“The seder is supposed to be a safe place.” Now, who are you kidding? But check out this comment from wrpn and why it deserves its own post: Rabanit Hausman, Sometimes you just have to pick your fights. We had guests over the first days of the chag (holiday) whose son, who had just returned… Continue reading Seder Soundbites
Okay, so I think this year’s Pesach was better than the last. Maybe I’m blocking out the more unpleasant stuff. I mean, I only cried once so that’s a vast improvement. (No, wait, it was twice. Still….) Anyway, I hope yours was good and fairly uneventful (or eventful, depending on what you were hoping for).… Continue reading Goals for Next Pesach
Isn’t it confusing? Won’t it be confusing for your children? People constantly ask me these questions. They think being Dominican, American and Jewish sounds really complicated. Mostly, they’re trying to put a damper on my multicultural mojo. So here I am in Los Angeles for Pesach (Passover) stocking up on yucca and plantains so I… Continue reading Cultural Confusion
Hallelujah, shalom: Rabbi Funnye singing at Shabbat services. (Alec Soth/Magnum, for The New York Times) Conservative rabbi (and convert) Rabbi Capers Funnye is putting the black back in Judaism. (Okay, so it was already there.) And the New York Times noticed. They profiled him in a piece called “Barack Obama’s Rabbi”. The piece also gives… Continue reading Barack Obama’s Rabbi
I feel like these thing sneak up on me and punch me in the gut. So there we were sitting all unassuming like, before Pesach (Passover), in the Fish Grill, my favorite place to eat in Los Angeles. My husband and I were wedged into a corner table when some guys plopped down in the… Continue reading Punched in the gut
Greetings again from Los Angeles where my mother-in-law’s Honduran maid is an Evangelical Christian. She is sweet. But she reminded me very politely that people who don’t accept Jesus are going to hell. This is what I get for trying to practice my Spanish with her. In all fairness, I think some communication lines got… Continue reading To Hell in a Hand Basket
Because I was having a fibromyalgia flare-up, I didn’t actually help make anything kosher for Passover. Instead, I supervised. I watched things get steamed, boiled and wiped down. Okay, so I wasn’t actually paying attention and I probably missed a lot. I did get to catch my husband and his brother fighting. Apparently, when they… Continue reading Kashrut (Kosher) Supervisor
Confession: I’m not a big blog reader. I have a list of favorites that I’m always falling behind on. And yet, lately, I’ve found myself pretty faithful to one particular blog. “The Jewish Writing Project wants your stories. The blog celebrates Jewish life by giving Jews of all shapes and sizes the opportunity to tell… Continue reading Jewish Life in the Present (and Past) Tense
I remember the taste of freedom. After running away from home, after kidnapping and winning custody of my sister, I was free. I felt so free and happy, I started on a journey that began in church and led to my eventual conversion to Judaism. My first Pesach, I wanted to write my own Haggadah… Continue reading Let Freedom Ring
Okay, so I’m Dominican but I think my husband is a militant Dominican. What do I mean? I think he’s about force fed everyone in the family some yucca and plantains this Pesach. And no, I didn’t cook any of it. He cooked the stuff himself. It’s all part of his make-sure-wife-doesn’t-starve-without-rice-and-beans plan. Now, if… Continue reading Militant Dominican
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 