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 Yeshiva I Left Behind
I looked through the windowpane for a good four minutes, my palm sweating on the doorknob. What am I doing here? I thought, staring at all those men, poring over their books and talking with their study partners. I couldn’t face them. Peeking through the corner of the small window on the door, I felt…
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Why The Modern Orthodox Family Model Works, And What We Can Learn From It
To Modern Orthodox parents frantically juggling children’s baths, last minute work crises, and Shabbat preparations before lighting candles at 3:58 p.m — life may seem pretty stressful, even chaotic. For some, the responsibilities and restrictions of Shabbat and the Jewish holidays, as well as expectations of high participation in synagogue and Jewish communal life create…
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Does Meditation Mean I’m Turning My Back On My Religion?
I have joined over 25 million Americans who practice meditation on a regular basis. These days I go to meditation class more regularly than I go to shul. I have never been prone to praying; I remain a Jew without a temple. Growing up, I felt confused, unsure where I fit in. Strongly identifying as…
The Latest
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Is Infertility An Eggcellent Adventure? If Thousands Listen In — Then Yes.
Talking to Matt Mira and Doree Shafrir is like immersing yourself in a warm bubble bath with a glass of wine: it feels soothing and buoyant at the same time. That’s probably how their tens of thousands of listeners feel when tuning into their podcast, Matt and Doree’s Eggcellent Adventure about their fertility journey trying…
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How The Notorious RBG Uses Fashion For Political Statements
On November 9, 2016, members of the United States Supreme Court met, wearing their somber black robes. But fastened around Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg‘s neck was something different: a beaded, scalloped necklace that she wears on those days when she cannot express her dissent verbally. This necklace is infamously known as her dissent collar….
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When Alzheimer’s Complicates ‘Honor Thy Mother’
“You have your lunch, right? “Yes Mom.” “Your swim bag?” “Yes Mom.” “And the guitar is in the car for your lesson later?” I volley at my 10 year old and teen son in the morning rush. “YES, Mom!” They both shout simultaneously. Then out loud, to myself: “Long-term healthcare phone number to find out…
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In An L.A. Shtetl, I Found Myself
“She’s pretty for a Jewess,” the woman in the elevator says in French to her boyfriend, a Moroccan who lives in my new building in Pico Robertson. With my blonde hair and blue eyes, I’ve gotten used to being called “a nice” Jew from Morristown, New Jersey. Then there was the “So nice for a…
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How RBG’s ‘I Dissent’ Became A Fashion Statement
Supreme Court justices aren’t known for their sense of style. The long, black, shapeless judicial robe that they wear is practical, allowing the justices to focus on important matters (like saving the Constitution). But Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dubbed the “Notorious RBG” by her ardent admirers, manages to add a bit of flair to her otherwise…
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Don’t Call Me Sugar! Declares Israel’s First Paris Couture Designer
Last week at Paris Couture Fashion week, among established names like Chanel and Giambattista Valli, nestled between Elie Saab and Jean Paul Gaultier, was Israeli designer Galia Lahav. Lahav and her design partner Sharon Sever are the first Israeli designers to nab the prestigious position of guest member of the official couture-granting agency, the Chambre…
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I’m Not A Rich Jew — And I Hate The Stereotype
On a recent business trip to L.A., when I mentioned I was Jewish, an Asian businessman told me that his son would ask him daily: “Dad, why was I not born a Jew, they are so smart and so rich!” I smiled at the “compliment.” That’s what’s called a positive stereotype — like the ones…
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Orthodox Magazine Erases Women From Image Of Auschwitz
This past week, the popular ultra-Orthodox weekly Mishpacha published a pixelated image of women during the liberation from Auschwitz, in compliance with its graphics policy which forbids pictures of women: The image ran in the magazine’s cover story, “Twin Fates”, written by Aharon Granot, profiling one of the last-surviving Mengele twins: Irene and Rene Guttmann….
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News Scoop: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors
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Fast Forward Their Pacific Palisades synagogue is standing, but all three rabbis lost their homes
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News ‘Do you have the Torahs?’ Synagogue races LA wildfire to rescue its past and future
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Music For Bob Dylan’s biographer, ‘A Complete Unknown’ is a dream come true — even if it’s mostly fiction
In Case You Missed It
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News LA fires won’t stop bar mitzvahs this Shabbat, as joy and pain meet
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News HIAS cuts 22 staff even as it braces for Trump immigration crackdown
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Fast Forward A synagogue that survived the Palisades fire has become a ‘refuge’ for many who lost their homes
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News When fire spread to West Hollywood, a rabbi’s mom chose to grab candlesticks
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