What’s In a Jewish Father?
Image by Lior Zaltzman
By Lior Zaltzman June 4, 2015
Pop culture is flooded with images and stereotypes about Jewish moms. But what makes a Jewish dad is still shrouded in mystery.
Is he nebbishy? Is he silent, reading his morning paper? Is he boisterous and argumentative? Is he a hippy like in ‘Dharma and Greg’? Portrayal of Jewish dads are all over the board – they can’t be pinned down.
In honor of Father’s Day, I propose we go beyond the caricature. I want to hear what being a Jewish dad is all about, and what your Jewish fathers are like. My own abba is coming to visit me from Israel, and I intend to ask him just that question.
Send me a couple of sentences, or an anecdote that you think is the perfect example (zaltzman(at)forward.com) and I’ll create quick illustrations leading up to Father’s Day.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
