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Culture Can Shabbat be #self-care? For me, the answer was yes — maybe
Sometimes, when I quit Slack and stow away my laptop on a Friday afternoon, I go on Instagram and scroll through pictures of challah. Plain challah, rainbow challah, challah embellished with candied flowers. Hefty, round challah and etiolated mini challahs scattered artfully across a pristine baking sheet. Challah posed next to minimalist Shabbat candlesticks or…
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Culture Palestinian advocacy groups drew tens of thousands of new followers on social media. But can they move that support offline?
While Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip traded missiles in May, a parallel war exploded on social media. And though analysts disagree about the relative gains of Israel and Hamas on the battlefield, in the field of social-media, the pro-Palestinian cause seems to have increased its share of hearts and minds — or…
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Culture Are more teens getting nose jobs — and is TikTok to blame?
Surgery transformation videos are a genre unto themselves on TikTok. Nearly always set to a mashup called “Celebrate the Good Times,” the videos count down to the big day, switching frames every few beats as the numbers tick away until the big reveal when the beat drops. Dance music crescendos and the creator, usually a…
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Culture Facebook extends its suspension of Trump — and changes its whole philosophy on platforming politicians
Facebook announced Friday that its ban on former president Donald Trump, instated after he encouraged the crowd who subsequently attacked the Capitol on January 6, would last at least until 2023. More importantly, the company also announced that it would change its policy on platforming politicians, meaning other world leaders may also be more limited…
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Culture This nonagenarian knows more about the cellphone than you — because he invented it
After working from home for over a year, I still have no idea how Zoom backgrounds work, which means the various strangers I interview can look past me to see my ailing succulents, unopened prestige cookbooks and a childhood’s worth of participation trophies. Unlike me, a supposed “digital native,” Martin Cooper is old enough that…
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News 82-year-old ‘Seinfeld’ actress Annie Korzen is the queen of TikTok these days
Most people will recognize actor Annie Korzen from her four “Seinfeld” appearances, three as Doris Klumpus and one as an obnoxious airline passenger. But the octogenarian has been acting since 1975, in small roles ranging from “Tootsie” to “Black Monday,” and is now making her mark on an even smaller screen as one of TikTok’s…
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The Schmooze Did a celebrity chef rip off Russ and Daughters’ design?
Update, 6/6/21: As of Thursday, both parties have removed their original posts and arrived at an amicable resolution. After representatives from The Borscht Belt clarified that the design process had been outsourced to another company, and that its owners, including Nick Liberato had not been personally involved, Russ and Daughter posted on Instagram wishing “Nick…
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Community What my peers on social media don’t get about Israel and Palestine
This week, my social media feeds were inundated with countless posts from my millennial, liberal-minded peers: infographics of colorful illustrations blatantly degrading the Jewish people. Shock-value footage of bloody bomb blasts, only showing the destruction for which Israel is responsible. As I scrolled, I hoped that at least one post would be nuanced and empathetic…
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Fast Forward ‘Rabbi rebellion’: 33 Orthodox rabbis endorse Harris
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Opinion I was a Bernie supporter. This year, I’m voting Trump. Here’s why liberal Jews like me made the switch
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Opinion Here’s why Orthodox Jews are loyal to Trump — even if they don’t love him
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FIRST PERSON As a rabbi, he helped others mourn. So why wouldn’t his daughter say kaddish for him?
In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish פּרעכטיק נײַ ייִדיש ליד פֿון סאַטמער־דערצויגענער זינגערין ריקי רויזAmazing new Yiddish song by Satmar-raised singer Riki Rose
ווען זי האָט געזונגען „אָטעם אַרײַן און אָטעם אַרויס“ אויף דער ייִדיש־וואָך אין אויגוסט איז דער עולם גאָר נתפּעל געוואָרן.
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Culture Ivanka Trump suggests you avoid this central sin in Judaism — will her father listen?
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Fast Forward Exit poll: 79% of Jewish voters back Harris over Trump
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Fast Forward ‘History’s greatest comeback’: Netanyahu congratulates Trump
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