I uncovered this NY Times article from May in my inbox, “De-emphasis on Race in Adoption Is Criticized.” Though it has no Jewish slant, I thought it presented some interesting points on race and cultural issues in Jewish adoptions. Though I should point out, that I have recently enjoyed many articles that have highlighted the… Continue reading De-emphasis on Race in Adoption Is Criticized
” Willough” doll on RealKidz.com Oh. My. G-d. I discovered biracial dolls when I was doing some research for my application to SwirlCamp! which is a program run by Swirl. Swirl is a “national multi-ethnic organization that challenges society’s notions of race through community building, education, and action.” I am very tempted to buy my… Continue reading Biracial dolls
I am taking two online writing classes through Gotham Writer’s Workshop, Reading Fiction POV and Memoir Writing I. I thought I could be sneaky and use my homework over there as blog posts over here. Well, at least the stuff that’s already been graded and the teacher has told me clearly isn’t awful. The assignments… Continue reading Photographic memory
This is the final draft of an essay I wrote for a contest that asked “What is the Most Important Day of Your Life?” I previously posted the first draft on the blog. Come Back For Us She stood in the doorframe in a faded nightgown though it was mid-afternoon. Her thin penciled-in eyebrows became… Continue reading The Most Important Day of My Life Final Draft
Hi, my name is Aliza. I’m an Orthodox Jew. Sorry, but that doesn’t mean I’m a crazy religious fanatic. A reader emailed me an article from the Forward, “Invoking Rosa Parks, Haredi Women Move to Back of the Bus” The article details a situation that has Haredi women in Israel showing their modesty by choosing… Continue reading Fun with Labels
Here is an early draft of an essay I’m working on: It is the ten-year anniversary of that day. The day my life ended. The day my life began. Strewn about my dark, mahogany daybed like a broken doll, I lay writhing from the pain. My blackened, dirty feet poked out of my jeans and… Continue reading The Most Important Day of My Life
I always got confused when a paper asked, “What was your first language?” I didn’t have one language, I had two. For as long as I could remember, I was spoken to in English and in Spanish. My parents had immigrated in their teens with my grandparents to the United States. By the time their… Continue reading Losing the Language
Me (and my hair in all its glory) in Israel circa 2006 And no, I’m not talking about the weather. The Orthodox Jewish world is being turned on its head as conversion becomes entangled in a larger power struggle between the ultra-Orthodox and the more modern rabbinical authorities. One of the latest articles on the… Continue reading Things are heating up
I am supposed to be sleeping. Oy. Instead I am completing the homework assignment for my Personal Essay Writing Class:“Week 7: Staring at the Mirror: Writing about the Physical SelfAssignment: Write about a physical trait of yours that’s always bothered you. 1000 words. “ It’s late. And so am I. For bed! So here’s the… Continue reading HAIR! HAIR! HAIR!
There is a point where you’ve probably revised too much and might be killing the writing in a piece, lucky for you, I haven’t gotten there yet with “The Girl in the Wetsuit” story. The story focuses on how I spend my spare time explaining cultural nuances, both Jewish and not, to the masses. It’s… Continue reading Going ghetto (getting violent and inappropriate) on revisions
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 