, Ethel, answered the phone and told me Ruth, just shy of 104, was too weak to talk; she put me on speaker. With Moroccan kids kicking…
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On a seemingly ordinary Boro Park night, a terrifying Hasidic nightmare erupts
Read this article in Yiddish When Keith Thomas, a clinical researcher-turned-novelist and filmmaker, was studying for his master’s degree in religious education at Hebrew Union College, he overheard an unsettling story that would remain with him for years. Two old men in an Orthodox synagogue were discussing a shomer, the ritual guard who is assigned…
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‘Borat’ wins big and Aaron Sorkin quotes Abbie Hoffman at the Golden Globes
The Golden Globes were very nice for Borat, and not bad for those of us who like his brand of second-hand embarrassment. Sacha Baron Cohen, who whiffed earlier in the evening for Best Supporting Actor in “The Trial of the Chicago 7” had a major comeback at the end of the ceremony. “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”…
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Norman Lear deserves his Golden Globe award — does America deserve him?
A lifetime achievement award will be presented to the American Jewish TV producer Norman Lear at this year’s Golden Globes ceremonies on Feb. 28, and it may be time to wonder whether Lear’s fierce optimism was fully deserved by the nation he has devoted himself to for almost a century. Born in 1922, Lear was…
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Ted Cruz quotes Mel Gibson — I mean William Wallace — at CPAC
Ted Cruz is once again having a totally normal one. After the latest in a series of questionable Hollywood metaphors — this time invoking “Star Wars” — the senator from Texas wrapped a speech at CPAC by invoking the immortal death cry of Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace. Really, he was just quoting Mel Gibson,…
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‘Lift Ev’ry Voice’ honors the history of the Black-Jewish alliance
U.S. Representative James Clyburn recently proposed that the African-American anthem “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” should become the national hymn, to join Francis Scott Key’s national anthem. James Weldon Johnson (1876–1938), who wrote “Lift Ev’ry Voice” with his brother, composer J. Rosamond Johnson, was a poet, novelist, Broadway lyricist, civil rights activist, and diplomat. Johnson…
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Dropping Potato Head’s ‘Mr.’ doesn’t erase the brand’s Jewish roots
The discourse boiled over Thursday with the announcement that Mr. Potato Head products would be rebranded as the gender neutral “Potato Head.” Knowing that potato plants are hermaphroditic anyway, I welcome this inclusive marketing change. But let’s hash out one thing: I would like for Potato Head to still be Jewish. Yes, Mr. Potato Head…
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