Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
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Community I do Yom Kippur at home every year; it’s still holy
Where is the House of the Lord? It depends on where you sit. Am I a bad Jew? Last year on Yom Kippur, I sat smoking a cigar, on my Mac with a Starbucks Venti within reach. Looks like three strikes to me. A friend asked me back then if I would be going to…
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Fast Forward Jared Kushner got rabbinic pass to work Shabbat due to pandemic. Did he make good use of it?
During the early days of the pandemic, Jared Kushner apparently received rabbinic dispensation to work late into Shabbat, Vanity Fair’s Katherine Eban reported — A meeting between White House officials and entrepreneurs, business executives and venture capitalists took place on Friday March 20, according to the report. “The meeting began at 6:30 p.m. Kushner is…
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Community What is our unifying story?
With every generation comes a story. For my grandparents, it was their refusal to stop practicing Judaism under a Communist regime. For my parents, it was returning to the Soviet Union as Israeli emissaries to continue the holy work of teaching Judaism. Surviving the Holocaust, championing and fighting for Israel, marching on Washington for Soviet…
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Community Behind the scenes of filming a socially distant Yom Kippur — in July
The High Holidays always arrive either early or late. Never once are they on time. But this year, when Yom Kippur arrived in mid-July, and Rosh Hashanah was on the 13th of the Hebrew month of Elul instead of the first of Tishrei, “early” took on a new meaning for me. Congregation Shomrei Emunah, my…
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Community My degree in Israel education was tough, but so worth it
I just ran a marathon. I have never run a marathon, so I have no idea what that actually feels like. But this certainly feels like what I imagine completing a marathon could feel like: elation, pride, and fatigue. My marathon lasted two years, not your typical 26.2 miles. That was 24 months filled with…
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Community Look at this Rosh Hashanah as a bespoke experience
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the most highly choreographed religious experiences across all Jewish denominations, from intimate shteibels to vaulted sanctuaries. The setting, songs, and community surrounding us combine to impart a sense of occasion and are key to the experience of awe and holiness of the High Holidays. The physical setting is a…
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Community Do talk politics with family this election
Watching the flames in California along with the destruction of lives and livelihoods in Kenosha, it suddenly hit me that we can either grow together or burn together. I say this as both a Holocaust-traumatized Jew and as a family therapist. Seeing fear in the faces of children most days in my practice on Zoom…
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News Her Majesty’s Government hands down six coronavirus dos and dont’s— from shofar to sukkah
No dancing, sukkah “crawls” or shared shofars, said Her Majesty’s Government — among other decrees handed down on Monday. British Jews have received an extensive list of don’ts and dos for this year’s High Holiday season, covering Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and the festivals of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. The list was released…
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Fast Forward Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, threatening ceasefire deal, after Shiri Bibas’ body returned
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