I can’t talk to children below the age of 14. (I was a high school teacher after all.) For me, talking to people under the age of 14 always leads to awkward, strange conversations. My husband shares this same fatal flaw, a group of 10-year-olds once revoked his talking privileges at the Shabbos table. But… Continue reading I see Jewish people
An email from a Jewish convert: The questions I often get about my “Irish” appearance pale (no pun intended) in comparison to what Jews of color must face but it’s still so annoying and intrusive. D. D. Then she goes on to tell me about the time a friend of a friend found out she… Continue reading Awkward much?
OMG, I’m, like, 29. That’s like almost 30! Here is the song my family sings along with “Happy Birthday” or rather “Feliz Cumpleaños.” It’s called “Estas son las Mañanitas.” Las Mañanitas Lyrics: Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David,Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti,Despierta, mi bien, despierta,… Continue reading Happy Birthday to me!
“Ethiopians at the gate” (Haaretz) Why is Israel suddenly resuming immigration from Ethiopia? “Jewish school requirements ‘racist,’ British court rules” (Jewish Tribune) Did Britain decide that Judaism is racist? “Who is a convert?” (The Forward) Why Ruth is pretty lucky she’s not converting in 2009…. “New Conversion Legislation” (Ynet) A step forward or a step… Continue reading Conversion News Roundup
Check out my latest piece in The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles: “A Lesson for Jews in Gates’ Arrest?”
Can I tell you how much I love Junot Diaz? I never would have thought a book about a Dominican-American geek (“The Brief & Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”) win the Pulitzer Prize. It wasn’t even until college that I knew there were Hispanic American authors writing stories that felt like they could have been… Continue reading My Favorite Dominican (After my little sisters, of course)
“So what do you do?” “I’m a freelance writer. I also keep a blog called ‘Memoirs of a Jewminicana.’” “A Jew-what?” “Jewminicana. A Jewish American Dominican.” “Oh.” Confused face. “So your father is Dominican and your mother is….” Trailing off uncomfortably. Eye roll. “Dominican.” Shocked face. “Oh. So, you…” Trailing off uncomfortably again. “Converted.” Silence.
If one more person tells me racism is dead because Obama is president, I will…. Wajahat Ali believes that racism is not only far from over, we should all be able to agree that it’s definitely “stupid.”
http://video.aish.com/AishSharePlayer/Player.swf On Wednesday night, the fast of Tisha B’av begins. “Tisha B-what?” my friends say. If it isn’t Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur or Passover, my non-Jewish or Jewish but less observant friends have no clue what I’m talking about. Why isn’t the saddest day on the Jewish calendar more well-known? I spent my first Tisha… Continue reading Trembling on Tisha B’av
http://www.hulu.com/embed/ecsrg_rGdP7psJkobtukZA by the letters S, A and P. (Get it?) Conan O’Brien is trying to embrace his Latino viewers out here in Los Angeles. Sure, there are stereotypes (sexy Latina) but it seems like Conan has been doing his telenovela (Spanish soap opera) homework!
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 