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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WATCH NOW: December 8: Innovate or Die: How Jewish nonprofit leadership weathered 2020 and is leaning into 2021
WATCH THE RECORDING. A global pandemic, a racial reckoning and the most divisive political campaign in memory were among the unprecedented challenges our community organizations faced this year. Join Joan Garry, whose second edition of the “Guide to Nonprofit Leadership” will be published in paperback Dec. 22 (preorder here); Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the…
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Shtetl-inspired sweatshirts are creating controversy online — but is ‘shtreetwear’ really beyond the pale?
Call it shtreetwear. Call it shtetlcore. The era of extremely Ashkenazi athleisure is here, and it’s forcing Jews to contend with a pressing question: What are “shtetl vibes,” and should you be able to sell them? On Tuesday, the Jewish Twitterverse took note of Shtêttl, a streetwear-cum-lifstyle brand inspired by shtetls — yes, the small,…
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‘The Simpsons’ reminds us of Trump’s ‘disloyal’ Jews comments
While the question of cultural sensitivity and “The Simpsons” remains fluid, the show has always been attuned to the unique concerns of American Jewry. So it’s no real surprise that the forthcoming “Treehouse of Horror” special reminds us of the worst thing President Trump ever said about our voting trends. In the episode, which opens…
The Latest
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This Central Valley cannabis brand is stamped kosher all over
Colloquially, both Jews and non-Jews often use the word “kosher” to mean acceptable, suitable or even, according to Urban Dictionary, “cool or chill.” Most assume that’s what Darron Silva meant in naming his cannabis company Cali Kosher, which sells marijuana flower, vape cartridges and concentrated extracts to hundreds of retailers across California. “A lot of…
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In ‘Raised by Wolves,’ a warning about our pandemic isolation
In HBO’s timely new dystopian drama, “Raised by Wolves,” two human-like robots are raising a small group of children on a distant, unforgiving planet. The show’s release happened to coincide with a worldwide pandemic, and, in many ways, its little nuclear family trying to survive now represents all of us. Without large gatherings or extensive…
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WATCH NOW: December 3: Healing Racial Divides – Lessons from Chicago
Watch the recording here. How can Black and Jewish congregations find meaningful ways to help heal America’s racial divisions? What role can Jews of Color play in communal approaches to racism and justice? Join Cydney Wallace, activist and co-founder of Kol Or, JCUA’s Jews of Color Caucus; Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star Church; and…
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Music Reclaiming Salome as seductress, murderess and misunderstood Jew
Most of what we know about Salome was written or imagined well after her alleged crime. Reviled as a seductress, who, some 2,000 years ago danced in front of her stepfather, Herod, before requesting the head of John the Baptist on a platter, Salome has had a sizable imprint on western culture in film, opera…
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A doorbell cam captured Paul Milgrom’s Nobel win — but his mezuzah was the real star
Around 2 a.m. on the morning of October 12, Stanford economist Robert Wilson ventured outside to break some important news to his neighbor and research partner Paul Milgrom: Together, they had won the Nobel Prize in Economics for their contributions to auction theory. The Swedish Academy seems to revel in the confusion it causes by…
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Elizabeth Taylor was the original Jewish Cleopatra
Editor’s Note: Gal Gadot will not be the first Jewish Cleopatra. While news of the Israeli actress’ casting in a new version of the Egyptian queen’s story caused on online kerfuffle, there is a high quality precedent for a member of the tribe donning the Ptolemaic monarch’s beaded headdress. Elizabeth Taylor, whose conversion to Judaism…
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Lenny Kravitz pays loving tribute to his Jewish grandparents — and their kasha varnishkes
Who said, “I was just a happy-go-lucky kid hanging out in my grandma’s kitchen eating kasha varnishkes”? Uncle Solly? Your mother? Me? (Well, yes, but never mind that.) Would you believe: self-professed hippie-stoner rock star Lenny Kravitz? Because that’s just one of many of the heymish memories the multiple Grammy Award-winning rock artist and producer…
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In her greatest hit, Stevie Nicks spun a Kabbalistic tale
With the news that Stevie Nicks has inked a deal with a studio to make a TV miniseries based on her song “Rhiannon,” the only question left is whether or not the show will explore the Kabbalistic depths of the 1976 hit that propelled Fleetwood Mac into the mainstream. A rolling stone gathers no moss…
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Yiddish פֿאַר וואָס הערט מען ניט וועגן דעם גלעצנדיקן וווּקס פֿון דער ישׂראל־בערזע? Why aren’t we hearing about the dramatic growth of the Israeli stock market?
וואָלט דער אָפּרוף געווען אַנדערש, ווען דער ציל פֿון די טעראָריסטן וואָלט ניט געווען ייִדן, נאָר אַן אַנדער גרופּע?
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