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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Broad Smiles and Enduring Spirit at Holocaust Survivors’ Beauty Contest
To the strains of Madonna’s “Vogue”, the 13 women with a combined age of about 1,050 strutted down the runway cautiously, hindered only slightly by walking sticks and the odd dodgy hip. The third annual Holocaust survivors’ beauty pageant, honoring women who lived through the concentration camps and death marches of Nazi Germany, was held…
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Kate Middleton Effect Brings Frum ‘Fascinator’ Hats to Synagogue
The so-called “Kate Middleton effect” — by which anything the Duchess of Cambridge wears becomes an instant best-seller — seems to know no bounds. She has graced the covers of countless magazines; entire blogs are devoted to what she wears. And, as it happens, the duchess is the perfect style icon for observant Jewish women….
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Mayim Bialik, Can We Stop Judging Jenna Jameson?
Seven. That is how many times as a porn star instead of an adult film star. That may not seem like a big deal, and really, on its own it’s not. But that choice of words matters when it’s added to judgmental sentences like this: “I wonder what in her life happened that made her…
The Latest
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A New, Sophisticated Haredi View on Gender
Recent debates about women and the Orthodox rabbinate yielded a range of interesting, impassioned and also banal observations by various Jewish professionals and laypeople. Although sociological and legal arguments abound, a broader philosophical discussion of the nature of gender roles within Judaism is lacking. The assumption in these debates seems to be that the challenge…
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Why Is There a Naked Woman on This Ketubah?
That naked bodies existed in the mid-18th century goes without saying. In a world where even Vogue finds its way to discussing tznius, the biblically-inspired modesty that has tended to be applied overwhelmingly to women’s attire, however, some may be surprised to learn that naked female bodies surface in illustrations adorning margins of religious Jewish…
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Introducing Abby Stein
The first thing that Abby Stein wants the world to know is that she did not leave her ultra-Orthodox community solely to become a woman. Since she came out this past August, Stein has been garnering attention as the transgender ex-Hasid. Although she acknowledges that the two events in her life are “intertwined,” she says…
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How Water Justice Leads to Gender Justice
Parshat Vayetsei, this week’s Torah portion, provides vivid vignettes of pastoral patriarchy. People congregate around the village well, sharing stories while watering their flocks. Jacob arrives in Haran, the land of his mother, and heads directly to the well. This is where he famously meets his cousin Rachel, and is smitten. Wait a minute. If…
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How One Transgender Camper Helped Shape the Entire Reform Movement
Playing a supporting role in a major human rights advocacy campaign is both gratifying and humbling. As we mark Transgender Awareness Week, I applaud the recent commitment that my fellow 1.5 million Reform Jews have made to the full equality, inclusion, and acceptance of people of all gender identities and gender expressions by overwhelmingly supporting…
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Knesset Member Miri Regev Seeks Soulmate — For Her Aide
Who knew Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev moonlighted as a shadchan? In a recent Facebook post, the Likud MK announced that she is on the hunt for an eligible bachelor for her beloved advisor, Liron. On the occasion of Liron’s 34th birthday, Regev writes, she is turning to Facebook, a place she heard has…
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Why I Was Denied the Right to Mourn My Late Mother
“You cannot say Kaddish.” Had those words had been said with sympathy, or at least respect for my loss, I wouldn’t be writing this. On my first morning in Budapest, October 7, the 24th day of Tishrei, I saw an old man standing in a doorway of the Talmud-Torah behind the Dohany Street Synagogue. I…
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‘Anne ♥ Peter’ and the Rise of Anne Frank Fan Videos
This week, The New York Times reported that the Swiss foundation holding the copyright to “The Diary of Anne Frank” declared Otto Frank, Anne’s father, to be the co-author as well as the editor of her celebrated diary. This controversial move extends the foundation’s hold on the copyright in Europe by 34 years. As the…
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