Opinion

• Opinion

  Taking Extreme Steps To Banish Hametz Misses Point of Pesach

  Our definition of hametz is expanding. The pun is intentional. But here’s my point: Many Jews go to ridiculous extremes to redefine and root out hametz for Passover, losing sight of the simplicity and subtlety of this extraordinary holiday. Hametz is narrowly defined as leavened bread, and Jews are not supposed to own, eat or…

  By Jane Eisner

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  The Things We Carried — Share Your Stories

  It’s the smell that hits me first — musty, almost sweet, emanating from the green felt that cradles each piece of silver cutlery in its own place. Every year as I ready for Passover, I unlock the nondescript cabinet tucked into a corner of my New York apartment, pull out the two shaky drawers, and…

  By Jane Eisner Apr 8, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  A Digital Haggadah? Now That’s Just Wrong.

  The “Ultimate Digital Haggadah” as viewed on an iPad. On my shelf I must have a dozen Haggadahs, some annotated, others illustrated and one even illuminated. I have thick hardcover tomes and soft Maxwell House prints — each one serves a different purpose. But the Haggadah that I use each year, the one that I…

  By Mordechai Lightstone Apr 8, 2014 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman There’s a shocking new report on civilian deaths in Gaza. If only it were accurate.

  

• Nora Berman Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s new gift to the far right could help end the Gaza war

  

• Emily Tamkin Entering motherhood — and an obsession with the works of an Italian Jewish literary hero

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Can Brooklyn Jews Talk Civilly About Israel?

  Young Jews discuss Israel at a ‘Resetting the Table’ event in Brooklyn. / Ezra Weinberg This past Sunday, in the high-beamed, chilly Brooklyn Lyceum, a group of 20- and 30-somethings tried to talk about Israel — no small feat. The program, called “Resetting the Table,” was designed to allow young people to get together and…

  By Elisheva Goldberg Apr 8, 2014 | 3 min read
• Letters

  A Challenge to J Street

  In its April 4 issue, the Forward reported that some Philadelphia Jewish officials objected to the March 27 screening of our film, “The J Street Challenge,” in the City of Brotherly Love (“Tough Road for J Street as It Bids for an Official Place Within the Communal Tent”). We are perplexed. We made the film…

  Apr 8, 2014 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  A Bubble Not Burst

  Martin Buber tells the story of Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev. Before Passover, the great rabbi was inspecting the local matzo factory to make sure it was kosher. Afterward, he said, ”This factory is not kosher.” When the shocked factory owner said, “We have followed all of the laws of kashrut,” the rabbi explained: “The…

  Apr 8, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Abbas Was Right to Blink

  The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Right? That’s the joke anyway — has been for the last fifty years. And it’s what I thought when I first heard that the Abbas government picked now, of all moments, to apply for membership in fifteen UN organizations. Couldn’t they have waited a month,…

  By Jay Michaelson Apr 8, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Palestinians Seen Easing Terms for Renewing Talks

  The Palestinian daily Al Quds reported on its website Monday afternoon, quoting a “knowledgeable source,” that the Palestinian leadership had decided to return to the negotiating table for two more months, with the aim of laying out the borders between Israel and a potential Palestinian state, according to Walla! News reporter Amir Tibon. The source…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 7, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  France’s Quickly Changing Face

  Last week, as France woke up to the results of the second round of municipal elections, the on-line newspaper Rue 89 breathlessly announced: “Miracle at Lourdes!” The event, to be sure, was more dazzling than a cripple throwing off her crutches or a blind man again seeing: a Socialist had won the mayor’s race! It…

  By Robert Zaretsky Apr 7, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Finding My Family’s Kabbalistic Roots in India

  “What are you doing?” I asked my grandmother. Sitting across the table from her at last year’s family Passover Seder, I had been watching with rapt attention as she peeled an egg — a commonly featured food on the Seder plate. She was handling it with a degree of carefulness that bordered on the neurotic,…

  By Sigal Samuel Apr 7, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Queer Passover Seder Helped Me Reclaim Judaism

  An alternative Seder plate holds a coconut, representing closeted LGBTQ youth. / JQ International At the time, it didn’t occur to me to be offended or concerned that I was being circled by the cheerleaders and other popular girls who held hands, bowed their heads and prayed for my soul. They were part of “Christian…

  By Stosh Cotler Apr 7, 2014 | 3 min read