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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How My Son Skipped a School Party, and Schooled Me in Boundaries
“He doesn’t want to go,” my husband said. I was expecting a call about sweatpants. Should we challenge our headstrong six-year-old to change into dress pants for that afternoon’s celebratory siddur party, where he would receive his first Jewish prayer book? Or just let it slide? “He wants to skip the party,” said Yonatan. “He’s…
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Why Bashing the Halakhic Prenup Destroys More Than It Builds
Any suggestion to help resolve the plight of agunot, or “chained women,” whose husbands won’t grant them a religious divorce, must be taken seriously. So we read Shayna Zamkanei’s article with great interest. Zamkanei argues that the Halakhic Prenuptial Agreement (also known as “the Prenup”) does not work and she proposes what she sees as…
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Jewish ‘AT&T Girl’ Creates Moving ‘I Am a Refugee’ Video
(JTA) — You know Lily. You do. She’s that chipper, slyly witty girl who works at the AT&T store — not a real one, but the one you see in those ubiquitous TV ads. What you may not know is that the actress who plays her, Milana Vayntrub, is a nice Jewish girl. She’s a…
The Latest
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A Divorcee’s Shabbat: Less Married, More Jewish
I was sitting at a folding table in the living room of a Hassidic rabbi in Santa Monica, Calif. Shabbat candles glowed low, a spot of red wine stained the tablecloth. The rabbi’s beautiful wife had gone to bed, along with their fifth child, a newborn. Three of us remained at table, picking at challah,…
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Ladies, Ya Gotta Get Pregnant, But Not Look Like It
Amirite? As a woman, many demands are laid upon you by glossy magazines and social media. Well, here’s a new one, and it’s a doozy. You know you have to get pregnant. It doesn’t matter what else you have done, or who you are. If you don’t breed, you are lesser. And when it’s over,…
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Letter to the Editor: Sisterhood Column ‘Skip the Pink’ Missed the Point
On behalf of the American Zionist Movement, I write to express my disappointment in the blog post which appeared on The Forward’s blog, The Sisterhood, on March 17, titled “For Women’s History Month, Let’s Skip the Pink” The Israeli Consulate in New York and the American Zionist Movement hosted an event last Wednesday evening celebrating…
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Cable TV’s Mothers Come Out — As Jewish, and Sexual
Is there a television stock character more recognizable than the Jewish Mother? From Molly Goldberg and Ida Morgenstern to the more coded matrons of the popular Jewish-ish ’90s sitcoms, these mothers were interfering, loud, obsessive women who carried smothering affection in their zaftig frames, imbuing their children with guilt and insecurity in equal measure. They…
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How Spock is Helping Women of the Wall Live Long and Prosper
In a move bound to draw opposition from the Orthodox establishment, feminist activists are planning to hold a first-ever priestly blessing ceremony at the Wailing Wall for and by women. And the estate of the late Leonard Nimoy is helping fund it. The event, scheduled to be held during the Passover holiday, is being organized…
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Why Prenups Don’t Work, And What To Do About It
Last year, the issue of agunoth or “chained women” — women who are unable to remarry — hit popular culture in the form of a movie, “Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem.” The Israeli film, nominated for a Golden Globe and selected as the country’s contender for the Oscar’s Best Foreign Language film category, follows…
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Esther’s Secret, Sexy Idea to Save the Jews — Exposed!
When I set out to tell the story of a deeper, more intelligent Esther than I initially found in The Book of Esther, I had no idea how ugly some of the rhetoric around women and beauty would become in the next decade and a half. As a child at Talmud Torah Day School, I…
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Esther and the Khazars vs. the Nazis: a Purim Story
Editor’s Note: Tim Duggan Books is running a giveaway contest for Sisterhood readers. Click here to enter to win a hamsa-shaped metal charm and a galley of the book. When I first began writing my new novel, I wanted to do three things. 1) Give the Khazars — a tribe of Turkic warrior Jews who…
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