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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Add this to your quarantine reading list: 500 pages on Jewish dairy restaurants and the ‘milkhideke’ personality
You get more than you pay for with “The Dairy Restaurant”_ (Schocken), the recent book from award-winning graphic novelist Ben Katchor — the Forward’s former cartoonist, a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient, and a Guggenheim fellow. While the book plumbs the history of Jewish dairy eateries — hundreds of which once dotted New York City —…
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The Book of Ruth: A story about famine offers a powerful lesson for a pandemic
As a public service during this pandemic, the Forward is providing free, unlimited access to all coronavirus articles. If you’d like to support our independent Jewish journalism, click here. The story of Ruth at the heart of Shavuot has a striking relevance to our global pandemic: it begins with a natural disaster. Human drama is…
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I would not eat babka and ham
Like any decent Millennial chef, I rely on the Apollo and Artemis of aesthetically pleasing recipe websites: New York Times Cooking and Bon Appetit. But Tuesday, I found one of my old favorites embroiled in controversy that someone— anyone— just had to see coming. The recipe in question was one for babka, the classic dessert…
The Latest
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The rush to return to our sanctuaries is misplaced
Last week, President Donald Trump called for churches, synagogues and mosques to reopen. In a press conference, the president said, “In America we need more prayer, not less.” As a congregational rabbi, I can affirm that so many in my community are missing the ability to sing together, catch up in our hallways, hug people…
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It’s 2020 and we’re wandering in the desert once again
Read this article in Yiddish. One of the hardest things for me to get used to during this pandemic has been not being able to go to shul on shabbos or to have friends and fellow synagogue members over for a homemade meal afterwards. Not only has this deprived me of trying out new recipes…
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A prophet in his own city: Jacob Kornbluh, the Hasidic reporter standing up for social-distancing
As a public service during this pandemic, the Forward is providing free, unlimited access to all coronavirus articles. If you’d like to support our independent Jewish journalism, click here. A group of about a hundred Hasidic men and boys milled about on a dark street in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Boro Park, a gleam of…
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18 Tikkun Leyl Shavuot to help you celebrate the holiday — wherever you are
An often-overlooked spring holiday, Shavuot commemorates the moment when God gave the Torah to the Jewish people. For generations, Jews have celebrated with communal Torah study sessions, called “Tikkun Leyl Shavuot,” that last long into the night, often until dawn. Because of coronavirus, most tikkunim are taking place virtually this year. Although you can’t gather…
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How to celebrate Shavuot at home
Although Shavuot probably originated as a pre-Judaic agricultural festival marking the first harvest, for Jews the holiday commemorates God’s gift of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Shavuot takes place exactly seven weeks after Passover, on the day when, according to the Torah, God gave the Torah to the Jews. In ancient times, Jews combined appreciation…
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After a website breach, an ulpan teacher takes to Instagram to school hackers — on grammar
When the owner of a Hebrew language school in Tel Aviv discovered that the websites for his business and hundreds of others had been hacked to display the same mistake-riddled text, he knew just what to do — correct it. On May 21, Yaron Sivan woke up to texts from friends and students, alerting him…
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How my grandfather prepared me to lose him
On May 21, my beloved grandfather, Morris Silberstein, passed away at 100. His favorite activities included carpentry, listening to the opera, and periodically informing the German government he was still alive and that his bank account deposit information was up to date. As far as I know, he was not infected with the coronavirus that…
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Ramadan, High Holidays, and women’s community roles: A Muslim and Orthodox Jew exchange notes
It was late on a Sunday evening and I was scrolling through Buzzfeed, as one does. The month of Ramadan had just started and Buzzfeed writers and community members were sharing tweets and TikTok videos from people observing the 30 days of fasting. Reading and watching the posts, I kept thinking: While the words are…
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