Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
COVID-19
The Latest
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News Brooklyn clinic reports 500 coronavirus cases. But city questions its testing methods.
An urgent-care center that serves Hasidic neighborhoods in Brooklyn said Thursday that it has confirmed 528 cases of coronavirus among the 937 people it tested since last Friday, heightening concerns that infections in the highly social Hasidic world are spiking — and that the clinic’s aggressive approach could be helping it spread. With test kits…
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News Quarantined college kids find meetups, memes and flirting at Hillel on Facebook
With classes cancelled around the country, Jewish college students are unable to meet their Jewish friends at Hillel for Shabbat dinner, social justice projects or just to hang out. But in less than a week, a virtual community with nearly 8,000 members has emerged to fill that gap: a Facebook group called Zoom University Hillel….
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Opinion I’m an Orthodox man forced by coronavirus to pray at home. Will you join me?
Like most people with relatively normal lives, I enjoy being at home. My wife is there (at least when she’s not working), my bed is there, my chair, a well-stocked pantry, a kitchen that the missus sometimes lets me take over, a few adorable grandkids and their likewise adorable parents a few blocks away. But,…
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Fast Forward Grand rabbi of Satmar Hasidic dynasty tested for coronavirus
Editor’s Note: Due to inaccurate information provided by Ezra Friedlander, a Hasidic leader, a prior version of this article incorrectly reported that Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum of the Satmar dynasty had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. After publication, Friedlander said Teitelbaum’s grandson had told him the rabbi had not yet received results of his coronavirus…
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Life Coronavirus is a reminder: Bnei Mitzvah theme is ‘coming of age’
We have twins in seventh grade, so this pandemic hit at the height of Bnei Mitzvah season. My son’s wardrobe these days consists entirely of sweats emblazoned with names and dates: the blue hoodie, Charlie, 11-23-19; the black one, Hannah, 11-25-20; oversized gray pants, Carly, 12-21-19. We had three on the calendar this Saturday alone….
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Culture How people across the globe are discussing social distancing
Translators and lexicographers are working overtime as new virus-related words and phrases enter our daily vocabulary. One urgent problem: How to convey “social distancing” in a variety of languages, with all sorts of dizzying cultural contexts, so that everyone can understand how to save lives? As for what “social distancing” means in English, Chicago’s Commissioner…
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Life I’ve been leading virtual davening for years. Here are some tips for how to make it meaningful.
We have entered a new phase of Jewish history in which cyberspace has become the place to nurture our spiritual lives. Previous generations lived through the Black Plague, cholera and more. Ours is the first to face a pandemic with technology that allows us to create vital, connected, online communities. This is a moment of…
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Yiddish אַ ליד פֿון חיזוק בעת דער קאָראָנאַ־תּקופֿהLISTEN: A Yiddish song of hope during the coronavirus
הרבֿ יואל ראָטה באַשרײַבט די פּאַניק אויף די ברוקלינער גאַסן און ווי אַזוי ער האַלט, אַז דער קריזיס וועט זיך ענדיקן.
Most Popular
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Culture Hitler is trending on TikTok again — and they’re trying to make him seem like a nice guy
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Culture You can buy Sukkot gift boxes that say ‘tuchus’ on Amazon
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Fast Forward Sitcom star encourages non-Jews like her to hang mezuzahs on their homes
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Opinion A maelstrom around Rashida Tlaib shows how broken discourse about the war has become
In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish זשורנאַל „ייִדישלאַנד“ דרוקט ערשטן קאַפּיטל פֿון אַ נײַעם אַוואַנטור־ראָמאַן‘Yidishland’ magazine prints first chapter of a new adventure novel
אויך אין דעם נומער: אַ ייִדישע איבערזעצונג פֿון לידער פֿון אַן אוקראַיִנישן פּאָעט וואָס איז געפֿאַלן אין שלאַכט קעגן רוסלאַנד.
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Fast Forward Israel kills Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah
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Culture On Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, assessing the 39th president’s record on the Jews
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Opinion With killing of Hezbollah’s chief, Israel occupies the inarguable moral high ground
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