In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
I reversed the genders of every person in the Torah — and it finally feels complete
Five years ago, I started rewriting the Torah by reversing the genders of all characters. All of the men became women and all of the women became men. Divine influence was now moving through a mother-daughter lineage. Why would I do such a massive act of chutzpah? I’m an Israeli-American artist. In my art practice,…
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Opinion The Inquisition decimated Sephardic Jewry. We still haven’t internalized its lessons
On a recent warm night in Madrid, a young woman shared that she had travelled over 3,000 miles, leaving her husband and two young children in Montreal, to claim Spanish citizenship. Over glasses of the local Alhambra brew, she told me that her grandparents spoke Ladino, and that whenever someone would mention Spain around her…
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Opinion Iron Dome’s funding was never in jeopardy. But to us Palestinians, that was never the point
A version of this article first appeared in Newsweek. Progressive House Democrats sparked a charged debate after they got their party to remove $1 billion of additional funding to Israel to replenish its defensive missile technology, Iron Dome, from a congressional bill earlier this week. Some praised the progressives for an act of resistance to…
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Opinion Spending time with unhoused people challenged everything I knew about Sukkot
Sukkot is one of the most beautiful and uplifting holidays on the Jewish calendar. As a young child, I was often taught that we leave our homes and spend time in our sukkot to remind us of the days when the Israelites were unhoused and wandering in the desert, on their way to redemption. The…
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Opinion I’m a leftist. Progressives’ move to strip Iron Dome from spending bill smacks of ignorance
The first time I sprinted to a bomb shelter, it was a stairwell in a rental-car agency in Tel Aviv, Israel. The siren blared as my then-Burning Man fling (now husband) and I were finalizing the paperwork. He grabbed my hand and shoved me into the stairwell along with several employees. Ten seconds later, there…
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Opinion What rain in the sukkah can teach us about resilience
A feeling of “this is not how it was supposed to be” permeates our sukkah this year. Sukkot is supposed to be a time of abundance, but this Sukkot seems to be, instead, a time of grave concern. Like rain penetrating the sukkah, the suffering around us makes us uncomfortable. When it rains we find…
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Opinion Surviving an assassination attempt gave me a new appreciation for the High Holidays
Last year, I celebrated Rosh Hashanah services on Mount Lemmon, a small mountain that overlooks my home in Tucson, Ariz. We started doing this during the pandemic for safety reasons, but I hope we’ll continue to do it in years to come. On Mount Lemmon, I look out over the desert landscape. I listen to…
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Opinion Should you text your ex before Yom Kippur?
It’s traditional to reach out and apologize to those we have hurt before Yom Kippur to ask for forgiveness. Does that extend to your ex? Few relationships are as inherently intimate or emotional or painful as our romantic ones. While friendships run deep — and I think we would all be better off if we…
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Opinion I won’t let divorce kill my Shabbat
One Friday last winter when my boys were at their father’s house, I worked late at home, still in my pajamas. On the nights I don’t have my kids, I tend to heat up soup or pour myself a bowl of cereal for supper. (Less depressing than it sounds, I swear.) But on this Friday,…
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Opinion Observing Yom Kippur on the street — and remembering those lost to violence
This week, Jews around the world will observe the second Yom Kippur of the Covid era. Despite the uncertainty of the never-ending pandemic, it remains a time for taking stock of the year that was and holding out hope for better times ahead. For far too many, 5781 was a year defined by too many…
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Opinion I served in Afghanistan as an Army chaplain. Jewish wisdom can help us process what comes after withdrawal
When the US was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, I was the same age as the current cadets at West Point are now. After graduating from college, I assumed I would leave the dangers of Afghanistan to our military and focus on studying for the Jewish clergy. Growing up on the Upper East Side, Judaism…
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