Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the robust lives of American Jews. Here there’s a little of everything about the multifaceted world of Jewish life. There are light-hearted Jewish celebrity stories and shocking Jewish celebrity news. Food is also plentiful,…
Life
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Don’t Blame Mikveh Attendants for a Broken System Created by Men
I’m not big on manicures. This is in part because my life is filled with things like typing and piano, so manicures make my hands feel pretty but useless – good for appearances and bad for actually creating stuff – and in part because cuticle-cutting is painful and often infection-inducing. One advantage of infrequent manicures…
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These 4 Jewish Comedians Are Backing #NoBillNoBreak Anti-Gun Push
As more than half of the Jewish members of the House participated in a sit-in protest of the Senate’s failure to pass gun control measures, celebrities took to social media to voice support for the cause. Amy Schumer urged her followers to support the sit-in, which was trending on Twitter under the hashtag #NoBillNoBreak. In…
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Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Agrees to Mikveh Immersion Without Attendant
JERUSALEM — The use of an attendant during mikveh immersion in Israel will be changed from mandatory to optional. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and Ministry of Religious Services agreed on the change in a filing Wednesday with the Supreme Court. The state religious bodies were responding to a suit filed by ITIM, a group that supports…
The Latest
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The Orthodox Feminist Revolution Has Finally Arrived — in London
Landing back in the Jewish community of my home town of London, U.K., after five years living overseas, I have the heady sensation of being caught up in a full-blown feminist revolution. Back in 2010 when I left for a four-year stint in the U.S. (followed by a year in Kenya), London felt like a…
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The Black Lesbian Vegan Who Wants To Change Everything You Ever Thought About Rabbis
(JTA) — Sandra Lawson didn’t expect to perform a public benediction at her local pub in Philadelphia’s Roxborough neighborhood. But when her friend Jay, who was entering firefighter training, asked her for a blessing earlier this year, she stood with him in the middle of the room and put her rabbinical school training into action….
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The World’s Most Powerful Jewish Women
This month, Forbes released their annual list of The World’s Most Powerful Women — “the smartest and toughest female business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, philanthropists and CEOs making their mark in the world today.” Out of the 100 women selected, twelve are members of the tribe. 3 of the top 10 women are Jewish: #3…
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Books Parenting How-To: Looking Beyond Diapers and Tantrums to Find Spirituality
Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder, and Radical Amazement of Parenting Danya Ruttenberg Flatiron Books, 320 pages, $25 I’ve read my share of parenting books. There’s a stack by my bedside table that inevitably tips over with my three kids’ rambunctious play nearby. With a 3, 5, and…
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ShayTell Brings World of Jewish Wigs to Social Media
(JTA) — First there was “Tinder for bras.” Now there’s a Yelp for sheitels, the wigs worn by many married Orthodox Jewish women. ShayTell may be the first-ever online customer review site for wigs. It’s certainly the most cleverly named. And if you’ve never considered the demand for such a site, consider this: When was the…
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In My Journey for Self-Acceptance, Could the Third Nose Be the Charm?
Barbra Streisand recently said that if she had ever had a nose job, she never would have had a singing career. Despite being pushed to “fix it” to be less noticeably Jewish, her nose became her moniker. However, I didn’t have the where-with-all to resist the prodding of others. Growing up in a traditional Jewish…
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Why Israel’s Mikveh Bill Is About More Than How Orthodox Women Immerse
This has been a tough week for women in Israel. While the Knesset was debating how much power the rabbinate should have over women immersing in the ritual bath, or mikveh, Women of the Wall Executive Director Leslie Sachs was being arrested at the Western Wall for carrying a Torah. All this reminds us that…
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LISTEN: Ilana Glazer Exposes ‘Psycho’ Who Posed as ‘Broad City’ Writer
Ilana Glazer called out a man who pretended to be a writer on hit comedy show “Broad City” in order to convince a date to sleep with him. The man claimed to work on the Comedy Central sitcom and showed a photo he had taken with show creators Glazer and Abbi Jacobson at a 2014…
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Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
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News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Fast Forward Trump taps shock jock Sid Rosenberg and a Haredi newspaper publisher for Holocaust Memorial Council
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Music Jill Sobule was as much a Jewish icon as a queer one
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