This is 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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Community Jewish tribalism leaves some Jews out
In my decade doing interfaith work as a representative of the Jewish community, I often explained to my interlocutors that many (if not most) American Jews are concerned more with belonging than believing. For most of us, I said, the experience of being a member of the community — belonging to the Jewish people —…
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Community Is coronavirus a reason to skip the bris?
My son and daughter had a joint bar and bat mitzvah a few months into the Covid-19 pandemic. The service took place in our temple and was broadcast on Zoom. On the bema, our rabbi stood apart from our immediate family and just a few congregation staffers were physically present. Everyone else, including grandparents, watched…
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News Chicago’s Federation nailed its COVID-19 response. Now it wants other cities to follow its lead.
More than half a year into the global COVID-19 pandemic, much of the world is still figuring out how to adapt to a new way of doing things, including attending religious services, going to school, shopping and eating. But one Jewish community is reporting remarkable success in how it helps local organizations meet their community’s…
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Community What will you write in the Book of Life?
For more than two decades, we have served as congregational rabbis in some of the largest synagogues in the United States. We’ve faced all sorts of challenges throughout our careers but we’ve never experienced anything like the present moment. Just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic led to stay-at-home orders in our communities, the…
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Fast Forward Brooklyn Jewish officials warn of new COVID cases amid rising fear of a second wave
(JTA) – With cases of COVID-19 rising over the last several weeks in Orthodox communities in the New York City area, a synagogue in Brooklyn and a Jewish ambulance group issued warnings for people to continue taking precautions against the virus. Hatzoloh of Rockland County, which serves a number of large Orthodox communities in Monsey,…
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Life It’s the ‘biggest, queerest Jewish wedding’—and you’re invited
Chaya Milchtein’s dream wedding would have hundreds of guests. Her fiancée JodyAnn Morgan’s dream wedding would be just her, her partner and their officiant. In Morgan’s ideal world, she said, “I would just go to Vegas and call it a day.” Now, thanks to the coronavirus, they are both getting their dream wedding. This weekend,…
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Life Legacy Bintel: 1922 Montreal sisters quarrel over nothing
The original Bintel Brief column was founded at the Forward in 1906 and ran through the 1980s. Written in Yiddish, letter writers sought advice on heartbreak, poverty, religious quarrels, family disputes, love triangles and more. Legacy Bintel revisits these original Bintel Brief letters. Many appear here in English for the first time. They have been…
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Life Does God punish us?
Still Small Voice is a collection of 18 interviews with rabbis tackling 18 questions about God, published during the month of Elul, a time of Jewish reflection and accountability. Click here to read the introduction to the series. It’s hard to watch God’s wrath and not feel alienated. God’s punishments in the Torah seem disproportionate….
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News When observant Jews gathered to challenge Israel orthodoxy, verbal sparring and walkouts ensued
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Opinion Trump has forced an impossible choice on American synagogues amid antisemitic attacks
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Opinion The one crucial domain in which Iran outwitted Israel
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Opinion Antisemitism is exploding on the right but the Jewish establishment is focused on the left
In Case You Missed It
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Opinion Israelis and Americans deserve to know why they are still at war
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News A government takeover could save a struggling Brooklyn hospital — while unsettling the Orthodox Jewish community it serves
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News Joe Kent, Trump official with white supremacist ties, resigns over Iran war and blames Israel
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Fast Forward Dueling letters from Jewish groups dispute prevalence of antisemitism at UCLA
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