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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As Russian Jews, We Are Characters in Someone Else’s Story
As far back as I can remember, I knew that I had to hide everything about my life from my friends at school. Kids absorb secrecy around class and money like sponges, and for a small child who barely paid attention to what we were learning in school, I was amazingly sentient of what I…
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I Should Not Have To Check My Jewish Values At The Synagogue Door
As the CEO of a Jewish community foundation, I often walk the halls, sanctuaries, offices and schools of many synagogues. As you might expect, Jewish values are evident everywhere: Toddlers are marking Shabbat in the preschool; youngsters are reciting the aleph bet in Hebrew School; tweens are studying for their bnei mitzvah, as high school…
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Top, Most Gorgeous Nature Reserves To Visit In Israel
Visiting the Holy Land this summer? In Israel alone, there are hundreds of beautiful and diverse nature reserves: from snowcapped mountains in the north to desert dunes in the south, cold cisterns and hot springs, forests and groves, and an abundance of other magical locations. Here are 5 recommendations for nature reserves in Israel, where…
The Latest
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Why This Turkish Fashion Designer Chose A Former Synagogue For Her Runway Backdrop
This Istanbul synagogue is named after the “bangs of a bride’s hair”: “Zulf-u arus”, a classic Ottoman Turkish turn of phrase, combining both Persian and Arabic words. It’s a fitting name, perhaps, for the building of a former synagogue that was chosen to serve as the stage for a fashion show as part of Istanbul…
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How Anne Frank Wrote Poetically About Her Period — And Inspired Modern Entrepreneurs
When viscous hunks of your uterine lining break off and descend through your vagina, there’s nothing like thinking of murdered child writer Anne Frank. Right? Associating menses with the teen diarist who became the face of the Holocaust feels disrespectful, even vulgar. But the person who is mainly responsible for linking Anne Frank with menstruation…
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Of Sacred Items And Gorgeous Tchotchkes: The Havdalah Spice Box
This is the third installment in a new monthly series, “Of Sacred Items And Gorgeous Tchotchkes,” looking closely at the Judaica items that fill our homes. Judaism is, by and large, a religion of reason, logic, and law. 613 laws to be exact, and probably enough volumes of books breaking down every minute sub-regulation and…
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How Israeli and Palestinian Teens Are Bonding Over Frisbee
David Barkan is a legend in the world of Ultimate Frisbee, a competitive game that is soccer-meets-football-meets-catch with a frisbee. David has played and coached on four continents and has even been inducted into the Ultimate Frisbee Hall of Fame (don’t worry, I didn’t know it existed either). But as a lover of Israel, a…
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A Muslim And An Orthodox Jew Talk Modesty And Feminism
Can modesty and feminism coexist? With recent news of model Halima Aden landing the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in a hijab and burkini — there’s been a lot of buzz, particularly in the “modest community,” about the return of more conservative clothing to the fore in a post-MeToo society. Even before MeToo inspired some…
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When A Synagogue Was Sold To A Church — The Community Held A Funeral
Several months ago, before it was to be sold to a Baptist church, the synagogue of my youth held a funeral, although the event was billed as a farewell ceremony. The oldest synagogue in the state of Delaware, Adas Kodesh Shel Emeth (or AKSE), had made its home in a red-brick building on a major…
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Every Orthodox Rabbi Ought To Read This Book About The Lives Of LGBTQ Orthodox Jews
Just a few days ago, a Jewish teenager from South Africa committed suicide while on an organized trip to Israel. Before dying, the 19-year-old—a first-year medical school student—wrote a note on his phone that he was struggling with his sexual identity and his place in the Modern Orthodox community he belonged to. “Trying to pretend…
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From Baghdad To Queens: An Iraqi Community Remembers
It was odd, for once, to see the synagogue so full. Hundreds of chairs lined the hard-carpeted floor, pushing people up against the windows and doors and the curtained entrance to the sanctuary. People had come hours in advance, in anticipation of the day’s events, and my mother and I had trouble finding seats. Workers…
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