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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Do You Want Me to Leave Orthodoxy? An Open Letter to the RCA
Dear Rabbinical Council of America, Do you want me to leave? Do you want 17-year-old girls who care about Judaism to leave Orthodoxy? Do you want them to leave Judaism altogether? Because that is what is going to happen if you don’t give us a seat at your table. I am a 17-year-old girl who…
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I’m an Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi and I Support Women’s Ordination
A few years ago, I received a call from a Hasidic Rebbe from a small synagogue in Brooklyn. In a mix of Yiddish and Hebrew, the Rebbe asked me, “could you help me write up a semichah [ordination certificate] for a woman?” The question didn’t faze me so much, my only question was “what type…
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Am I That ‘Crazy Neurotic’ Jewish Woman Donald Trump Is Describing?
When Donald Trump called Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee Chairwoman, “crazy” and “a highly neurotic woman” it was one more comment in a long list of politically incorrect statements he has made since joining the presidential race. Unfortunately, it is also a characterization frequently made about Jewish women in general. I’ve noticed two major…
The Latest
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Female Clergy Are Key to ‘Sacred Continuity’
Ironically, Friday’s announcement by the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is an acknowledgement of the reality and impact of Orthodox women clergy. We are facts on the ground. I am the Rabba the RCA is decrying. I received ordination from Yeshivat Maharat in June this year and fully consider myself a member of the clergy….
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Internet Shaming is New Weapon Against Get-Refusing Husbands
It seems everybody wants to be a celebrity these days. But the men whose names and faces are plastered across Facebook and Twitter, identifying them as husbands who are refusing to grant their wives a Jewish divorce, are surely famous against their will. The latest media star is a life coach in Dayton, Ohio, who…
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When Modesty Endangers Women’s Lives
Israel’s election feels like a lifetime ago. Those of you with a suitably long memory, however, will recall that one of its defining features was empowerment of the underdog. There was the historic unification of Arab parties and Jewish-Arab party Hadash on one slate. And then there was the small matter of a feminist revolution…
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Why You Shouldn’t Be Caitlyn Jenner for Halloween and 4 Other Costumes To Avoid
After uproar in the comments section, Walmart.com seems to have pulled its controversial Israeli soldier costume,just in time for Halloween. It might not be the best time ever to be promoting dressing up like an IDF soldier, but the makers of offensive Halloween costumes have never been particularly concerned with timing or taste. In case…
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5 Things I Learned from Gloria Steinem
On Wednesday night, hosted feminist icon Gloria Steinem, in conversation with her longtime friend Congresswoman Maxine Waters. The 81-year-old read from her newest book, “My Life on the Road,” that chronicles her life as an activist and women’s rights champion through her itinerant lifestyle. Steinem also used the opportunity to share her personal side, showing…
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Revisiting the Sheva Berakhot, Or Seven Blessings on Marriage
1. Blessed art Thou, O L-rd our G-d, King of the universe who hast created the fruit of the vine. In my twenties, when weddings should have been ordinary, I avoided them. Back in the 1990s, marriage, to me, was an institution of derision, exclusive of queers and anachronistic for women. Weddings were an artifice,…
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Why I Don’t Regret Dressing Up as Monica Lewinsky for Halloween
In her latest column for Vanity Fair, Monica Lewinsky writes about . “Thankfully, I have never gone to a Halloween party where I’ve bumped up against, well, myself,” she writes. “I did, however, get an idea of what that might be like when, several years ago, I went to see the movie Made of Honor,…
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Women Rule the Top of Israeli Finance, but Not the Job Market
High-profile appointments of women in recent years have created the impression that the gender gap is rapidly closing. This is particularly the case in the financial sector. Three of Israel’s five largest banks are run by women — Rakefet Russak-Aminoach at Bank Leumi, Lilach Asher-Topilsky at Israel Discount Bank and Smadar Barber-Tsadik at the First…
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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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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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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.
In Case You Missed It
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Culture Cardinals are Catholic not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
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Fast Forward Halal restaurant opening in Congress is like ‘Muslim conquest of Jerusalem,’ says GOP congressman
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Fast Forward Germany formally classifies far-right AfD party as extremist, in blow to Nazi-linked populist movement
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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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