How Columbus brought America its first Jew
Luis de Torres was a refugee of faith –— and, in a way, America's first pilgrim
Very Forward
The Latest
-
Culture -
Culture The secret Jewish history of Teddy Roosevelt
Roosevelt was the first president to appoint a Jew to a Cabinet position
-
Music That time my dad, Leonard Bernstein, introduced us to The Beatles
Editor’s Note: Today, Aug. 25, 2021, would have been Leonard Bernstein’s 103rd birthday. In honor of that auspicious date, we are revisiting this excerpt from his daughter Jamie’s memoir. The following is an excerpt from “Famous Father Girl,” by Jamie Bernstein. Copyright © 2018 by Jamie Bernstein. Reprinted courtesy of Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins…
-
Culture The Night We Lost The Messiah Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
The balcony curtains suddenly parted. The Rebbe sat motionless surrounded by his three trusted rabbinical aides. On cue, the singing and chanting began: “Long live our Master, Teacher and Rebbe, King Messiah, Forever and Ever!” Hundreds of men dressed in black suits stood shoulder to shoulder on the synagogue floor craning their necks towards the…
-
Culture The Secret Jewish History of Snow
Jews have always had an ambivalent relationship with snow. On the one hand, we trace our origins to a desert land that typically features extremes of heat rather than cold. On the other hand, it does snow in Tiberias and Jerusalem — to that I can attest personally, having lived in both places in the…
-
Culture The secret Jewish history of the Chinese New Year
This year, the Chinese New Year falls on Friday, Feb. 12, the day when revelers — by some estimates, fully one-sixth of the earth’s population — will usher in the Year of the Ox. The day is observed throughout China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore and some other Asian countries, as well as in Chinatowns around the…
-
Culture How America’s first Jew gave the turkey its name
Author’s Note: This article, detailing the mysterious life of America’s first Jew, was originally published in 2018. Among the interesting trivia about Luis de Torres’ journey from Spain is his purported naming of the North American turkey, a theory that, combined with his pilgrim-like voyage to escape persecution, make it appropriate Thanksgiving Day reading. For…
-
News One of our reporters is becoming a rabbi. Here’s a look back at some of his best journalism.
Today is Aiden Pink’s last at the Forward — his last, actually, as a professional journalist. He is leaving to go to rabbinical school, as he explains in this personal essay. He has promised to continue to contribute — an occasional column through his first year at the Jewish Theological Seminary, for starters. In four…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News Meet the Jews who helped elect Zohran Mamdani
- 2
Fast Forward Calling itself ‘MechaHitler,’ Elon Musk’s AI tool spreads antisemitic conspiracies
- 3
Fast Forward Josh Shapiro’s Judaism was not why Kamala Harris snubbed him, new book claims
- 4
Fast Forward For the Jewish community in central Texas, deadly flooding hits close to home
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward He’s back: Larry David teams up with the Obamas to create new TV comedy series about American history
-
Fast Forward After AI chatbots rank Trump low on antisemitism, Missouri’s top lawyer threatens tech companies
-
Fast Forward The Trump administration used Canary Mission to target students, deportation filing confirms
-
Fast Forward Google’s Sergey Brin derides UN as ‘transparently antisemitic’ in company chat: Report
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
