Recently, I met someone who is interested, toying with, the possibility of conversion to Judaism. But the first meeting with the rabbi went steadily south. In fact, that’s an understatement. It was downright awful. The rabbi even made some racist comments. Whoa. But despite one rude rabbi, this person’s interest in Judaism was not deterred.… Continue reading The Internal and External Pressures of Conversion
Miss Dominican Republic Ada Aimee De La Cruz was first runner up in the Miss Universe 2009 contest.
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot about “Jewish food.” The phrase seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue. The phrase troubles me because when people talk about “Jewish food,” I’ve noticed they seem to only be talking about Ashkenazi (Eastern European) food. So you can imagine my distress when I stumbled upon ”A… Continue reading What’s Jewish food?
For the second year in a row, my husband and I spent our summer in Los Angeles. Again, my husband was playing the role of rabbinic intern at a local Orthodox congregation, Bnai David Judea, where he, in fact, had his bar mitzvah. And while he was off learning to be a rabbi, everyone wondered… Continue reading Leaving Los Angeles
Just another day around the Shabbat table…. “Wow, you’re so exotic-looking!” the host gushes. Everyone turns to stare at me. “Not really,” I reply casually, trying to contain my eye roll. “There’s a whole island full of people who look like me.” “Oh, the Dominican Republic?” the host asks knowingly with a laugh. “No,” I… Continue reading I just have one of those faces
My response to a piece on Benjamin Cardozo in last week’s Jewish Week made it into this week’s issue. Check it out: My Letter to the Editor.
Jewish Infighting “Who will carry the torch for Jewish unity?” (The Jewish Chronicle) Simon Rock asks, “How can we preserve Jewish peoplehood if we can’t agree who is a Jew?” A very good question! His article gives a good, if long-winded, look at the obstacles that currently impede Jewish unity. “Racists, Fascists, Self-hating Jews and… Continue reading Jews in the News: The Latest on Conversion, Jews, Movies and More
Last week, the local paper, The Riverdale Press contacted me for an interview. Somehow, they had stumbled upon my blog. During the really-early-in-the-morning interview, I hoped that I wouldn’t embarrass myself too much. Mostly, I didn’t. Check out: “Blogger chronicles her Catholic past, Jewish present”
Who said adopting a new religion and culture was easy? I sure didn’t. Sometimes, it’s actually quite embarrassing. And by “it,” I mean me! Check out: “Inappropriate for the Shabbos Table”
I was standing in a school cafeteria in Middlebury, Vermont, surrounded by Jews of every flavor, as well as many Israelis with a very “Sephardic” look. And then, someone said something to one of the teachers, a 50-or-60-something-year-old woman who has spent most of her life in Israel. Repeatedly, I heard her say,”You? A convert?… Continue reading And yet another episode of "As the Convert’s World Turns"
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 