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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Conversations With The Ultra-Orthodox Women Fighting For Their Rights
Knesset member Aliza Lavie is blond, poised — and whip smart. I caught her on her way out of the Knesset after yet another dead-end meeting with its ultra-Orthodox members, discussing women’s rights. “Ultra-Orthodox parties are taking women backwards. Everything I try to do, they block,” she said, her voice rising with frustration. “Everything I’ve…
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A Very Forward Passover Guide To All Things Wine And Booze
There’s so much more to Pesach alcohol than your grandfather’s Silvovitz (or Arak if you’re Sephardi) and the four cups of wine during the Seder. First, some ground rules: Jews are biblically prohibited from consuming chometz, products that contain even a speck of wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt, during the 8 days of Passover….
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Why So Many Hasidic Men Are Such Aggressive Drivers
A heated conversation erupted this week after the actress Amber Tamblyn tweeted that she had nearly been hit by a Hasidic man while walking through the streets of Brooklyn’s Hasidic South Williamsburg. She described being sideswiped while walking with her baby, and seemed to feel intentionally targeted because she was a woman. If anyone in…
The Latest
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Why Did Netflix Cut ‘I’m Gay’ From Documentary About Ex-Hasids?
NEW YORK (JTA) — A woman who was featured in a hit Netflix documentary about former Orthodox Jews says the fact that she was openly lesbian was cut from the film. Etty Ausch, 33, is one of three people who tell their stories of leaving the Brooklyn Hasidic community in “One of Us,” which was…
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We’re Writing A Guide To American Synagogues, And We Need Your Help
I’m excited to announce the launch of the first ever Very Forward Guide to American Synagogues. This project is unlike anything we’ve done before: a crowd-sourced compilation of data that will serve as a resource to readers nationwide and offer synagogues of all shapes, sizes and denominations a chance to share their story. It’s a…
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What’s With The Orthodox Anti-Chabad Bigotry?
There was a recent hate crime against Jews. No, it was not a swastika, and no, it was not a desecrated Jewish grave. It occurred in a yeshiva high school, as a prank for the month of Adar, in the spirit of Purim. On social media, photos circulated of various tables and dioramas mocking Chabad’s…
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Ethiopia’s Forgotten Jews Wait For Israel, Their Suitcases Gathering Dust
The bus parks on a cobbled hill. We exit into the milling crowd and pass through a gateway in a corrugated metal wall, painted in vertical blue and white stripes, under the watchful eye of a rifle-toting guard. Past the plastic-laminated ‘house rules’ in English and Amharic (no electronic devices, long skirts required for ladies),…
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Since When Have $500 Mishloach Manot Baskets Become Normal?
The moment that the Purim ads start appearing in the religious magazines, I begin to hyperventilate: How to design the perfect cellophane-wrapped gift packages of treats, the traditional mishloach manot we deliver to one another on the morning of the holiday? How many — who makes the cut for that all-important list? And what about…
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How A Hasidic Woman Changed My Life In A Hospital Waiting Room
My dad always says that his most valuable possession is his relationships. Human-to-human connections make life worth living. Shared experiences with friends and family bring meaning into our lives, and even a chance encounter with a stranger can be incredibly fulfilling. This past weekend, my husband, Ira, a plastic surgery resident at NYU Langone Hospital,…
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7 Beautifying Sheet Masks To Take Your Purim Costume To The Next Level
Masks perfectly encapsulate everything about Purim: a random series of events that mask God’s Divine Hand. To wear a mask is to hide one’s true self. But imagine a mask that not only conceals one’s true self, but also perfects the skin. After all, Purim can be an exhausting endeavor, filled with screaming, face-plant tantruming…
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How Burlesque Helped Me Find My Jewish Soul
I could feel sweat dripping down every crevice. For my burlesque show, Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad, I was cloaked in a Hasidic costume, a man’s full itchy wool suit, fake payot, and a fur hat — all soon to be ripped off, minus the Star of David pasties. As I stepped on onto the…
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