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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Of Sacred Items And Gorgeous Tchotchkes: The Seder Plate
This is the first installment in a new monthly series, “Of Sacred Items And Gorgeous Tchotchkes,” looking closely at the Judaica items that fill our homes. Growing up, Passover was always my favorite Jewish holiday. Sure, on Hanukkah you got presents and [Rosh Hashanah](https://forward.com/schmooze/320610/rosh-hashana/ “Rosh Hashanah”) meals boasted most of the best food, but there…
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A New Exchange Program For Israeli Scientists — And Orthodox Rabbis
In a mid-sized study hall in Jerusalem, rows of men in white shirts and black pants are swaying to the sing-song of Talmudic verses. Some sit, hunched over their ancient texts; others stand, resting their books on a wooden lectern, or shtender, in Yiddish. Forty-five minutes away from the beit midrash, Israel’s leading scientists are…
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Hiring Passover Cleaning Help Woke Me Up To My Own Privilege
Passover is around the corner. This year, as I begin to prepare in Jerusalem, where cleaning products went on sale the morning after Purim and municipal posters wishing everyone a happy spring holiday decorate the streets, I think back to preparing for Passover four years ago, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was still winter and…
The Latest
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As A Russian Jewish Immigrant, I Was A Stranger At The Passover Seder
When we arrived as political refugees from the Soviet Union to America in the late 1980s, American Jewish communities went out of their way to welcome us. They opened their hearts and homes expecting grateful, meekly smiling families. They imagined that there would be lot of nodding and pointing and patting each other on the…
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Passover Prep, As A Feminist, Can Be Enraging
I’ll confess: Passover is the one holiday that makes me resent being a Jewish woman. Throughout the rest of the year, I love Jewish womanhood. I love raising a Jewish daughter. Shabbat dinner is a labor of love. Synagogue means dancing and cookies and songs of gratitude. Even Yom Kippur ends in sweet cakes and…
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Where To Get A Seat At A James-Beard-Award-Winning Passover Seder — and Others In NYC And Beyond
Let’s add a fifth question to the seder this year: When did Passover become so cool? Along with exquisite Sephardic and Mexican feasts, you’ll have options this year for biodynamic, Indian-inspired, and James-Beard-Award-winning-chef seders. Among the choices: Biodynamic at Bouley April 19, NYC: With a menu by iconic NYC chef David Bouley, this “celebration of…
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Remembering Cantor Sherwood Goffin, Of Manhattan’s Lincoln Square Synagogue
Let’s face it: Virtually everyone who becomes a professional singer is motivated by a fair amount of ego. The spotlight. The audience. The applause. The adulation. No singer can resist those perks. But I know one who did resist. He could have pursued a Broadway career, but he chose to dedicate his voice to his…
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16 Israelis and Palestinians Talk Identity, Before Elections: A Photo Essay
In Israel, Judaism alone boasts a spectrum of denominations, affiliations and nomenclatural religious-national identifiers. 93 percent of Israeli Jews would say they are proud of their Jewish identity, according to a recent Pew study, but the way they understand and describe that identity – and what it means to be Jewish – can vary drastically,…
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This Passover, Please Let Elijah Not Be An Axe Murderer
Editor’s note: This article is satire. The Forward does not condone axe murder or defamation of Jewish prophets. April 5, 1999 – Tulsa, Oklahoma 9:07 a.m. Tonight is the first night of Passover. Another year has gone by. Once again, the house smells like rotten eggs and roasted bones. Only now, I am no longer…
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The 36 Best Jewish Memes Of All Time
Every day this week we’ll be highlighting classic and cutting-edge Jewish comedy, from the best Jewish comedians in the Trump era to the best jokes told by non-Jews about Jews. L’chaim! The Jews have taken to memes as we’ve taken to many mediums of creative expression and social criticism over the millennia: with wild enthusiasm….
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11 Jokes About Jews By Non-Jews That Aren’t Anti-Semitic
Every day this week we’ll be highlighting classic and cutting-edge Jewish comedy, including the top Jewish comedians of the Trump era, and the best ever Jewish memes. L’chaim! Who gets to joke about Jews? The correct answer to that question is: Jews. As with most minority groups, not only are Jews the more likely to…
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