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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‘Fun Home’ Librettist, Composer-Playwright Win Kleban Prizes for Writing in Musical Theater
Librettist Lisa Kron, best known for writing the book and lyrics to the Broadway darling “Fun Home,” and Daniel Zaitchik, a composer-playwright whose work has been developed by Lincoln Center Theater, have won the 2017 Kleban Prizes for writing in musical theater. The prizes, which comes with a cool $100,000, are awarded by the Kleban…
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To Preserve Sounds of Immigrant America, Ellis Island Museum Seeks Yiddish-Speaking Volunteers
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration has, in its database, more than 8,780 sound recordings from the early 20th century both by and about people considered to be “outsiders” in the United States. Included in that group were immigrants. Now, the Museum is trying to make…
The Latest
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45 Years Later, the Documentary Leonard Cohen Didn’t Want You To See
The newly released yet very old documentary, “Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire,” offers a behind-the-scenes look at the poet/singer/songwriter on his 1972 European tour. That it has taken over 40 years for it to get its first North American run is an indication that the process was as complicated as its subject. Director Tony…
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A Farewell to Wonders of America
A lifetime ago, when I first began my training as an historian of America’s Jews, I came across a remark by Jacob Glatstein, the Yiddish modernist poet, that underscored what was at stake in my newly-chosen field. Asked what it meant to be a “poet of an abandoned culture,” Glatstein famously replied: “It means I…
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How You Know You’re a Detroit Jew
You know that you’re a Proud Detroit Jew, because for decades you boasted about growing up less than a mile away from the house of Smokey Robinson. Maybe you never saw him “Shop Around,” but you could point out his house on Outer Drive. You still brag about the fact that you saw little Michael…
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Writers Resist, “God of Vengeance,” and More to Read, Watch, and Do This Weekend
This week, the Forward presents a more concise weekend roundup. In books, look to Andre Aciman’s new collection of linked stories “Enigma Variations,” Ayelet Waldman’s new memoir of microdosing LSD “A Really Good Day,” , and the newly released paperback version of Ludmila Ulitskaya’s “The Big Green Tent.” In New York, catch the last week…
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Broadway Cast of ‘God Of Vengeance’ Arrested on Obscenity Charges
Editor’s Note; The following article about the arrest of the cast of “God of Vengeance” on obscenity charges has been translated from the Yiddish by Chana Pollack from the March 7, 1923 edition of the Forverts. Responding to allegations yesterday that Sholem Asch’s drama “God Of Vengeance,” currently presented in English at the Apollo Theatre,…
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Why We Should All Read This Russian Newspaper To Understand America
If you want to understand the new reality in Washington D.C., look to Moscow. Trump has previously expressed his admiration for Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin has signaled that it welcomes the incoming American government (whether you believe the new dubious unconfirmed “dossier” or not, many in the Russian government were elated at the news…
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Protesting an Anti-Immigration Bill, and More Forward Looking Back
100 Years Ago With only seven senators voting against it, the Burnett anti-immigration bill now has an excellent chance of becoming a law. It is likely that it will pass with a large majority in the House as well. While it’s true that the bill has been amended and is now not as bad is…
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The Last Time We Saw ‘God of Vengeance’ on Broadway, the Whole Cast Got Arrested
To Eleanor Reissa, director of New Yiddish Rep’s current revival of “God of Vengeance,” Sholem Asch’s controversial 1907 play is about questions, often maddeningly unanswerable ones. “Who is to blame? What is it about? Who is the most corrupt? What does it mean to be this kind of religious Jew? What is a whore? What…
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‘The Best Hope For Yiddish is in Israel:’ An Interview With Scholar Avrom Nowerstern
The following article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. It was translated from the Yiddish by Meena Viswanath. Dr. Avrom Nowerstern, the long-standing Yiddish teacher and researcher, is the director of Beth Shalom Aleichem in Tel Aviv. He was born in Argentina in 1951 and moved to Israel in 1969. Nowerstern is no newcomer to…
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