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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The Jewish Eye Doctor Who Performs Life-Changing Surgeries — In Flying Operating Room
A decade ago, Dr. James Brandt embarked on a plane from Northern California to Vietnam. When he arrived, he boarded another plane, but this one never left the ground. That’s because this second aircraft was a mobile teaching hospital complete with an operating room, recovery room, and classroom. The ‘Flying Eye Hospital’ is the brainchild…
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When Did Synagogues Start Putting American Flags In Sanctuaries?
Jewish tourists from North America are likely to notice one big difference when visiting synagogues around the world. Though a plethora of symbols, such as stars of David and menorahs, may be displayed, national flags are rare inside the sanctuary. Meanwhile, in the United States and Canada, an American or Canadian flag (and sometimes both)…
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She Discovered What The Homeless Lack Most: Socks.
Socks are the “single most-needed article of clothing in homeless shelters” — and remain the least-donated items, according to Adina Lichtman, the twenty-five year old founder of Knock, Knock Give a Sock (KKGS), the non-profit dedicated to reducing the stigma of homelessness. Lichtman, a New Jersey native, says that while nine out of ten people…
The Latest
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Holocaust Survivor Earns High School Diploma at 87
“I just woke him up to tell him [that you called] and he was very excited,” Leah says about her father, long time Forward reader Mordechai Miller. For a Holocaust survivor like Miller, receiving an education during the war was unusual. “My education from Poland was nothing. I only made it to the first grade…
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The Jews Who Ignore Immigrants While Employing Them
The room sparkles, a montage of brilliantly colored wigs, gleaming cufflinks, the Sabbath china set. The men recite the prayers with such gusto! Bravo, what a Yeshivishe accent, every ‘oy’ pronounced loud and clear, your rebbe would be proud! We serve tuna tartare and foie gras and brisket, open a bottle of Glenmorangie. Someone shares…
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The Orthodox Woman’s Tireless Search For The Most Natural Wig
On a chilly spring day in March of 2002, Rachel Riss, an Orthodox woman with a fashion-forward sensibility, got engaged. But niggling at the edges of her starry-eyed cloud of happiness was a twinge of worry: she needed to find a wig. According to Jewish law, a woman must cover her hair upon marriage, and…
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The Invisible Ones Among Us
“Know that everything is according to the reckoning.” (Ethics of our Fathers 4:29) A fundamental tenant of Jewish faith is that the universe will ultimately become just. Now, we ought to be able to look at the world and see its chaos, injustice, and brokenness. But that is not all we should see. We need…
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After A Tragedy, The Frock Expands In Crown Heights
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon when I walked into The Frock’s pop-up shop. Set up in a corner space in Crown Heights, the light streaming through the windows, racks of clothes lined the walls. By the time I had arrived, at around 2 p.m., the place was bustling; there were women pulling dresses off…
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I Was 21 When I Made My First Non-Jewish Friend
I was 21 years old when I made my first non-Jewish friend. It was the first day of the spring semester of my junior year, and I was settling into the newsroom where I would be interning for the next three months. After some introductions and a brief tour, I met my fellow intern, a…
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These Incredible Photos Show What Hasidic Life Is Actually Like
Joshua Haruni spent years documenting life in Israel’s Hasidic communities — from the Rebbe’s office to the tisch’s with thousands gathered to sing, from cheder graduations to the moments in the kitchen on Friday afternoon. Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, life editor, spoke to Haruni about his forays into this community. This interview has been edited and condensed…
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A Holocaust Survivor Inspires The Ex-Incarcerated
Earlier this month, Hedy Pagremansky, a radiant 4’9” woman of 89, spoke on the 73rd anniversary of her late husband Erich’s liberation from Dachau. It was not the usual Holocaust memorial ceremony — but a gathering of some fifty formerly incarcerated men and women, who probably have a thousand years of prison time between them….
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