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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Sexual Dysfunction Is a By-Product of Treating the Body as Treyf
There is more to say about sexual health in the religious Jewish community than I could in this earlier post, about a new book designed to help Orthodox parents talk with their children about the topic. I am certain that there are plenty of sexually happy couples, and I know for sure that there are…
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Sex and Women’s Pleasure Debated in the Orthodox Sphere
It seems that sex is on everyone’s minds this week. (“Just this week?” The cynic replied.) It’s not just on The Sisterhood that sexuality in Jewish life became a focus, but also elsewhere on the Jewish Web. Asimon, “Israel’s Women’s Site,” for example, announced that in honor of “May is Masturbation Month,” they are holding…
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Navah Paskowitz-Walther: The Jewish Mother of Surfing’s First Family
Knowing Navah Paskowitz-Walther today as a San Fernando Valley stay-at-home mom who is active in her synagogue and children’s Jewish day school, it is hard to believe that, as a child, she lived a peripatetic existence in a 24-foot camper. Growing up as the only girl in a Jewish family of nine children, she surfed…
The Latest
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If Emma Goldman Used Google
Tamar Fox over at My Jewish Learning discovered the new Search Story tool at YouTube that allows you to easily mimic Google’s renowned “Parisian Love Story commercial.” She saw the potential in this right away, and put together two videos, one about the history of the state of Israel and one about Jewish lifecycle events….
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On Banning the Veil
The veil worn by some Muslim women has emerged as a potent hybrid symbol in Europe. And the question of whether or not it should be worn has sparked debates about everything from feminism to religion, democracy, freedom, immigration and assimilation. Belgium recently passed a law banning full-face veils, France has a similar law in…
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The Problems With Religiously Sanctioned Sex Positivity
I read with interest Debra Nussbaum Cohen’s post about the struggles of Sara Diament, author of a book on sexuality education for young girls — a book targeted towards Orthodox Jews. I’ve had religion and sex on the brain this week. “Religious sex” was the name of a now-departed fetish boutique on St. Marks place,…
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Rabbis Nix Frank Language in Sex-Ed Book
Sex educator Sara Diament has written a book, “Talking to Your Children About Intimacy: A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Parents,” meant to encourage parents to speak frankly with their children about sex, starting with helping preschoolers describe their body parts accurately up through the more complex task of talking with teenagers. Diament, based in New…
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Lab Labor: Who Deserves Credit For My Research Paper?
Dear Bintel Brief, I am a recent college graduate, and have spent the past year working in a research laboratory on a paper that is just about to be published. When I saw the final draft this week, I was shocked to notice that the paper said it was co-written by myself and another young…
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Behind Every Scandalized Prime Minister…
It is said that behind every powerful man is a strong woman. In the professional realm, it is conceivable that a woman who begins as a personal secretary could evolve into an “office manager” — and beyond. But whatever her title, her real value to her employer is her steadfast loyalty, her willingness to keep…
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Books Our Rack: The Sisterhood Reading List
Beginning this month, The Sisterhood will feature a monthly roundup of book recommendations for our readers. We will include books that are geared toward Jewish women, along with other women’s-interest titles that we believe will be of interest to Sisterhood readers. Nonfiction: • A diverse group of writers share their feminist “aha” moments in the…
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Seeking Essays From Women in Interfaith Relationships
When the Forward published my essay on being in an interfaith relationship last year, I could never have predicted that I would eventually decide to put together an entire anthology of essays by women in Jewish interfaith relationships. Before I wrote my essay, I had carried ideas for it in my head for a long…
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