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
-
How Pastrami Helped To Create American Jewish Culture
Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli By Ted Merwin NYU Press, 256 pages, $26.95 I have always loved the theater, because no matter how many years of confuting experience intervene, Pavlovian associations lead me to expect that corned beef sandwiches at the 2nd Ave Deli will follow every play in New…
-
How I Relieved Myself Through Prayer
My brother was trying to decide if a friend of mine was too religious for him to date. We were both in our teens then. I had no idea how he defined “too religious.” “Just tell me,” he said. “Is she the kind that says that weird blessing when she comes out of the bathroom?”…
-
Why Collectors of ‘Antisemitica’ Aren’t Always Anti-Semites
In our capitalistic world, everything (tangible) is ownable and collectible, including items that one might assume no one ever would choose to own or collect, such as signed mug shots of Charles Manson, African slave trade shackles or Islamic State T-shirts and hats. Atrocities are to be learned from, one might think, the paraphernalia associated…
The Latest
-
Transgender Man Gives Birth to Baby — Embraces Life as ‘Abba’
(JTA) — When Rafi Daugherty went to the hospital for the birth of his first child, he posted a sign on the delivery room door. “I am a single transgender man having my first baby,” it read. “I use he/him/his pronouns and will be called ‘Abba’ (Hebrew for father) by the baby. Papa, Dad, Daddy,…
-
8 Jewish Movies Premiering at Sundance
There’s a lot of amazing Jewish movies coming out of Sundance Festival this year. The popular film festival is in its 28th year, and is starting on Thursday, January 21st, in Park City, Utah. From documentaries about Jewish settlers to full feature dramas from the heart of New Zealand, here are eight great movies that…
-
Art Do These T-Shirts Make Me Look Jewish?
Anne Grant wanted to arrive early at the Center for Jewish History for the opening of her biggest exhibition to date. Her train from New Haven had run an hour behind schedule, and she rushed into the echoing lobby juggling a backpack, an overstuffed Longchamp tote and a blue water bottle. She has straight, mousy…
-
Linda Lavin Is the ‘Mother’ of All Jewish Mothers
Let us stipulate, to begin, that Linda Lavin is excellent at playing a Jewish mother of a certain age. In fact, she is better than excellent; she is extraordinary, perfect, brilliant, perhaps the ideal, especially when that Jewish mother is wry, self-assured, precise, prickly — and when isn’t a Jewish mother (or at least a…
-
Music How This Ex-Orthodox Yeshiva Student Became a Star In the Arab Music World
Ziv Yehezkel is a man full of contradictions. He is at once a deeply religious Jewish man, but also a zealous lover of Arabic music. The soloist of Arab Orchestra of Nazareth, the 31 year-old was born in Kiryat Ono, a town in central of Israel, in an area called “Little Baghdad.” But Yehezkel did…
-
Music Glenn Frey and the Secret Jewish History of The Eagles
The death of rock singer Glenn Frey, a cofounder and leader of the Eagles, marks an end to one of the longest running and most successful bands of the rock era. Critics have always noted the somewhat acerbic, downright cynical attitude running through many of the group’s best-known songs. But perhaps overlooked has been a…
-
Books Brazilian Jews Celebrate Ban on Publishing of Unannotated ‘Mein Kampf’
A Brazilian publisher has decided to cancel the release of a new printing of “Mein Kampf” after strong pressure from the Jewish community and scholars. Editing company Edipro reportedly decided on Thursday to call off a first printing run of 1,000 copies, saying it was an old translation to Portuguese from the 1930s, with no…
-
Who Told Herman Wouk ‘You’ve Got To Go to Germany’ — and Why
Editors note: One of the most celebrated authors of the 20th century, Herman Wouk — author of “Marjorie Morningstar,” “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial” and “The Lawgiver” — shows no sign of relenting from his astoundingly prolific output. In this excerpt from “Sailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author,” Wouk, who will turn 101…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
- 2
Fast Forward First Puka Nacua, now Mookie Betts: Why do sports stars keep getting antisemitic around a Jewish streamer?
- 3
Fast Forward After MIT professor’s killing, Jewish influencers spread unverified antisemitism claim
- 4
Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion The Gaza hostage crisis could forever change how American Jews relate to Israel — but it’s not too late to fix that
-
Yiddish ווידעאָ: היסטאָריקערין וויווי לאַקס באַשרײַבט געשיכטע פֿון לאָנדאָנער ייִדישער פּרעסעVIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press
שבֿע צוקער פֿירט דעם שמועס מיט וויווי לאַקס און ביידע לייענען פֿאָר עטלעכע פֿעליעטאָנען פֿון יענע צײַטן.
-
Yiddish World Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’
-
Culture We tried to fix Hallmark’s Hanukkah problem. Here’s the movie we made instead
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
