Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
All gifts matched up t0 $36,000SUPPORT OUR WORK!

Photo EssayHow The Halvah Gets Made

1 / 7

Sesame seeds at the Joyva factory in Brooklyn. Photo by Amy Oringel

2 / 7

Joyva uses between 3 and 4 million pounds of sesame seeds every year. They mainly come from Texas. Photo by Amy Oringel

3 / 7

Seeds are transferred to standing tubs filled with water and are mixed by hand. Photo by Amy Oringel

4 / 7

Seeds are transferred into ovens where they are roasted. They are then ground with what is essentially a gigantic mortar and pestle, and combined with other ingredients. Photo by Amy Oringel

5 / 7

Seeds are funneled into huge metal vats of saltwater so that the seeds can be separated from the hulls. Photo by Amy Oringel

6 / 7

Halvah is cut and shaped for packing. Photo by Amy Oringel

7 / 7

Presto! Halvah! Photo by Jovyah

Here is why I'm matching up to $36,000 in gifts to the Forward:

Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.

I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.

The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.

That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.

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

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.