Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish culture. Here, you’ll learn about the latest (and sometimes earliest) in Jewish art, music, film, theater, books as well as the secret Jewish history of everything and everyone from The Rolling Stones to…
Culture
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I have seen the future of America — in a pastrami sandwich in Queens
San Wei, which serves pastrami sandwiches along with churros and biang biang noodles, represents an immigrant's fulfillment of the American dream
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Is That Jared Kushner’s New Skyscraper — Or Is He Just Happy To See Us?
Not one to be outdone by Jared Kushner’s father-in-law when it comes to gaudiness, tastelessness, or phallic obsession, the Kushner family recently unveiled plans for a humongous skyscraper at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City. It is important to note that Jared, though he played a role in the building’s conception, sold his stake…
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On Stephen Sondheim’s 87th Birthday, 3 Transcendent Takes On His Music
Today is musical theater legend Stephen Sondheim’s 87th birthday, and while some are celebrating by binge-listening to the composer and lyricist’s classic tunes — who, after all, can resist the lure of, say, Bernadette Peters crooning “No One is Alone?” — NPR celebrated by bringing pianist Anthony de Mare into the studio to discuss a…
The Latest
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How Bob Silvers Made Friends And Influenced People At The New York Review Of Books
More than any other modern editor, Robert Benjamin Silvers, who died on March 20 at age 87, turned a social circle into a compelling publication. Of Russian and Romanian Jewish origin, Silvers cofounded The New York Review of Books (NYRB), which he co-directed with Barbara Epstein until her death in 2006. As Silvers told The…
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Get To Know These Three Latin American Jewish Poets On #WorldPoetryDay
On National Poetry Day, we introduced you to four of our favorite American Jewish poets. Now, for World Poetry Day, get to know three Latin American Jewish poets. There’s a surprising lack of their work in English translation, so if you’re a Spanish-speaker — all three are from Spanish-speaking Central and South American countries —…
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Ruling On Roman Polanski Case Expected Within 90 Days
Almost 40 years after film director Roman Polanski fled the United States to avoid further sentencing after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, a Los Angeles judge is set to rule on what might be the last iteration of Polanski’s case within 90 days, CNN reports. A warrant for Polanski’s arrest has been…
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Why Does An Ad For An Amazon Show Make So Many People Mad?
Since the election of Donald Trump, a funny thing has started to happen — otherwise innocuous pieces of pop culture have become political battlegrounds. I mean funny both as curious and as downright hilarious. In the former camp, we have boycott movements growing around things like sneakers (New Balance) and cereal (Kellogg’s) – the newly extreme…
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Art Bodily Fluid Project Unites Muslims and Jews
In a project melding interfaith dialogue and feminist theory, a Toronto gallery brought together Jewish and Muslim women to study sacred texts. Guided by Toronto artist Rochelle Rubenstein, the women created scrolls that meshed ancient verses with very modern meditations on the female body. The goal: To explore traditional responses to menstruation, breastfeeding and mourning…
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The Story Of A Piano That Survived Bergen-Belsen
This is a piano tale. It’s a story about coincidences, Jewish connections and post-Holocaust fallout. I have a piano. It’s unusual because of its construction, but mostly because of its history. It was built by the Bechstein company circa 1908 in Germany. It is a rehearsal piano — an upright with extra long strings and…
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Is This 23-Year-Old Brooklyn Native Opera’s Next Great Star?
Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, at 23 years old, might be one of opera’s most promising stars. He’s lined up engagements for the next few years, appearing next with Virginia’s Wolf Trap Opera and the Houston Grand Opera Studio. His subsequent commitments are currently under wraps. He was just named one of the winners of the…
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How Jackie Hoffman Journeyed From Shtetl to Hollywood to Broadway
Actress/comedienne Jackie Hoffman has long been a fixture on the New York scene. The rubber-faced character actress known for a long-lived and successful Broadway career was recently cast as Mrs. Teavee in the forthcoming Broadway production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and most recently played Mamacita, Joan Crawford’s loyal German maid, in Ryan Murphy’s…
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How A Jewish Author Is Helping Exiled Writers Find Asylum
Las Vegas seems an unlikely haven for intellectuals. But for years, a literary center at its University of Nevada campus has quietly welcomed exiled writers under threat in their home countries. Now, as President Trump’s immigration actions send chills through refugee communities, the City of Asylum project is launching an ambitious national expansion. “We’re asking…
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