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’Twill come, I know, as no surprise.
(I speak, of course, of my demise.)
The signs abound, for all to see:
A curtailed life expectancy.
My breath is short, my sighs are long,
The heart beats sound (to me, all wrong.)
Self-pity I will not embrace,
But these are facts that one must face.
My keepers shower me with praise,
Resorting to outworn cliches.
“Rehab will make you feel so great,”
They shamelessly prevaricate.
Meanwhile, I feel of strength a dearth,
Enough to keep me down to earth.
And if my reasoning is sound,
I’ll soon be resting underground.
“At times he made some people laugh.”
Might constitute my epitaph.
Stanley Siegelman, the Forward’s bilingual bard, passed away April 11 at the age of 87. Read reflections on Stanley’s life and work from his editor Daniel Treiman and his longtime friend Bob Brody. Read his writings for the Forward here.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
