Life

A Living Lens: Virginia Beach

By Alana Newhouse January 7, 2008

This might be my all-time favorite story from the book tour. During the Q&A session in Virginia Beach a woman in the back of the room motioned to me. “I just wanted to thank you for a lovely presentation, and to tell you that I brought my aunt with me today” — at this, the woman next to her coquettishly raised her hand — “she has a picture of herself reading the Forverts in 1948! At the age of 18! She’s been showing it off for six decades. When we heard you were coming to town, we got a subscription to the paper, and of course she brought the photograph with her today.” I was just as excited as they were, and I told them to make sure to show me the picture during the book signing after the event.

Sure enough, as I was signing books, I saw the aunt walking toward the table. She was holding the photograph like a treasure and, after introducing herself as Barbara Helfant, presented it to me with ebullient pride. I looked down at the picture and smiled.

“Mrs. Helfant, how’s your Yiddish?” I asked.

“Oh, I don’t speak Yiddish. I just picked up the paper at Lieberman’s Royal House in Mount Freedom, N.J. Why?”

“Because the newspaper you’re reading in this photo is not the Forverts. It’s the Tog, one of our competitors.”

I inscribed her book, “To Barbara Helfant — After 60 years, FINALLY a Forward reader.”

Alana Newhouse, the Forward’s Arts & Culture editor, is touring the country, speaking about her new book, “A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life From the Pages of the Forward.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO