When the Forward decided to run a feature commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the Jewish influence on the seminal civil rights event, the first name discussed was that of Abraham Joshua Heschel, a close friend of Martin Luther King. Was he there? What role did he…
The Forward spoke with descendants of these men and others who took the stage and filled the National Mall on August 28, 1963
The connection between Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel is one that I learned of during my conversion process. When only one month a year is given to Black History, certain events are sure to be left out. While my parents did an amazing job sharing their personal insights and memories of…
This is the eighth entry in an ongoing series exploring Jewish feminism. I’ve always felt that I was born a feminist. Seeing injustice and protesting it as a child, my eyes were too big and my voice was too loud. The disparities were offensive: in the synagogue, at homes of my Hasidic relatives, at my…
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was a fascinating individual. Too bad Colin Greer’s play, “Imagining Heschel,” is such a yawn. Heschel was born in Poland, and got out before the Holocaust; he was a poet, teacher and author of influential works including the 1955 classic, “God in Search of Man.” He believed that Jews should fight…
Singer Basya Schechter, who for many years has led the band Pharaoh?s Daughter and who just released ?Songs of Wonder? (Tzadik), a collection of Yiddish songs based on the poetry of Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel, is having a moment. And for good reason. Schechter makes music that is both appealing and intriguing. As an…
In what is the closest he will probably ever come to an apology, Al Sharpton (onetime firebrand turned soon-to-be MSNBC host) writes in today’s Daily News about his conduct during the Crown Heights riots that “our language and tone sometimes exacerbated tensions and played to the extremists rather than raising the issue of the value…
A group of Jewish artists digging deep into Jewish writing and turning it into theater is trying to bring something fresh and smart to the table. Billing itself as “New York’s first Jewish theater company dedicated to Sabbath-observant artists,” 24/6 launched on December 11 with an evening of short plays called “Sabbath Variations: The Splendor…
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