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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In search of life after death — in Jewish tradition and 30 books
In my mind, last winter never happened. I have no memory of snow, of the hard and frozen ground, of salt sprinkled on the front steps, or of long stalagmites of ice hanging from the gutters. However hard I try, I remember nothing. I am like a woman whose limb suddenly becomes paralyzed, who tries…
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Bernie Sanders in his mittens is all of us
While many on Twitter obsessed over important inauguration fashion moments such as how great Michelle Obama looked, Gaga’s brooch and, of course, Ella Emhoff’s sparkly-shouldered coat, most of the internet’s attention was focused on a picture of Bernie Sanders, hunkered down in a folding chair and bundled up in a puffy coat and enormous mittens….
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Biden cites Psalms and a songwriter of Jewish themes at inauguration
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. began his presidency with a speech urging American unity as we move forward through a dark season of disease and uncertainty. In his address, he cited both Scripture and an operatic anthem penned by a songwriter known for works based on the lives of Holocaust survivors. Following a benediction by Father…
The Latest
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Jews plead, once again: Listen to the lyrics of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’
Another state occasion, another misuse of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Across the internet, fans of the poet are pleading: Stop the madness! On Jan. 19, 2021, before the reflecting pool by the Lincoln Memorial, gospel singer Yolanda Adams concluded a somber memorial to the over 400,000 Americans dead of Covid-19 with Cohen’s storied song of sex…
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What are the most (and least) Jewish inauguration speeches ever?
On Jan. 20, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will deliver the 59th inaugural address, a tradition that began with George Washington, was denied to a handful of presidential replacements and — I’ve learned through a thorough study of the 58 other speeches — one that, like a particularly long Yom Kippur sermon, is given to a…
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10 songs for President Biden — an inauguration Spotify playlist
Every presidential inauguration – heck, every major public event – deserves a custom-made playlist. In putting one together for the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the United States on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at noon, it was tempting to make a list of songs not unlike those you would play at a wedding –…
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‘I got the Covid vaccine; don’t hate me’
My husband and I joined an absurdly long line of seniors outside a lower East Side high school to get the coveted Covid vaccine. Prior to the pandemic this long a queue happened only for a hot sample sale, Beyoncé concert tickets or at Zabar’s smoked fish counter. But nobody was complaining. The vaccine had…
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How Phil Spector’s Jewish success story became a tale of paranoia, drugs and murder
The record producer and convicted murderer Phil Spector, who died on Jan. 16 at age 81, showed that historical and personal trauma can motivate, and also destroy, Jewish artistic urges. Spector’s decades of abusive behavior toward colleagues, especially women, culminated in the 2003 murder of the actress Lana Clarkson, for which he was sentenced to…
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Will Jewish schools finally address their segregationist past?
Editor’s note: In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Forward is resurfacing some of our recent coverage related to the Black-Jewish experience and racial justice. This article originally appeared in July, 2020. In the two months since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, American Jewish day schools have begun to rethink how…
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Black Jews, he says, ‘get traumatized twice.’ To cope, he painted their experience.
Editor’s note: In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Forward is resurfacing some of our recent coverage related to the Black-Jewish experience and racial justice. This article originally appeared in June, 2020. “I am tired of talking,” said MaNishtana, the writer, Orthodox rabbi and artist behind two striking images that capture the Black…
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In the 1920s, a Black cantor moved the world
Editor’s note: In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Forward is resurfacing some of our recent coverage related to the Black-Jewish experience and racial justice. This article originally appeared in July, 2020. In June, Henry Sapoznik was scrolling through Facebook when he saw something he’d been seeking for mpre than 40 years: a…
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