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 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…
The Latest
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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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The cruel secret history of a Jewish adoption agency that separated siblings
Margaret Erle, the 16-year-old daughter of refugees from Nazi Germany, fell in love with George Katz, 17, the son of two Viennese Holocaust survivors in Upper Manhattan in 1960. At the time, there was little birth control, no sex education, and abortion, of course, was illegal. Like more than 3 million other young unwed women…
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The obvious biblical beef with the Golden Trump
Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, two men were seen hauling a gold statue of Donald Trump through the Hyatt Regency Orlando lobby. Clergy, coreligionists and people with eyes for easy metaphors all asked: Where’s the beef? The golden calf jokes aren’t subtle and wry when they make it all obvious like that https://t.co/mNQzwjgGsh…
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No, Mike Nichols wasn’t a great director, but he did touch greatness once
I didn’t think it was possible for an EGOT winner to be an underdog. Mike Nichols had a Grammy when he was 31, a Tony when he was 33, and an Oscar when he was 36. The Emmy didn’t come until he was 70, but to make up for lost time he snatched up two…
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Klingon Hanukkah and ‘Rugrats’ Purim — our wish list for Paramount+’s reboots
Mere weeks after a Super Bowl ad showed Jeff Probst, Dora the Explorer and DJ Khaled summiting a twisted Mount Olympus of mixed intellectual property, the forthcoming Paramount+ platform has announced more familiar faces coming to its streaming lineup. Because there is nothing new under the sun, we’ll be graced with a fresh take on…
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TikTok didn’t know Jews of color existed. This frum Black Jew is teaching them.
I met Tony Westbrookin Jerusalem, in 2016, when we both studied at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Tony was a large presence in the program; he was known for hosting beautiful, multi-course Shabbat meals and making soup to deliver to anyone in the program who got sick. Today, Tony is the Assistant Director of…
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