“The two leading lusts of the Jew’s life are lechery and money.” So wrote the improbably named Telemachus Thomas Timayenis in his 1883 anti-Semitic opus The American Jew: An Exposé of His Career. As Forward editorial director J.J. Goldberg says in his interview in this issue, stereotypes are frequently unfair, but very rarely unfounded. It seems improper, then, that seventeen years on this magazine has dedicated at least two of its covers to sex and none to money.
In this special double issue of New Voices, we set things right. While Jewish communal fortunes evaporate in the face of the recession and the expropriations by Mr. Madoff, we examine how the money culture has affected Jewish culture. Check out Josh Spiro’s photo essay on a pre-war anarchist compound in New Jersey, my conversation with Mr. Goldberg on Jewish wealth, a selection of reminiscences on extravagant Bar Mitzvah parties, an editorial on what would happen if American Jews weren’t rich, an interview with a self-proclaimed J.A.P, and David Litt’s financial advice column.
Want even more? Subscribe to our print edition, made with lots of sweat, some blood, and a little Jewish money.
