Image by Courtesy of Aryeh Hurwitz

Cantor/Web developer
Chabad Lubavitch Media Center
Brooklyn
Age:26
Nominated by: Himself
Song: “Vehu Rachum,” Yossele Rosenblatt

Jewish music is made up of various different genres, styles and modes. But what makes Jewish music so unique is that, from top to bottom, it is soulful. You experience an event through song. It’s the equivalent to praying, studying or connecting to a source of some sort — something greater than just lyrics and a tune combined. “My Yiddishe Mame”; “Raisins and Almonds”; Shlomo Carlebach’s “Mimkomcha,” and even Yaakov Shwekey’s “Shomati”; — they’re not just folk love songs or lullabies. They are our heritage, wrapped up in a gift box. And you can re-create it by simply signing or, even more simply, listening. —Aryeh Hurwitz

INFLUENCES: Shlomo Carlebach, Mordechai Ben David, Yossele Rosenblatt, Moshe Koussevitzky.

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.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Will you support our work today?

— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

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