The Bintel Brief — Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow
How one advice column changed (and is still changing) Jewish life in America
Sun, May 21, 2023
3:30 P.M. ET
Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY
THANKS TO ALL WHO JOINED US!
This event was not recorded.
When the Forward’s Bintel Brief advice column was first published in Yiddish in the early 20th century, it provided vital information for new Jewish immigrants trying to navigate life in the U.S. There were letters from families living in dire poverty, workers being exploited by their bosses, and immigrants detained in terrible conditions at Ellis island.
The Forward not only offered advice on personal problems, but it also taught these new Americans about their legal rights.The Bintel Brief column is alive and well today, as one of the Forward’s best-read features, igniting conversations among readers and on social media. Recent columns guided a mother whose adult sons owe her money; reassured a convert who divorced her Jewish husband that she is still Jewish, and advised a reader whose clueless friend wants his help in disposing of Nazi memorabilia.
Join Forward archivist Chana Pollack and current Bintel Brief editor Beth Harpaz for a conversation about the history of Bintel and what it says about the changing world of Jews in America over the decades. And come with your quandaries — maybe we’ll answer your questions at the event!
Engage
Most Popular
- 1
Forverts in English A Yiddish word I never expected to see on a license plate
- 2
Opinion Anti-Zionism forced us to withdraw from Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
- 3
News ‘No one’s allowed to talk to me’: At UW-Madison, trying — and failing — to talk about Israel
- 4
Fast Forward New poll: 13% of voters who switched support from Biden cite his Gaza policy
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward NYC deputy mayor charges Washington Post with antisemitism
-
Fast Forward IDF recovers bodies of 3 Nova festival victims, including Shani Louk
-
Fast Forward Police in Rouen, France, shoot and kill man who set fire to a synagogue
-
News Queens College has been a model of Muslim-Jewish cooperation. Can it stay that way after Oct. 7?