(JTA) — During my first month as an assistant district attorney in the Bronx, I spent most of my time engaged in an intensive orientation. As part of that training, a senior ADA taught us the art of an effective opening argument. Whether you are...

What does one do when it's raining all day on the first day of the year? Watch some good television, movies, and shows alike -- unless you are watching the latest "Fauda" trailer for the seventh time. Grab a trustworthy blanket and finish off that bagel...

Margaret (Meg) Crane lived most of her life in St. Louis, was associate editor of the Jewish Light in the early 70s and from 2001-2012, was senior writer for Jewish Federation. Two years ago, she moved to New York City to be closer to family living...

(JTA) — This year, everyone seemed to have an opinion about how the entertainment industry views Jewish women. The comedian Sarah Silverman and others openly inveighed against what she deemed “Jewface,” or the trend of casting non-Jewish actresses...

(JTA) — There is a Jewish interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve that situates the two back-to-back. Instead of God creating woman from the stolen rib of Adam, the two walk away and split — crack — into separate beings. This is where...

(JTA) — A long-simmering conflict between CAIR, the Muslim-American civil rights organization, and the Anti-Defamation League has now reached the boiling point: A Bay Area CAIR leader dismissed the ADL and groups like it as “polite Zionists”...

(JTA) — How do you fight antisemitism if you can’t agree on how to define it? And how do you begin to debate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on campus if activists on both sides are convinced of the other’s animosity? These are questions that...

(JTA) — When I finished rabbinical school in 2018, I entered the “real world” with $40,000 in student loans. I acted fast, prioritizing repayment over everything else. Within six months, I paid nearly $10,000 to eliminate interest, and I continued...

When my wife and I attend an event where veterans are asked to stand to be recognized, she always nudges my arm prodding me to rise. Despite serving more than two years on active duty during the Vietnam War, I do not stand because of men like my college...

In previous columns, I have characterized our current political culture as insane. In November, I used the word “insanity” several times when being interviewed on Charlie Brennan’s show on KMOX radio. Why do I think such language is appropriate...

We had to have looked absolutely ridiculous, and I say that as a frequent participant. On weekend evenings in the late fall and winter of 1961 and into the spring of ’62, drivers casually motoring through some of University City, Mo.’s, quietest...

“This story was originally published on December 14, by the Forward. Sign up here to get the latest stories from the Forward delivered to you each morning.” As told to Nora Berman; edited for length and clarity The phone lit up with...