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 ‘Circus of Books,’ a nice Jewish couple finds success in gay porn
For nearly four decades, Karen and Barry Mason owned Circus of Books, a book and video store that was considered Los Angeles’ “center of the gay universe.” Later, they became one of the largest distributors of gay pornography in the country. Now their lives are the subject of a documentary dropping on Netflix on Wednesday,…
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The Paradox of Freedom
Editor’s Note: The Forward’s Youth Writing Contest is asking middle and high school students to submit essays, short stories and poems on the topic “What It Means To Be Free.” We’re still accepting entries at [email protected] — you can find the entry guidelines here.The deadline is Friday, May 1. Today, we’re proud to publish this…
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For Elaine May on her 88th Birthday
Elaine May began life 88 years ago, the child of traveling players in a Yiddish theater company. She grew up acting with her parents. Later years would bring bigger venues — Broadway, Hollywood, even a pioneer Amazon Prime series — but her ethic of mishpocheh followed her through her collaborative career. Sadly, as happens in…
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The Dead Sea Scrolls are in self-isolation — but they mean more than ever
In the weeks since the Israel Museum temporarily closed due to the coronavirus, Hagit Maoz, a curator there, has been dreaming of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In one of her dreams, the Great Isaiah Scroll, the oldest full version of the Book of Isaiah, has somehow come loose from its case. The parchment, free, flies…
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When Native Americans were the lost tribes of Israel
Old Canaan in a New World By Elizabeth Fenton NYU Press, 272 pages, $35 When I lived in West Jerusalem, I regularly walked past a large poster which featured a Native American man. He was wearing traditional clothing and a feathered war bonnet, and the caption said, “Ask me about land for peace.” Nothing could…
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Yesterday was fear, but today is serenity
Editor’s Note: The Forward’s Youth Writing Contest is asking middle and high school students to submit essays, short stories and poems on the topic “What It Means To Be Free.” We’re still accepting entries at [email protected] — you can find the entry guidelines here.The deadline is Friday, May 1. Today, we’re proud to publish this…
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How to remember this socially-distanced Yom HaShoah
The evening of April 20, 2020 marks the begining of Yom HaShoah, when we honor the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. This year, the ceremonies, which typically involve public gatherings with candle-lightings, have gone online only. But the project of remembering continues. Here are some ways to pay your respects. YAD VASHEM,…
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ABC’s ‘The Baker and the Beauty’ is a half-baked remake
The epoch of coronavirus is a time of quarantined batch-baking and sourdough starter. Many are now learning that when it comes to baking, the rules of chemistry apply. Things can’t be rushed and from scratch is better than a mix. ABC’s latest soapy import, “The Baker and the Beauty,” should take a lesson. Working from…
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How Trump uses blood libel rhetoric against ‘invisible enemy’
When President Trump uses the phrase “invisible enemy” to describe the coronavirus, he is using the vocabulary of medieval libels against Jews. Once we OPEN UP OUR GREAT COUNTRY, and it will be sooner rather than later, the horror of the Invisible Enemy, except for those that sadly lost a family member or friend, must…
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The preliminary burdens of freedom
Editor’s Note: The Forward’s Youth Writing Contest is asking middle and high school students to submit essays, short stories and poems on the topic “What It Means To Be Free.” We’re still accepting entries at [email protected] — you can find the entry guidelines here.The deadline is Friday, May 1. Today, we’re proud to publish this…
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Coronavirus has made flaunting wealth taboo. What’s an influencer to do?
When Arielle Charnas developed symptoms of the novel coronavirus in mid-March, she found herself in the same boat as many New Yorkers: Sick, and scared. What happened next was less common. While the city’s medical system was even then stretched thin and tests for the virus were — as they remain — hard to come…
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