H-e-c-h-s-h-e-r
Saryn Hooks didn’t end up winning the 79th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee last week in Washington. But before finishing third, the 14-year-old girl from Taylorsville, N.C., managed to stump the judges on the word “hechsher” — the endorsement signifying that something has been certified kosher.
The judges disqualified her, saying that the correct spelling was “hechscher.” But family members of other contestants, checking on their laptops, quickly reported that it was the judges who, in fact, were offering the treyf spelling.
Hooks was reinstated, but she was no match for “icteritious” (look it up).
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
