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
-
Film & TV
How To Make a New Yiddish Film
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here. The first words in the trailer for the new Yiddish-language film “The Pin” are “Ikh ken nit khapn dem otem” — “I can’t catch my breath.” The movie, currently playing in New York, takes place primarily in a barn in an unknown location during the Second…
-
Hitler’s Willing Hollywood Collaborators
Since its publication this past summer, Ben Urwand’s book, The Collaboration: Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler, has sparked intense debate. Its claim that Hollywood’s major (Jewish-run) film studios colluded with the government of Nazi Germany to protect their economic interests has elicited angry responses from critics who have objected that the book’s thesis is deceptively sensationalistic…
-
Terrifying Top 10 (Jewish) Songs for Halloween
Due to Halloween’s pagan origins, Rabbinic law prohibits the Jewish celebration of the popular autumn holiday, which might explain why there’s usually a notable scarcity of “slutty rabbi” costumes at your typical All Hallows’ Eve bacchanal. But the dark allure of haunted houses, jack-o’-lanterns and (let’s be honest here) candy corn is often too powerful…
The Latest
-
What I Learned From Lou Reed
There was a time when I fell into the habit of writing in my mind to Lou Reed. The thought of him and his music quickened me to narrate to him and ask him questions. He had liked my writing and we had been put in touch, and I admitted all this to him, saying…
-
Remembering Lou Reed, a True Rock ‘N Roll Animal
Lou Reed — legendary rock iconoclast, gimlet-eyed poet laureate of the New York City streets, and one of the most important songwriters of the past fifty years — died yesterday at his Long Island home in Southampton, N.Y., following a long battle with liver disease. If it seems amazing that Reed lived to age 71,…
-
Books How David Laskin Discovered Family’s Past
A family rumor was the genesis of David Laskin’s extraordinary new book, “The Family: Three Journeys into the Heart of the 20th Century.” Laskin heard from his mother who heard it from her cousin Barbara who heard it from her parents: that they were related to Lazar Kaganovich, henchman of Joseph Stalin and a perpetrator…
-
From Sir, With Compassion: Part 2
The son of Polish Holocaust survivors, Larry N. Mayer grew up in the Bronx. His first book, “Who Will Say Kaddish?: A Search for Jewish Identity in Contemporary Poland” was published by Syracuse University Press in 2002. A graduate of Columbia University’s Teachers College, he has worked with at-risk high school students for over fifteen…
-
How Leonard Bernstein Conducted Himself Through His Correspondence
The Leonard Bernstein Letters Edited by Nigel Simeone Yale University Press, 624 pages, $38 No one ever questioned Leonard Bernstein’s gifts. His innate musicality was apparent prodigiously early, as were his verbal intelligence, his energy, and his limitless self-confidence. Almost everyone who knew the young Bernstein assumed he would achieve great things. Whether his later…
-
The Great Bagel(ing) Mystery Has Been Solved!
Not every column sees a mystery cleared up so quickly. Two weeks ago I appealed to you for help regarding the origin of the expression “to bagel” in the sense of subtly letting someone know you are Jewish or ascertaining whether he or she is. One of several responses received comes from Montreal-born human rights…
-
The Return of ‘The Rise of David Levinsky’
In a tribute to the late Isaiah Sheffer, who created Symphony Space, a flourishing arts center on the upper West Side, Avi Hoffman produced and starred in a staged concert performance of “The Rise of David Levinksy,” at the Symphony’s Thalia Theater, on Monday Oct 21. Based on the 1917 novel by Abraham Cahan, who…
-
Books 10 Ways to Celebrate Jewish Book Month
The Holy Days are barely behind us, and we’re already preparing for Hanukkah (the first day of which, as some have realized, coincides with American Thanksgiving this year). But between these events comes something else that should be on your calendar: Jewish Book Month. Running this year from October 26 to November 26, Jewish Book…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s selection as JTS commencement speaker roils graduating class
- 2
Opinion How Israel became a country where teenagers murder each other in cold blood
- 3
Sports NBA coach Steve Kerr: ‘Israel sought revenge for Oct. 7 and now 72,000 Palestinians have been killed’
- 4
Film & TV A new documentary challenges stereotypes about Orthodox Jewish women — and their wigs
In Case You Missed It
-
News Most Jewish voters rate Mamdani poorly, new poll finds
-
Fast Forward After a Maryland teacher’s death, her 200-piece Judaica collection finds new life in a Jewish museum
-
Fast Forward British Green Party candidate tweeted about killing Zionists from Anne Frank parody account
-
Yiddish World New documentary captures the lively history of Yiddish theater in America