There is a short period during the year where my choice of dress code does not distinguish me from others. It’s usually that intersection between seasons, for instance, where many women are wearing skirts, long-sleeved shirts and maybe some (combat) boots. But as a friend recently noted on Facebook, it is not this season. My… Continue reading This is not a fashion show (except when it is)
Black people love Sally and Johnny! Ah, satire when done right can be utterly unpleasant and terribly funny. At least, that’s how it seems the site Black People Love Us, the tales of “a fictional white couple and their failed attempts to relate to black people,” have been taken by viewers. People can’t decide whether… Continue reading Black People Love Us!
My cousin O. wants to know how I’m making so much money talking about myself. But the answer to this question and similar mysteries can only be answered by G-d. And if G-d started talking directly to either of us, we’d probably be filthy rich (or locked up in Arkham Asylum). In the meantime, I… Continue reading My Second Shabbaton: Ruminations on speaking at Brandeis University
Getting snood-y. Today even the Rastafarian beret failed me. I threw it on over my head to join my husband for his birthday dinner and well, it hurt. A lot. I figured, I hoped, it would get better but by the end of the meal, I was cowering in my corner with pain. That was… Continue reading Head Case: Update on My Head Covering Woes
Twittering before, during, after the wedding:Going to a wedding today. Separate seating for men and women. Sheitels and fancy hats will abound. Will try not to wear a sack. 9:40 AM Mar 22nd from web My father-and sister-in-law are in town for the wedding and passed out on our couches. Because I am not social… Continue reading What I hate about being an Orthodox Jew OR How My Rastafarian Beret Came to Represent Rabbi Avi Weiss, HIR and YCT
1. Old Testament–Just offensive. We prefer the original and only testament. (But calling it the Hebrew Bible is okay, too.) 2. Can I see your horns? 3. Have you considered Jesus as your personal savior? 4. Why do you hate Palestinians? 5. How come you only eat food blessed by a rabbi? Can’t you just… Continue reading What not to say to Jews
(If my Mom had known about wigs, I think she would have just shaved my head as a kid.) Someone asked me to define “sheitel” today. And as usual, I was only too happy to explain. I always find it incredible when I get to explain the Orthodox Jewish world to other people. It makes… Continue reading Sheitel is a wig
(Ah, the little headband/hair scarf. Works sort of like a thong but for my head.) “You’re a hypocrite,” he said but he didn’t use those words exactly. He tried to be polite about it even though it was obvious from his tone that every single hair on my head had offended his sensibilities. How could… Continue reading The Many Stages of Getting Pissed
My energy level is dropping quickly but I hate to finish the day without remarking on my talks at Brooklyn College today. A really cool professor there had me come in to speak to his students, another professor’s students and the broader Brooklyn College audience. Incredibly, I was representing the Judaic Studies, Latino Studies and… Continue reading Brooklyn College Take Two: Ruminations on my latest talk
From Selina Alko’s new book. All of my sisters are a different color and the color of our skin changes in the sun, with the seasons and darkens as with age. I started out a milky white with Asiatic eyes so it wasn’t just for my brains that I was called “white girl.” But the… Continue reading What Flavor are you?
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 