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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The secret Jewish history of the condom
If you have bought or used a condom in the United States or Britain, you most likely have a Jewish person to thank. While Jews didn’t invent them – penis sheaths have a long history stretching back to ancient times – Jews certainly played a huge role in the development of the modern rubber prophylactic….
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So, what did Agatha Christie really think of Jews?
With “Death on the Nile,” Kenneth Branagh’s latest film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot tales due for release in December, along with a new book-length study of Poirot, who is celebrating the centenary of his creation, it’s a moment to recall just how antisemitic the early detective novels of Agatha Christie were. “The…
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More than 90 years later, how Jewish Book Month became a tradition
Many months on the calendar honor various groups of Americans. November is American Indian Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. February is Black History Month. There’s Irish-American Heritage Month in March, and May celebrates the heritage of both Asian Pacific Americans and Jewish Americans. Less common are ethnic literary…
The Latest
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How Leonard Cohen’s messianic childhood prepared him for a sort of priesthood
Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: The Early Years. by Michael Posner Simon & Schuster, 496 pages, $30 We already know that rock poet Leonard Cohen was a profoundly Jewish songwriter and a deeply spiritual man. But a new oral biography, “Leonard Cohen — Untold Stories: The Early Years” (Simon & Schuster), by Michael Posner, recounts in…
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Chagall’s massive ‘Magic Flute’ curtain is up for auction
In his long and varied career, painter Marc Chagall created stained glass, fine ceramics and a massive ceiling mural for the Paris Opéra — but only one opera set. Now, if you have unlimited income and vertical space, the centerpiece of the Chagall-designed opera can be yours. On Tuesday, Nov. 17, Bonhams is auctioning the…
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‘Kiss Julie for me’ — a story for my devoted aunt
At least once a week at mealtime, I walk down the center aisle to visit Aunt Helen. She sits at the far end of the large dining room where walkers outnumber tables, where bibs and plastic replace napkins and stemware. I look from side to side at the blank old faces that surround me —…
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To cope with quarantine, seniors are crafting COVID-era memoirs
Most mornings, Lil Brown follows the same routine. After waking up at 4:30 a.m., she sips a cup of tea and waits for inspiration to strike. It’s never long before she thinks of something: a moment, a scene or a date, usually from her childhood during the Great Depression. When the memory comes, Brown sits…
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The best Jewish tennis player in the world can handle antisemitism — just don’t kid him about his height
Tennis has a few improbable stories — like Richard Williams teaching his daughters Serena and Venus to play on public courts in Compton, California. Or Novak Djokovic dodging bomb-cratered blocks in Belgrade, Serbia in order to get to his practices during the NATO assault on his country in the late 1990s. Or, consider the saga…
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February 17: Rukhl Schaechter discusses role of women in the shtetl
On Wednesday, February 17 at 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 p.m. PT, the weekly Yiddish-language radio show, Dos Yidishe Kol (the Yiddish Voice), will feature a discussion between Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter and historian Sholem Beinfeld on the topic, the powerful role of the woman in the East European shtetl. The discussion will be conducted…
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WATCH NOW: February 17: Kaddish for Knishes? — The Uncertain Future of the Jewish Deli
Watch the recording here. Label’s Table, Jerry’s Famous Deli and Nate N’ Al in L.A., Moishe’s steakhouse in Montreal, B&H Dairy and Sammy’s Roumanian in NYC, Jay and Lloyd’s and Pastrami Masters in Brooklyn, Zaidy’s in Denver, Hamsah Mediterranean Grill in Pittsburgh, and Mile End in Birmingham, Alabama — all these beloved Jewish nosheries have…
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European war museums reeling from Nazi artifact thefts
The robberies sound like a strange mix of George Clooney films — part “Monuments Men,” part “Ocean’s Eleven.” In recent months, Nazi memorabilia was stolen from several war museums in Denmark and the Netherlands. Thieves made off with mannequins dressed in Nazi uniforms, in one instance blocking off a major roadway and evading the police….
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